It's Friday The 13th And Our Front Door Should Be Fitted...

What can possibly go wrong? I woke up feeling fine. I didn't trip up going to the bathroom. I didn't spill my drink at breakfast. There was no email to cancel the fitting. The workman even turned up on time. In fact, he fitted the door without any problems, and it even opened from right to left as ordered. I checked the calendar. Yep, it's definitely Friday the 13th.

Bev about to water the plants while she can still use the door. No hiccups yet...

The old front door has served us well, but it couldn't really last another winter.

All gone.

Now, that's better...so nice to see the front garden at last.

I think we need to visit North Notts Blinds.

So, did I get through the day unscathed? No.

While cutting stone for re-building the right hand side gable of the bread oven, I had an accident.  A chunk of stone was catapulted into my face and I naturally dropped the cutter. It's a beast of a cutter and it spun out of control in a frenzy because it was still running. It finally came to an abrupt halt, having severed the extension cable with a bang.

The good news is that the circuit breakers work perfectly. I suppose it could've severed my leg as opposed to the extension cable, but I was more concerned about the dripping blood and what Bev would say to me (she's always telling me to fit the guard and wear protective clothing).

I sneaked past the workman fitting the front door and entered the house though the back garden. I didn't really expect sympathy and my expectations were spot on as she cleaned the wound...a little too roughly if you ask me.

I managed to fix the extension cable and finished the cutting.

On balance, a good day.

We are off to Paris tomorrow and a visit to Giverny on the way back...a welcome break from building.

Then It Dawns On Me...

Our front door was supposed to be fitted today, but I received an email saying there had been an accident at the factory and they will fit it tomorrow instead. 

Although it wasn't a particularly good day weather-wise, I decided to get on with the inside gable after I finished painting in the studio. 

I suddenly realised that the stack isn't central.  I measured and I'm five inches off centre. I'd been using some of the existing stone as a guide for the angle.
I need to move the right hand chimney stone to the right and adjust the angle accordingly. Fortunately slate edging will hide the error on the outside and timber will hide the error on the inside. What a pain!
I've already removed the stack. Those stones are a lot heavier than they look.

A good day

I painted in the morning and managed to get the bread oven up to chimney height...at last.

A bit wobbly up there...

It was so funny watching them follow each other.

Just the chimney to go.

Chimney base in position.

A few holes to plug once I'm ready for pointing. It's nice to have the scaffold on the other side. The base supporting wall will have a sloping slate tile hat.

It was good to see Patrick and Thomas today...and Martin.  It's been quite a day.  Now for the England game.

Plodding on...

Bev made bread and generally got on with things, I worked on the bread oven, then painted and then back on the bread oven. It's been quite a relaxing day.

Almost at chimney height, but it's slow progress because of finding the right thickness stone. I should have used the odd-shaped stuff to match what's already up there, but can't change it now. Besides, it would have been really difficult because of it backing onto the chimney. The chickens watched me today and I swear they were passing comment.

Progress with the Bread Oven

EDF turned the power off for most of the day, so I decided to quickly use the concrete mixer before 9am and again at 1:30 when it came back on for a brief spell.

It's really too hot to work outside and it's so hard to find the right bits of stone...I would rather be painting in the studio on a day like today.

Must make a note to begin this sort of work around tea-time when it's cooler. It was 28 degrees at 8pm when we took off with a chainsaw to help Dave and Annie...EDF had chopped their trees down while they were out, as they were obstructing the cables. What a sight to come home to. He came round asking advice on sharpening his chainsaw. Given the circumstances, it would take a hard man not to offer a helping hand.

Back-filling with stone and mortar takes just as long as finding and laying stone. Should be finished by Saturday if all goes well. Then it'll be the flip side. Can't wait to jet-wash and point this lot up.

Josselin

I was standing at the top of the church tower while waiting for the Trinity Hall Chapel Choir to begin beneath me last week.  This is a shot of our local chateau...and again as we left to go home.  A fantastic evening. Fantastic views.

Bread Oven

I've been painting today, but couldn't resist finishing the bottom section of the bread oven.  I can't wait to start on the upper section.