It's been a long time since I last blogged about anything - I lost all interest in truth.
I continued to post on Instagram though and in the mean time we've bought a beautiful new cottage. So what better way to kick start my blog than with some Before Pictures.
NOBODY PREPARES YOU
Seriously though, you think about the overall cost of just purchasing house thats expensive enough with all the fee's etc. We knew there would be changes to be made but we didn't budget for what was to come. Once you get the keys, all the stress and worries melt away. Although, they did for two nights! When we got in the second bedroom was soaked, the walls were dripping with water. Turns out the beautiful chimney was leaking but was in a state of disrepair. That had to be knocked down and tiled over to avoid any further damage. The blistering plaster and walls had to dry out (this has taken 6 months) Then we had a leaking roof vent, a potential slow leak in a pipe in the ceilings. More cost to check them out and fix.
OLD HOUSE PROBLEMS
We had mysterious water marks all over the walls but THANK THE LORD these turned out to be condensation. Old stone houses need to breathe! And since the previous owners hadn't lived there for months it hadn't had a chance to do so. Along with condensation comes mildew. I spent 6 weeks worrying over the awful black marks appearing everywhere. I found some amazing techniques on getting rid of these (which I will share in a different post). Once I tackled them and understood the importance of opening the windows and doors as much as possible when the heating is on in the thick of winter -things got better. No more leaking and I learned to manage condensation! (a de-humidifier in the winter is a saviour - we bought one on sale from Amazon around £30 and it worked a treat) Since keeping the house aired, it has been much better - hoorah!
COTTAGE TLC
The weather was brutal when we moved in, lashing with rain, high winds knocking tree's down and pickings of snow and frost. We looked into stopping any penetrating damp and the best solution to protecting the old stone in the front was STORM DRY paste. This will go on, seep into the stone and stop any rain penetrating the stone. If you can buy it and do it yourself, it'll save you around £1,000.
We also had the back of the house (that is already rendered) painted with weather shield in Country Stone and the sills and garage door painted Willow Green. I love the combination so much.
Since the weather has dried up and we've had little bits and pieces patched up and sorted we've had no problems (touch wood). Everything has dried up nicely and we're hoping to be sorted for winter!
Just remember to keep window's open where possible to allow the stone to breathe and tackle any condensation marks with some JEYES mould and mildew cleaner so it doesn't get out of hand in those wet and cold winter months!
HINDSIGHT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING
I wish I hadn't spent 4 months of worrying over things that I couldn't change overnight. Settling into a house can takes weeks and months and I feel like 6 months later I know the house now and it feels like home. Damp, condensation, leaking roofs and everything in between can't be helped, so just need to be fixed and learnt from. On a positive note - things are now looking wonderful in our cottage and I can't wait to spend the next how ever many years, bringing it back to its former glory with sash windows and a wooden cottage door. #housegoals
HERE ARE SOME PICTURES, WILL BLOG SOME "BEFORE AND AFTER"
AS THEY ARE MY FAVOURITES.
Thanks for reading,
Hugs,
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