Raising the Brickwork

Mike had been a bit concerned about the height of the cooker hood in the old fireplace opening:

 It wasn't much of a problem for me but because of  his extra height we decided to raise the opening and finish off the brickwork surround by reclaiming the old bricks. 

Once finished, it looked fab:

We had noticed a damp patch on the external wall, and as this was going to be a cupboard later on we thought it would be a good idea to introduce an airbrick into it at this stage, so we did:

We also had the flue installed to the old bread oven:

Meaning that we could test it out:

It had great draw up the chimney and will be the ideal pizza oven when we move into the kitchen!

On with a NEW ROOF!

Now that the walls have gone up it's time for the new roof of the kitchen...

Steph has been using the space in the barns to chip away at the new timbers:

It's great to see the space being used and to experience the trusses up close - 

some very fine craftsmanship indeed:

With the help of the genie lift the end gable goes up:

And we can start getting a sense of the whole space now:

The trusses go up and WOW!

Mike is looking pretty impressed!

The gable gets filled in from the back and the chimney built up to meet the ridge:

Then the battons go in:

The felt goes on:

The space blanket over the window voids:

With the windows cut in when they arrive:

And although we would like to have the scaffolding down by now - it has been good to get another shot from above:

Here's a quick walk through from the dining space into the new kitchen:

Off with the roof, down with the wall, up with the floor...

There's been loads happening with the kitchen recently. Now that the opening is all secure from the old chimney - things have really started to progress with the new part. 

It looks a little bit scary to begin with:

especially when viewed from above - eeeek! proper destruction:

But before long there are foundations going in:

Flooring laid:

A wall emerging:

Stone cladding on the surface:

And all the openings being made good:

It's great seeing the place come back together again! The oak should be arriving for the new roof trusses next week so I will update again when there has been a bit more progress there.

Creating the Kitchen

The guys have been hard at work making good of the gable end, now that the chimney is down. The speed at which it has been happening has been quite astonishing too! After only two days we went from oil tarred stonework to this:

The bedding in looks great:

And if you hadn't known there'd been a chimney there 

I don't think you could tell now by looking!

The steels are in to support the weight of the wall:

And the block work has gone in to stabilise the new roof:

The tiles from the old utility roof have come down:

And the opening from the inside looks fantastic:

They've also been hard at it digging up the floor ready for insulation and heating. We weren't too sure what there would be under the suspect lino, but there were some fantastic flagstones waiting for us:

They need a bit of a clean up but we think they will look just great in the new conservatory 

(in a few years time....)

The salvage yard is filling up quite nicely now:

And it's great to see mother nature still making her mark in amongst all the chaos too:

Out with the aga, in with another hole (or two)

Now that the chimney is down, 

it's time to start on the opening between the kitchen and utility.

It's very messy work and has made the room completely unusable. 

Here's the view from the utility through to the kitchen:

And again after the openings had been made:

Plenty of supports in place:

And all the doors, surrounds and salvage put to one side:

The surround for the old toilet has gone:

The steels have arrived:

 

And the blocks ready for filling the holes: 

A big hole in the roof over the utility, but with bolted doors, screws and no way of getting out once you get in, I think we're pretty safe!