Return of the Swallows

This time we were only at Halcyon for a weekend, leaving on Friday after work and arriving late. The plan was to complete some of the tasks left over from the previous week long visit.

This first thing I noticed on getting out to start work the next day was how noisy it was. The swallows had returned and were busy chattering away at the top of their voices. It soon became apparent they had set up home again in one of our old sheds as they swept in and out.

Task one was to purchase all of the wood required to complete the deck on the south side. This I purchased from Alpine Wood in Scratby at a very good price, much less than you would pay from a DIY store.

It did not take long to finish off the last few deck planks and the trim planks around the edge, then it was on to complete the cladding. I had been putting this off as one piece of wood that needed to be removed was proving very stubborn. I attacked it with a jig saw and a crow bar I call the persuader and this did the job.
Once removed, the cladding went up without much trouble.





Meanwhile, Helen had started painting our largest and most useful shed green. Having sanded it, she applied the first coat to one side. It will look very smart once two coats have been applied to each side and the roof has been cleaned up.

Once I had finished cladding and decking, I started to work on the finish of the cladding. Each of the windows, doors and corners need new frame edging to hide the ends of the cladding. I was expecting there to be quite a bit of cladding left over for me to make these elements up with but. for once, we seem to have bought just about the right amount. Using my table saw, I attempted to make as many elements as possible from what we had left, but may need to source a few more pieces which is a real pain.

Our next trip will again only be for a weekend and I think our target will be to work on the south garden. We have a few ideas of what we want it to look like including a boules area.