Shelves!

Lubo finally had some time (and we finally had the funds) to build the many shelves L. and I have been dreaming about.

First off, in the lean-to, Lubo built us a cupboard/desk to hide the washing machine and (soon) the freezer.

From March

He also added a nice long shelf which should be perfect for all of our plants (provided the kittens don't figure out a way to get up there)

From March

In the bathroom, we now have two shelves around the mirror.

From March

And much needed storage for our emergency supplies.

From March

L. spent much of today making use of the fabulous four new shelves that were installed in the cupboard.

From March

From March

It's so beautiful and organised now!

From March

I love all of the shelves, but probably the biggest improvement has been the addition of extra counter space in the kitchen.
This lovely structure will one day soon house a dishwasher (hurray!).

From March

I spent one evening last week finishing the top, so it is now lovely and shiny (and the stains just wipe away)

From March

Lubo was here on Saturday to finish things off and had the brilliant suggestion of making the countertop supports extra functional.

From March

Clearly, he knows us well.

From March

In the tent

The lean-to, you may remember, is lovely and sunny....so lovely and sunny that it is both an extremely tempting place to work when I can work from home and also nearly impossible to work in due to glare on the laptop's screen.

So, I got out my trusty sewing machine and with the help of L. and HouseGuest, we created the perfect working environment.

Curtains, up:

From October November 2010

Curtains down:

From October November 2010

Poor HouseGuest has been kicked out of the lean-to and it's now mine, all mine. Who wouldn't want to spend the day working in a circus tent?

From October November 2010

From October November 2010

Lean-to re-build: the homecoming

L. is on the plane home after a whole 5 weeks halfway across the globe doing Very Important Things. I've really missed him and I can't wait to show him the lean-to's progress.

When he left, the lean-to was just a plan:

From Briar Crescent

And a very bare foundation:

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But things have changed quite a lot, both outside:

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And in:

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I can't wait to show off the progress!

Lean-to re-build: job done....mostly

Well, the lean-to is almost done. The plaster has been applied....

From Briar Crescent

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And dried oh, so slowly! I was itching to paint, but was a good DIY-er and waited until it was appropriately dry. But it was a very slow process.

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In the meantime, I sanding the brick wall a bit so the wall would look much nicer when we paint over the horrible green.

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But, as you can see, some imperfections stayed.

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Here is the first coat of white. I had to water down the paint a bit to encourage it to fill all the little holes and cracks.

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And last night, I finally got the whole room painted.

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Two coats, and still a little patchy.

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And the green still glows through a bit....

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But, I'm going to leave it for now until we decide on a colour. I thought we might keep it white, to make it nice and bright, but, well, the white is actually too bright and my eyes are even wistfully thinking back to the horrid green....

From Briar Crescent

But for now, it'll do.

Lean-to re-build: hooray for the experts!

'Oh, don't worry about the plasterboarding and skimming,' L.'s DIY savvy friend said. 'That's something you can easily do yourselves.'

Well, Lubo's been busy working since 8.30 this morning, and I must say, I'm really glad he's the one doing the work.

Starting with the insulation - a feat accomplished in under an hour as Lubo used both hands and feet to measure, roll, cut, and stuff with astonishing speed.

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Next came the vapour barrier--a slippery task.

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And finally, the plasterboard.

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Observe the tricky edges and precise cuts:

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Especially around the beams:

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I believe L. will join me in saying that it was definitely worth the extra expense....

Lean-to re-build: the outside completed

I'm pleased to announce that my work on the outside of the lean-to is done. No more climbing on rickety ladders, no more hasty clean up of errant blobs of paint. Well, that's not entirely true. There were a few bits where my fear of heights was greater than my desire for a perfectly painted lean-to, but in these cases, I believe L. will be the one tottering on the ladder....

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Lean-to re-build: the beach hut-ification

Today, the lean-to moved away from looking like a shed and towards looking like...well, if I'm honest, a beach hut. I think it's adorable. Hopefully, L. will agree.....

Stage 1:

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Stage 2:

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We went for a cheaper wood cladding....which has meant sanding each board and patching quite a few holes. Needless to say, my arms are questioning whether the cheaper cladding really was a good deal.

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Stage 3:

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From Briar Crescent

A few more coats of protective paint, and we'll be ready for winter.

Floors in a night

Starting at 6 last night, I decided to get the floor varnished. I've been watching the bare wood get dirtier and dirtier, and every time I see a new footprint, I think how much of a pain it's going to be to get it clean. Last night was one new footprint too many.

So, out came the electric hand sander and my trusty brush.

Bare wood before (in the dying evening light):

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10 hours and four coats later:

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And later this morning, after the final polish, we have a nicely protected floor:

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And in other happy news, I was rooting around in the shed yesterday and what should I find but the remnants from our kitchen countertop! I believe we have the solution to the problem of hiding the washing machine! (More on this later...)

From Briar Crescent