I’ve written a couple of posts already about the want to have the Old Manse wind and watertight this summer. I have also written on the ambition to restore the look of the building to its original stone form, render-less if you will. Well we are getting down to the crux of the issue with much of the render now removed in the last week, we are getting a much clearer picture into whether or not this will be possible.
I think the gable end as presented above looks a lot better without the uniform render and we now have planned a power-wash and a test of pointing early next week. All of which I am leaving in the capable hands of Michael Ross Roofing. Of course there are patches that look better than others for those who are interested there are more images below, but I’m acutely aware that this is about as interesting as watching paint dry for anyone not directly involved (unless you have a strange fetish for stone).
There is still the question of disposal of the removed concrete but for that we have a cunning plan. The shepherd’s hut needs a base built and rather than order hard-core to be brought in we think we can use an amount of the stripped render in the construction of a hard-standing. Perhaps this will only take a small amount but as the shepherd’s hut is a blueprint for future ventures and storage on the Old Manse’s land is plentiful, this does not present an issue. What may be an issue is the back-breaking work to move it!
Middle Age Musings 