Room with a View

Room With a View has to be my favorite film. We are blessed that from our Farmhouse we have the most beautiful view of the Corve Dale....now we have the most beautiful view of the Corve Dale from our bathroom too! Not quite what we were anticipating at the start of the week!

Room with a View

After close inspection of the timber frame and the second opinion of a structural engineer it sadly

became inevitable that the timber frame on both sides of the house was rotten through. Previous repairs to this timber frame construction consisted of plywood, foam, wire mesh with rendering over.

All the lead flashing that had been used drew in more water causing everything to get sodden. Such a shame. So everything has to come out, though we will save the oak beams for some something somewhere! I like to romantically believe that they might have come from some other ancient building locally. There was a monastery at Morville or perhaps the 12th century mediaeval fortified 

house that sits opposite the farm, by the village church? Many of the beams have holes and notches 

from a previous existence.

With this gable end extending into the bathroom it means that we're wall less until the rebuild, so we're up in good time to shower these days. If we leave it too late we may have an audience! I'm sure in a couple of weeks time when the weather changes we won't be hanging around in the shower for long!

It's the same in the back bedroom, stripped back to show the most beautiful view. The window at the 

moment is at floor level. I think that we will now take advantage and make this window bigger and higher.

View from the Back Gable

It's all happening so fast! But having had young children, I know that it's much easier to tear down a Lego tower than it is to build it up again! 

Having caused so much devastation to the rooms we will probably raise the ceiling height to roof level and pack it full of insulation. There was no insulation in the roof, or any roof felt either....it's been a very drafty, cold house to live in....though with the holes in the walls it's not going to get much warmer for the while! Anyway the cat is enjoying it, having freedom to come and go through the plastic sheeting with furry gifts in his mouth for us. Delightful, I do love a dead mouse on the stairs greeting me in the morning. 

It made me chuckle this evening, as my husband pulled the front door curtain to keep out drafts. In the background I can hear the black plastic sheeting flapping in the ever increasing wind, like the sails billowing on a ship heading towards a storm....

What to Keep?!

How can a family of five acquire so much 'stuff' within thirteen years? So, I have a bit of an excuse for the accumulation of stuff by blaming the running of several businesses and chasing round after three children, a farmer husband, dogs, cats, chickens all these years! Each forgotten cupboard I open heralds a plethora of discarded children's toys, started 'projects' and grown out of clothes. A weekend of ruthless clearing with bin liners soon sorted most of it.

The idea is, that we live in the farmhouse for a while until we decide what to do with the troublesome gable end of the house. How much will that cost and what can be saved? So we have decamped into one end of the house. It's rather cosy, but needs must and all that. Children aren't too impressed by lack of internet signal however! 

Monday morning saw the prompt arrival of a team of vans and trucks equipped with an instant, all important site hut and scaffolding. Our dog didn't know quite what to do with herself but, I'm sure that she'll work out soon enough that builders means a ready food supply! She'll soon calm down. 

Scoffolding was soon up on the gable end, and a garment of plastic sheeting spread to reserve the old girls modesty! 

Gable End Shrouded in Plastic Sheeting

After poking around, some basic investigation by sticking of hands into holes in beams and ummming and arrrrring, it became quickly evident that most of the beams were rotten.....

State of the Bedroom Wall

Once all the furniture was removed it was clear how much damp had come through the walls. These walls had no cavity or lining.

Supporting prop in the Small End Bedroom

Props were put up inside to take the strain of the roof. However I don't think there was actually much attached to each other before work began!

Inside Beamed Landing

In the past metal supports had been put around the beams and bolted together to add support. The problems had been skimmed over and lead work added that acted like a sponge just meaning that the beams had become more and more rotten. Sadly it will be difficult to save any of this.

And so it begins!

Tea & Roses Farmhouse

Just how long I have wanted to begin this project? Now it is here, I am filled with fear but excitement!

My husband and I bought this beautiful farm about thirteen years ago now. At the time we were living in Northamptonshire with one young child and one acre of land. We'd always wanted to have our own farm but simply could afford it. After many failed attempts we'd thought perhaps our dream wouldn't happen, until one day the details for this dairy farm dropped through our letter box....and several slow months later it was ours!

The realization of what we'd taken on hit my after the first week when my husband had to go back to work in Northamptonshire for several weeks, leaving me expecting child two, to farm alone. Not from a farming background this was quite a learning curve. But still that is perhaps another story in itself. I wish I'd kept a diary of what we've achieved in the last thirteen year on the farm, it's been an adventure.

However needless to say the farm business, raising a family and the creation on Tea & Roses has left the farmhouse rather neglected. It's now the turn of this grand old lady, for I do think that this house in my mind is a lady, to have some love and attention.

Over the years I painted her and cleaned her, dusted her and gardened around her but have never been able to uncover this old ladies secrets and beauty. I know it lies underneath somewhere. From a distance she appears to be a grand elegant building but take a closer look and her failing structure and facade can be seen.

Front Right Gable End

This is the front timber framed section complete with the original wooden beam. This section is where most of the work will begin and it leans inwards at quite an alarming angle. Water runs in the house when it rains and is collected in buckets. The children have got quite used to putting down towels and buckets when the wind blows it in from the south! Hopefully some of the woodwork can be saved! 

The other huge problem is the fact that the whole roof is unlined, not insulated and lathes and beams are failing! We've hoped for several years that it might just be okay....but sadly this old lady needs a complete new roof. This is where we will be starting along with the gable end.

The farmhouse was split into two houses, this is 'The Cottage' side....spot the daylight coming 

through the roof...

East Side

The cottage side also has the most beautiful original wooden structure exposed on its side wall. Here can just be seen the remains of where a chimney once ran. Perhaps we will find evidence of it inside? Underneath The Cottage also runs a disused cellar, accessed from the door outside.

Back of The Cottage

The old lady has also taken quite a beating from the weather over the years. All the walls will need raking out and filling.

So where to begin? We have a 'Master Plan' that has on ideal finish, which includes a garden room, removing walls, replacing bathrooms etc.. But whether we have funds for all of this we shall see what we uncover along the way! For me, the best part will be the interior finish, what I have dreamed about for years. This will be my joy but, in the meantime the scaffold arrives and the house clearing and moving begins! Bring it on!! And let's hope for a mild winter!!!