That 'big project' I've been banging on about for a few years now....

[James Harrison]

I've finished sanding the window sill.  Dear God, the dust.... no more sanding!  Absolutely none.  It's taken longer to clean up, than it did to sand the thing down.  And it's sapped my will to sand the skirting boards.  No, I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

[Deimos]

... I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

Had to look up "sugar soap"...
It's what we Yanks call Tri-Sodium Phosphate ...TSP for short.   

[Synistor 303]

I've finished sanding the window sill.  Dear God, the dust.... no more sanding!  Absolutely none.  It's taken longer to clean up, than it did to sand the thing down.  And it's sapped my will to sand the skirting boards.  No, I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

I have just finished the floors in the nut-house (a little cottage/cubby house we built under the oak tree - think 1/2 sized shepherd's hut.). I made a parquetry floor from old hardwood boards I got for free on Gumtree. Cut them all into lengths then liquid nailed (glue) them to the floor. Filled any gaps with a black filler, then drum sanded them down. Once varnished, they came up a treat, but the mess on the white gloss walls is terrible. Will have to wash them down and paint them again and they are tongue-in-groove pine boards. Thankfully it is a small room, so not too arduous, but I feel your pain. What a mess the sanding made, and everything had a dust extractor on it... Will have to be super careful to protect the awesome floor now. The skirting boards are not in yet, so could be sanded and painted outside.

This is my Iso project. The weather warms up a bit next week, so there will be a major push to finish it. All of the parts were free, or really cheap and most came from Gumtree and had been stock-piled for the time it took to get all the supplies needed. Of course the 'free' stuff meant we had to go and pull things apart and clean them up (from houses being demolished) to get skirting boards and architraves and weather boards and lining boards, so there has been a LOT of work involved.

[Banfili]

I've finished sanding the window sill.  Dear God, the dust.... no more sanding!  Absolutely none.  It's taken longer to clean up, than it did to sand the thing down.  And it's sapped my will to sand the skirting boards.  No, I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

I have just finished the floors in the nut-house (a little cottage/cubby house we built under the oak tree - think 1/2 sized shepherd's hut.). 

Aren't you lucky to have your own nut house! Who in your family is going to be the lucky first resident??

[James Harrison]

I've finished sanding the window sill.  Dear God, the dust.... no more sanding!  Absolutely none.  It's taken longer to clean up, than it did to sand the thing down.  And it's sapped my will to sand the skirting boards.  No, I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

I have just finished the floors in the nut-house (a little cottage/cubby house we built under the oak tree - think 1/2 sized shepherd's hut.). I made a parquetry floor from old hardwood boards I got for free on Gumtree. Cut them all into lengths then liquid nailed (glue) them to the floor. Filled any gaps with a black filler, then drum sanded them down. Once varnished, they came up a treat, but the mess on the white gloss walls is terrible. Will have to wash them down and paint them again and they are tongue-in-groove pine boards. Thankfully it is a small room, so not too arduous, but I feel your pain. What a mess the sanding made, and everything had a dust extractor on it... Will have to be super careful to protect the awesome floor now. The skirting boards are not in yet, so could be sanded and painted outside.

This is my Iso project. The weather warms up a bit next week, so there will be a major push to finish it. All of the parts were free, or really cheap and most came from Gumtree and had been stock-piled for the time it took to get all the supplies needed. Of course the 'free' stuff meant we had to go and pull things apart and clean them up (from houses being demolished) to get skirting boards and architraves and weather boards and lining boards, so there has been a LOT of work involved.

I'd love to see it.  One of my 'I'll get around to it' projects is a summerhouse in the garden.

[SeVeNeVeS]

I've finished sanding the window sill.  Dear God, the dust.... no more sanding!  Absolutely none.  It's taken longer to clean up, than it did to sand the thing down.  And it's sapped my will to sand the skirting boards.  No, I think they'll get a wash down with sugar soap and that'll do before re-glossing. 

