ohmydaysohmydaysohmydays A NEW HOUSE

[reservoirdawg]

It's not new, it's seven hours away from home, it'd be a second home boohiss until we retire, it needs a lot of work. It's been on the market for a year and has no kitchen. It's so remote we'd need a starlink to be able to work or call an ambulance.
I have the visual equivalent of a tin ear when it comes to decorating and I'm so excited I could cry (I did cry when we visited)

Will you use big rugs too? I’m thinking of the cold but you’re probably hardier than me.

@EatCrow thats a good point. I love rugs- I took a couple up, they’re good for noise as well as insulation.
I can’t imagine rugs on carpet so maybe a wood like laminate in the sitting room and “stonelike” in the hall and kitchen.

@Chipsahoy we’re based in central London, but have family in Scotland- 2 dc went to University there, lots of family holidays in the highlands, lockdown holiday in the inner Hebrides where were in August we lit a fire every day! So not exactly hardy but used to it- at the moment it’s novel and I’m loving getting up and lighting the fires. They’re super efficient stoves and I’ve been putting them to bed with peat, making log stores…
@Eatcrow enjoy the thread vicariously but it’s not a ‘lottery- winning-ridiculous dream’! We find ourselves in our mid 50’s, enjoying work, and able to partially wfh, DC living independently. It’s a 6 hour drive but extraordinarily of the six legs we’ve done only one has been that long- a couple of times we were leaving from nearer having done elderly relative care, once one of us was in the Lake District already and flights to Glasgow and Edinburgh are sometimes as cheap as £15.

@reservoirdawg
Nothing I’ve written suggested it was. (Confused).

I guess I was just musing (possibly don’t know what vicariously means) and things change, particularly something like wfh which was barely a thing 5 years ago. This was beyond my wildest dreams, but lots of things have aligned and it’s reality.

Back again after being away for ten days 🥺
Kitchen has new ceiling and back to brickwork after the flood. New kitchen (the £60,000 monster) is filling the rest of the house.
I apologised to the postman who delivered the carpet sample (we're up a 2 mile road) and between shifting dismantled kitchen into one room and lighting fires I’ve been admiring the carpet sample in different lights. For the hall and stairs. MIL, whose tartan it is, is giddy with excitement.
It was 17 degrees earlier, thunderstorms now!

It looks amazing! Thank you for sharing your photos! I think you’re making some amazing changes.

Thanks @RenovationRenovationRenovation 🥰
The pictured bookshelf is going today- the flood has damaged the wall and although the rest of the room has dried and aired it’ll never dry out.
Another picture of the kitchen filling all rooms with a glimpse of the view.

Here’s the bookcase. And another of the view.

The photos give me such a good feel about the place.

Have you considered a dehumidifier and air purifier? (For different purposes).

We got a dehumidifier because of the placement of our bathroom, but have been impressed with how much it’s helped.

I got our air purifier because of allergies and our woodburner in winter and have been amazed at the difference it’s made to the general air quality (including taking dust out of the air so I dust less).

With the work you’re doing and the flood you mentioned, I wonder whether these would also help you.

Fab seeing the pictures and I hope you continue to enjoy your adventure. I’m oftern looking at random projects online but I’m a couple of years behind you as kids still in school/college. Just one thing you have said flood a few times are you flood proofing or considering it in your design now especially flooring? If it’s likely to flood again you can do so much to aid a quicker recovery with concrete floors, things lifted up etc im no expert but my work has exposed me to seeing the aftermath and some of the things home owners have to do after when you can’t stop it happening again but you can make it a lot quicker to bounce back from. Sockets higher up the wall is one example.

Yes - that’s a good point.

I used to live near a city that floods a lot and many of the houses near the river had built in flood defences/ electrics placed differently. The ability to take items upstairs was important, as well as being able to seal places.

Seeing as you’re renovating, try to build this into the renovations in advance 😀

My parents live in Rayleigh in England (I'm in Wales) and when they needed emergency help because my mother was in hospital and my dad had fallen on the bathroom floor and couldn't get up the police at the police station less than a five minute walk refused to help saying they weren't trained to help people stand up! The Gp who was five minutes away also refused to come and help and both said call an ambulance.

Ambulance said it would be over six hours for them to arrive.

Over six hours on the floor was unacceptable so my aunt called the fire brigade who arrived in minutes and helped him up, gave him a group hug to warm him up and sat him down and made him a cup of coffee and stayed with him until he felt much better.

