A Long Weekend in May

We have just come back from a long weekend at Halcyon. The wood to finish the first deck and build the second did not arrive which meant a quick change of plan.

First mini project was to reorganize the large shed Alex and I removed all of the contents and then we removed all of the current racking that used up a lot of space, then we built a new box to hold the paddles and electric outboard.

We also added a board for fishing gear.

and a high rack to hold sails.

We now have loads of space in the shed. Hurrah.

The next mini project was to try out my new table saw to make some window frames from left over cladding. I decided to make a quick first attempt to try out some ideas and learn what is required.

The first attempt doesn't look to bad as long as you don't look to closely. I now know what to do next time, which is to make templates for all of the parts as the complex angles required have left a few gaps.

I also fitted a couple of window sills on the East side

We also prepared the bathroom wall ready for cladding. Not bad for a long weekend :-)

and on the Monday we rested by going to West Runton beach on a search for fossils.
You can read about that on Helen's blog halcyondaysout.blogspot.com

Changing Weather

I have been trying to plan work around the weather, regularly checking the BBC weather forecast for Martham on the web, but it seems to change almost hourly.
So far it has not really rained much and by midday today temperature was about 7 degrees. A good bit warmer than when we arrived.
Work on the North deck has continued but again I have run out of wood. It is almost ready, but needs a hand rail and some elements to make it look neat and tidy. These should arrive tomorrow.

Tomorrows weather forecast is for heavy rain, so it may be an indoor work day (of which there is plenty)
I was up early on Wednesday to get some work in before we all went out swimming in Great Yarmouth. Below is a short video clip I took when I got up. You may need to lie down to appreciate it properly :-)

Easter 2013

It's the children's Easter holiday and we are up at Halcyon to continue work on the exterior to tidy up a bit ready for the summer. The main projects are two decks, one on each side of the house. We will also be completing the sun room. On our last visit I could not get Water Hen, our motor launch, so start. It was so cold that my hands were to frozen to take the engine apart. This time it is a heady 5 degrees and I managed to trace the problem down to a stuck solenoid. A bit of fiddling and the outboard started up. Originally I decided to take the boat out for a test run, then Alex and Theo decided to come to. I was about to leave when Helen and Persephone decided they would come too and we all set out for a trip down to Potter Heigham, under the bridge and as far as Dutch Touch. On the way back, Alex decided to run along the bank and race us back. It was a draw.

By the end of Tuesday we have almost completed one deck and completed quite a bit of tidying. I have also set up my table saw ready to experiment making some window frames. It looks a bit scary.

I didn't manage to complete the deck as I ran out of wood. Roll on Wednesday.

End of half term

Half term is now over and the children back at school. Here are a last few photos of the new deck taken  in the light.

Now its time to start planning the next trip which sadly will only be for a long weekend.

Half a Deck

Up at 7am this morning to receive the wood for the first of two decks that need building. The wood arrived at 8am and then I started the job of digging out the turf under where the deck would go. The turf will be used to level the river side garden that has a few dips in it a the moment.
I dug out the 6.5m x 1.5m area by midday then set to work driving the supporting posts. Much easier than the fence posts yesterday.
By the end of the day I had completed half of the frame and laid some of the deck planks on to see how it will look. By then it was getting dark so the photo is not the best. I'll try to get a better one in the light tomorrow.

While I was building, Helen took the children to the beach at Horsey Gap. I am told it was very cold, but they did get to see a pair of kestrels and a barn owl on the way back.

Off home tomorrow in time for the boys to go back to school. We will be back in a couple of weeks to resume the deck building.

Snow

The weather forecast was right. It has got colder. So much so that is has been snowing lightly on and off all day. Both Helen and I felt our faces turn to wax and our noses go blue, however work went on and we now have a nice new fence and some nice before and after pictures to show it off.

From the initial messy hotchpotch of hedges that we inherited when we bought Halcyon, Helen has cleared an burnt the old privet bushes and we now have a smart new fence. We chose a low fence to open up the view over the fields behind the house.

I have been eyeing up the bedroom doors for the last couple of days. We do not like the plain doors that are there currently. Our plan was to throw them out and get panelled doors. Having sawn one of the old doors up to fit it in a skip, I noticed that they had a solid pine core and a hardboard skin.

This evening I went at one of them with a crow bar and claw hammer and this is what I found. On the left is the door with skin on, on the right, the skinned door. A bit of sanding and a few coats of paint and we will have what we nearly paid out for.

Tomorrow we are off swimming as we still don't have a bathroom and we are all in need of a dip. None of us are quite brave enough to face a dip in the sea. Watch out Great Yarmouth, we are on our way. Peg your noses ;-)

Slow Progress

The outside thermometer read 2 degrees, but the wind made it feel well below freezing. The children only managed a few sessions outdoors, and only then with much cajoling. Both Helen and I were on fence clearing duty today, all of the waste wood going straight on the bonfire. We have burn our way through 3 gates, a hedge, a door frame, a post box and half a shed. The cold made it slow progress, with regular pauses to defrost our fingers at the fire.
A stop to fix a water leak in the bathroom did not help, or the failed attempt to turn over the boat engine. I now smell of a mixture of wood preservative and petrol.
Here is a photo of Helen at work.

The fence wood and posts arrived in late morning from the local wood yard, a very reasonable price that made me realise what a bad deal you get from the big diy chains. In this photo you can see the stretch that has been cleared for the new fence. I should add that Helen has done most of the work to clear this space as her cut hands bear out.

The first fence panel can be seen propped up in the bottom left of the picture. Lets hope that tomorrow brings better weather, the forecast is not good :-(