I have just finished the floors in the nut-house (a little cottage/cubby house we built under the oak tree - think 1/2 sized shepherd's hut.). I made a parquetry floor from old hardwood boards I got for free on Gumtree. Cut them all into lengths then liquid nailed (glue) them to the floor. Filled any gaps with a black filler, then drum sanded them down. Once varnished, they came up a treat, but the mess on the white gloss walls is terrible. Will have to wash them down and paint them again and they are tongue-in-groove pine boards. Thankfully it is a small room, so not too arduous, but I feel your pain. What a mess the sanding made, and everything had a dust extractor on it... Will have to be super careful to protect the awesome floor now. The skirting boards are not in yet, so could be sanded and painted outside.

This is my Iso project. The weather warms up a bit next week, so there will be a major push to finish it. All of the parts were free, or really cheap and most came from Gumtree and had been stock-piled for the time it took to get all the supplies needed. Of course the 'free' stuff meant we had to go and pull things apart and clean them up (from houses being demolished) to get skirting boards and architraves and weather boards and lining boards, so there has been a LOT of work involved.

I'd love to see it.  One of my 'I'll get around to it' projects is a summerhouse in the garden.

Me too, maybe start another thread, with lots of photos, I try and use building waste, bricks wood etc myself for projects, the freer the better, I am kinda lucky in that respect being in the trade, but always want to see what others do.

[James Harrison]

Also this weekend....

... the umbrella stand arrived.  Cast iron in four bits that screw together from the rear.



Erected. 



And with my umbrella and canes duly installed. 

[Deimos]

Really nice....very attractive stand.
Cast iron, eh.....that thing ain't moving around, not no way, not no how.

[Banfili]

Also this weekend....
... the umbrella stand arrived.  Cast iron in four bits that screw together from the rear.

I want one of those for my hall - have the sticks and all to fill it, too!

[Mercury Wells]

James, you need a "Drinks Globe" for the library/parlour 

[James Harrison]

I need 'something' in the way of occasional tables certainly.  I have an oak coffee table on order but the delivery time for that is 12 weeks+ and that was even before damnable plague started its thing, so who knows when that will be delivered now?

In the meantime the garden is suffering under my ministrations.  I've got two fir trees in the front that I've tried cutting down to bush size; unfortunately all I'm finding is that in removing the bulk and height all the greenery is disappearing- it's surprising how much timber you encounter as soon as you start cutting back the needles.  So I think they will have to come out entirely.  Which then leads onto the problem of disposal. 

I'm allowed bonfires to dispose of garden waste, so long as they don't annoy the neighbours or cause a traffic hazard.  As we all know however newly-cut timber, leaves and grass clippings give off smoke.  Lots, and lots, of thick white/ grey/ yellow smoke.  So you have to leave it to season and dry out a while, which means having somewhere to leave it, and whilst I've piled a fair bit at the side of the garage it just looks a mess.  It would be helpful if the council actually came and emptied the garden waste bins they've given people...

So currently then;

- half of the front garden is either ripped out, slated to be ripped out, or just looks a mess;
- the back garden isn't much better;
- I've got a radiator that needs to be fitted but obviously plague is stopping the plumber coming over;
- I've got two doors ready to replace, a third that needs re-fixing to the wall, and sprung skirting that needs to be repaired, but obviously plague is stopping the carpenter;
- I've got a new light fixing to be fitted and a pull cord that needs looking at, and re-wiring the garage to look at, but obviously plague is stopping the electrician;
- I've ordered an iron shoe rack for the hallway but the manufacturers are closed because of plague;
- I've ordered some paint stripper which looks like it will be delayed because of plague;
- The sitting room walls are pretty much ready for painting but I can't get the paint because of plague.

There's a theme here.  And all because somebody saw a wheezing pangolin and thought, 'lunch'.

