Category Archives: Renovation Diary
June 2014
As promised in last month’s post here are some of the things that unfortunately managed to avoid the camera to appear on time – the false door on rex, the summer house with an almost complete front, the path by the … Continue reading
May 2014
May was by far the busiest month Hallyards has ever seen with an army of (mainly willing) volunteers co-opted by Mike all working tirelessly to get everything looking wonderful for Mike and Meg’s garden wedding at the end of the … Continue reading
April 2014
We’ve had the keys for 2 years. Massive amounts of progress but still a frustratingly long way off officially moving in! Let’s start with the Glasshouse – completing the wooden structure, doing the leadwork and making a start on the … Continue reading
March 2014
With the longer days came much work. For starters, a mad few weeks preparing for the installation of the glasshouse, including cleaning off over 1,000 bricks (thanks to Sue & Tony), building a new brick base (Dave with pot and … Continue reading
February 2014
Robert’s digger got another workout this month, helping to clear the rest of the old tennis court, creating a new driveway and also lamb proofing the fence line to ensure our new plants survive the spring. With the weather slightly … Continue reading
January 2014
The new year started as the last finished… busy making the most of many willing workers (and Jasper) and the digger (thanks to Robert for the loan and David behind the controls). We were making great progress, having cleared along … Continue reading
December 2013
The main job in December was to dismantle the original but very rotten MacKenzie & Moncur glasshouse. With Sue having cleared around the glasshouse last month, we had to remove the glass in between the storms to give Simon & … Continue reading
November 2013
After a well earned rest for everybody the workers returned eager to crack on. With the weather holding up remarkably well Tony’s main job was to lime wash the new harling. This is a painstaking process of brushing the walls … Continue reading
October 2013
October saw all hands to the pump to get as much of the harling done as possible. A four man crew – Tony, Liam and Hans & Scott from Masonry & Lime – was drafted in to really give the … Continue reading
September 2013
Just under a month until the harlers arrive, so all hands to the pump to get everything in order – removing more render, flushing out, resetting the cast iron pipework, installing the extractor fan vents, moving the scaffolding and endless … Continue reading
August 2013
Preparation for the harling was the main job in August (and will be in September) ahead of Hans & Co from Masonry & Lime returning in October to complete the top coat. This involves painstakingly chipping off the old render, … Continue reading
July 2013
One of the main tasks over the summer – making full use of the better weather – is to try and get as much of the harling done as possible. Lime washing of the first two elevations kept Tony busy, … Continue reading
June 2013
Into summer and the harling started to come to life. The hessian sheeting was removed to reveal the traditional finish and Tony spent many hours building up the lime wash coating. Mike was hard at work getting the next section … Continue reading
May 2013
There was almost too much going on this month to write about – over 180 photos to sift through. With the good weather arriving (and condensation on the outside of the windows!) we abandoned doing almost anything inside and focussed all … Continue reading
April 2013
Preparing the first elevation for the new harling was top of the list this month. This involved painstaking chipping off of the old cement harling, filling any large voids with lime mortar and small stones (so called ‘pinning out’), pointing … Continue reading
March 2013
One of the main jobs this month, despite the cold weather, was removing the old cement render from the first elevation of the main house – a tedious but very necessary job. Old buildings such as Hallyards were designed to … Continue reading
February 2013
With the weather rapidly improving this month saw a big increase in activity. Although the Yew avenue was cut all the way back in November we were still tidying up, meaning almost daily bonfires. Other garden activity also started, unearthing … Continue reading
January 2013
With a mild start to the New Year the first job was to plant some Christmas presents – 2 apple trees. These have been planted in the back corner of the main walled garden, on the edge of what will … Continue reading
December 2012
In absolutely freezing conditions we bravely soldiered on. With building warrant in hand we at least had some inside jobs to do, getting some of the structural alterations started. Mike was also working flat out to get the radiators installed … Continue reading
November 2012
Lots of exciting things happened this month. The hugely overgrown Yew avenue got a much needed haircut (thanks Granny), allowing the garden and the house to get some light. We finally managed to get running water into the kitchen sink … Continue reading
October 2012
With a lack of photos in August and September we made sure we made up for it in October! Starting with the roof – the other half of the semi-circular roof, moving onto the main house and finishing on the … Continue reading
September 2012
With time marching ever onward we had to start preparing for the inevitable winter weather which could be just around the corner. The old stove in the Annex was removed, making way for a new wood burner – our only … Continue reading
August 2012
Although photos are lacking from August this doesn’t mean that we didn’t get a lot done! The garden took up lot of time and the roof took another leap forward. We took a chance on the weather (the first 4 … Continue reading
July 2012
Work in the garden continued inbetween the torrential downpours. The mild and wet weather proved to be exactly the right growing conditions for any sort of weed and we had a lot to tackle! With a lot of hard work … Continue reading
June 2012
Our hopes of a good summer are dashed with the start of what was to turn out to be one of the wettest summers on record. Just typical. Despite this, work continued apace with the main activity being in the … Continue reading
May 2012
May 2012 saw some of the best weather of the year… Once the scaffold arrived we started in earnest on the roof (that is, when it wasn’t too hot!) As the least run down part of the property, and our … Continue reading
April 2012
We picked up the keys on Easter weekend and got cracking. With the electricity already on (well, after 40 hours speaking to Scottish power you would hope so too) we concentrated on an initial hack at the garden, felling some … Continue reading