Tag: #windows

New Light through Old Windows

Where to start? Plenty happening at The Old Manse since last writing, let me start with an update on the caravan. All looks good with our new purchase and we have started modifying to suit our own needs. The small bedroom that contained three bunks have been ripped out with the intention of this being used to store clothes etc. which currently sit in an overcrowded cottage. Rather than seating at the bay window, we will have a permanent bed essentially turning the caravan into a large en-suite bedroom with a small cooker punctuating the area between bed, bathroom and the new (walk in) wardrobe.

Modifying the caravan – a work in progress

Some progress too with the shepherds hut. The door, which had swollen and was refusing to shut has now been resolved and working as intended. The said door and windows have all had their first coat of varnish with and if a break in the weather comes as forecast this weekend the paint job on the ‘hut will continue.

More importantly we first braved the high winds of Gigha to complete the job of felting the roof. At this point I must apologise to locals within earshot who enjoyed some choice language from myself when just as I thought the first run was affixed a gust caught and ripped the felt. You live and learn.

First roll of felt secured, brave lady in that high wind
Second roll on – learning from mistakes of the first
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First varnish on door and all the windows

We continue to walk. In fact we took a lovely walk the morning of Karen’s birthday, walking from the cottage to Achamore Gardens, then via Cuddyport Beach back over the hill and the standing stone to descenct behind the Gigha Hotel. The opportunity for a pint and a burger was not lost on us and helped make good the birthday celebration. Walk highlands has this, and more excellent walks that can be taken on Gigha: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/argyll/achamore-gardens.shtml It should also be mentioned that there is a huge project to improve the path network on the Island and we walked to one of our favourite spots at the twin beaches to find a vastly upgraded route to the one we were used to – a much safer and encouraging affair for anyone visiting that beauty spot. Photos of both below.

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Birthday girl after climbing the hill
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The keen eyed will be able to spot the Old Manse – stone gables with white chimneys
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Later in the week a much less soggy walk to the Twin Beaches – the new path is excellent

But the big story of the last week has to be that we have windows back in the Old Manse and couldn’t be more pleased with the result. One of the biggest reasons for buying the property was the views it affords so to be without them for the summer was strange. From previous stories you will know that it was always difficult to tell the time of day when inside the building due to the lack of natural light.

All of this has now been restored and credit has to go to our joiner, Lewis who has done a great job in the restoration of the frames and reglazing (we have opted for double rather than single glazing in the reno). I put the first of the pictures below on Instagram and it perfectly illustrates the upgrade. The left hand window is the last to be upgraded and will be replaced but at the start of the project it was the newest and arguably the best of the windows. In comparison, the right hand window is one of twelve renovated windows that arrived from Helensburgh this week. I cannot do them justice with words so a few photos follow.

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Old versus new – what a difference!
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Allgood above the first floor, ground still needing a window and completion of pointing



Holiday (it feels so nice)

Without wanting to publicise being away from home before we took our recent trip, a holiday has been planned for a little while. It feels like an age since we have left the four walls we live in; which is, of course, simply not true. But with our dual existence of renting here in Cardross and working hard to renovate in Gigha we thought some rest and relaxation was deserved.

Before going away I took time to check-in on the window restoration. Where possible we have made the decision to restore rather than replace and use experienced craftsman to do these jobs. The windows from the Manse were take out of their frames earlier this year and are being restored (i.e. rotten wood being replaced) and reglazed (single panes being replaced by double). The expense is not inconsiderable but it fits our brief well.

example of old replaced by new
Upper part of sash window that, I am told, has 5 coats of undercoat lovingly applied
more apparent in the lower frame the work that gone into machining a deeper recess for the double glazed window

So then a car journey via Derby to visit some good friends and an overnight stay before pointing the car at Southampton. There we boarded the Celebrity cruise ship Silhouette for a week’s UK staycation. A little strange that we would sail back in the direction we came visiting Liverpool and Belfast, but we were mostly there for the onboard facilities and the all-inclusive food and drink package.

The blog isn’t meant to be one of personal travels, I promise it will be back to renovation by the end, but a little flavour of the holiday in the next photos:

We quickly established a pre-dinner routine of visiting the martini bar
An incredible sommelier found some great pairings for our superb dining, a dessert wine favourite here
September weather good enough to laze by the pool and a very relaxed man by the end of the week

So as soon as we made the journey back to Scotland we immediately took the opportunity to travel back to Gigha. Refreshed and keen to continue, the focus is still on packing up the Cardross house but the draw of being back on the Island again tells us that the decision to move there is right for us.

In our absence, newly made friends have been collecting apples and berries from the garden and we had the chance to do some of this for ourselves earlier this week. The orchard has a plentiful supply although I cant claim the apples are the sweetest I have ever tasted! And as well as fruit picking we had time to paint one side of the shepherd’s hut. We had planned to do more but the weather had other ideas. So I leave it here for the week with the one side we did manage to start on, I hope you agree with our colour scheme?