[James Harrison]

Attention swung today away from the two fir trees and toward the tree stump.  I tried to remove this several weeks ago, got about 30" down into the soil and came across a couple of heavy roots, and thought better of it.  Slight change of tack today, I dug a deep trench around it (it abuts my boundary wall) and cut through as many of the roots as I could find.  Having either pulled out, broken or sawn through about 5 or 6 of them, there's only one large root left, and that's half sawn through (I stopped because the saw blade kept sticking and it was awkward to manouvre the saw).  So; trench about 2' deep around the tree, several of the roots cut.  The idea tomorrow is to start angling the trench wall in below the stump with a view to undermining it.  Hopefully then it can be toppled over, the inevitable big roots in the bottom can be dealt with and the stump hauled out and away.  The roots are tending to be several inches below the soil surface and wherever I've tried to chase them have shown a tendency to be diving, so I'm of a mind to just cut them off and leave them insitu to rot. 

[James Harrison]

Victory.  The tree stump is out. 



I had several roots like this to cut through.



I dug up enough old bricks to make a decent episode of Time Team. 



This was the stump after I dragged it out. 



And this was the hole it left behind, which I've filled in to prevent any likelihood of the wall being undermined. 

[Banfili]

Well done, James!
I have the root ball from a 50-odd year old pine tree still lying in the front yard after the very nice council workers building the carpark last year used a digger to get it out for me - all I have to do is sort out how I am going get it to the green waste, or cut up and hauled into the cow paddock behind by back yard, and dumped on the pile of old wood & bits of trees gathered from the paddock!!

[James Harrison]

A former employer of mine used a tree root ball as a fireplace ornament.  Stripped of bark and dried out, then placed upside down in the grate, it looked like a fire. 

[Sorontar]

Well done. I have battled with trees and roots in my old house and blackberries in this one. My gardens became battlegrounds - me versus the greenery.

Sorontar

[Synistor 303]

Aren't you lucky to have your own nut house! Who in your family is going to be the lucky first resident??
[/quote]

It is supposed to be for the grandchildren, but I don’t know if they will be worthy...  I will take photos when it is finished and try to work out how to put them online.

[Deimos]

Well done. I have battled with trees and roots in my old house and blackberries in this one. My gardens became battlegrounds - me versus the greenery.

Sorontar

I assume you were the jubilant, overwhelming victor (victrix?) in that war?

[Banfili]

The root system of my pine tree would barely fit through the door! It's destined for an outside future, but as what, exactly, I'm not sure!

[James Harrison]

The problem with my root ball is that it weighs a ton (figure of speech).  I've left it out front to dry out a little (hopefully) and drop the soil.  It's raining today so I'm hopeful that will wash some of it off. 

[Sorontar]

I assume you were the jubilant, overwhelming victor (victrix?) in that war?

The trees, yes, but for the blackberries I could only cut as far as the fenceline. The neighbour came out while I was battling through the undergrowth and branches (a pith helmet would have helped) and I had to warn them that some of the berries were on their side of the fence. I guess I will see in Spring whether it all grows back onto my side of the fence.

Sorontar

[James Harrison]

It's surprising how quickly the soil starts to fall away; possibly helped out by the rain washing at it.  With a bit of luck the more soil it loses the more manageable it will become. 

[Banfili]

It's surprising how quickly the soil starts to fall away; possibly helped out by the rain washing at it.  With a bit of luck the more soil it loses the more manageable it will become.  

I must check mine to see how much soil has washed away, & see if I can roll it over to wash off the other side!

[James Harrison]

Today I made a start on pulling out the larger of the two surviving trees.  Dug a trench about 18" deep all around it, found remarkably few large roots considering how big it is.... then found that the main stem root goes under the garden path.  Some fool planted it right next to a solid concrete raft, and the main roots of course go under it....

I think the only way I'll get it out is to undermine the tree as much as possible (considering the bushiness and the fcat that it will put your eyes out if you get too close) and try to expose as much of the root as I can, and then trust that the unsupported weight of the tree will break the root. 

[Deimos]

What kind of trees are they?