I've since heard many similar tales of people requiring emergency services and the help not coming at all or taking a very long time.

I really wouldn't worry about living rurally and not being near to emergency services given the poor service in towns!

@DrJoanAllenby Yes, in an emergency nowhere is perfect. Over the weekend dd had an allergic reaction; a friend epi penned her and then she took a taxi to a central London hospital under a mile a way rather than wait for an ambulance. She was then promptly seen and medicated but then kicked out at 3am- not because of overcrowding but because it was ‘all kicking off’ apparently she was the only patient without a police escort.
@JellyCakeswim @RenovationRenovationRenovation
re flooding. It was from a water tank in the attic. Funnily enough we had the same thing happen in London due to a failed pump a few years back. It won’t happen here again because the tank has been removed- ‘Flood work’ is repairing not preventative. I’ve seen houses with electrics half way up the way etc. so there’s nothing in the first few feet of the house to get too damaged by water.

Today’s renovation activity. I’m letting it dry a little before bleaching away the mould.
Then we went for a walk. 6 miles around the reservoir. Didn’t meet anyone else. Lots of birds and sheep and then a few midges 😳

Further renovation, got carpet grippers and so many nails up.
Very satisfying, we’ll probably end up carpeting this room, but until then at least it’s not harbouring damp dust and masonry.
Last night this wall was black with midges- they went when I switched the lights off and I’ve put a citronella candle next to the ajar window.
It was 20 degrees today- my heart sang every time I looked out of the window.

Ooh e joy the view it’s lovely. I have a similar happy soul place that I lived in my 20s. I was forced to move for work then had a family but we visit every year and I hope one day to live there again. Some places do just refill our souls in ways other places don’t.

More carpet track removing and an over ambitious attempt to remove dark varnish on floor boards. I’d like to have floor boards and rugs in the sitting room, DH carpet so I’m trying to get the floorboards beautiful enough. We’re several steps away from making a decision that room needs at least one wall replastering. I suspect we’ll enjoy good enough floor boards and then re carpet in a year or so.
I also painted the alcove we removed a damp cupboard from. DH wants something similar but warmer but I’m very pleased with the effect- definitely an improvement on the 80’s yellow. And my heart sang at the view every time I looked out!

Love looking at your photos and following your journey so unashamedly marking place.

I love the idea and your views would make my heart sing too - but have been so put off remote living by the experience of trying to support my elderly parents who live not even that remotely but are unable to access any local services independently that I am terrified of inflicting the same stress on my DC. So now I have to live vicariously!

Ah yes, the remoteness and aging 😔 The previous owner left after 30 years, and only in his late 60’s.
But that would give us nearly 20 years of amazing weekend and holidays.

Fab u lous photo we had some too even in the SW great nights sky. Enjoy the stars too I bet they are awesome.,

Life is for living. Enjoy the next 20 years.

@reservoirdawg my PILs have a holiday cottage on the west coast of Scotland, it's very remote and off grid. They have owned it for over 50 years and it has been their retreat. They still go and FIL is in his 90's now (although someone always goes with them these days). The rest of the family use it too and it has been an amazing place to go for holidays - ds is taking his new girlfriend next week.

Enjoy your own retreat, I'm enjoying watching the process.

oo @Rebootnecessary I suspect that is how we'll end up using it.
Left on Sunday and back again a week today. I can't wait. We've set up two cameras, one for the view and Starling monitoring, one for the front door and hall, and I have to restrict myself from looking at them! Because sheep are such bad mothers the ailing lambs are in the smallish field in front of us. Over the week we were up there the farmers would regularly trail bike in with jugs of milk.
Met the young shepherd, not G, 'never been to London, don't want to', but very energetic G 'went to school, learned nothing' who is obviously from farming royalty.
Young G invited us to the sheering weekend which looks a blast. I later realised I'd accepted a Facebook request from him weeks back- 4,000 friends and £20,000 prize sheep- this is not just a beautiful farm it's a thriving well run and resourced farm.

Back since Friday morning. I’m getting the train back tonight and DH is wfh until the weekend.
More logs and a little light carpet gripper removal. Also fixed the thermostat via google images to see what it was 😂
Beautiful outdoor furniture from John Lewis. More than I wanted to pay but I didn’t want to put it together, I’ve done a rattan set back home and it took all day.