(All the details for for the chimney rebuilding are here on the main iDoDtuff site) The second of the top floor double bedrooms will be cosy. We are erecting a stud wall to form a passage to the master bedroom. It will easily fit a double bed but we want to make it as large […]

Well project this pulled in a few of my passions, Hand Crafting, the   renovation and the Woods.  We need a new beam to go in the Cottage to support a failing floor. It needed to be in keeping with the existing hand hewn beams, I really like trying out old time, traditional craft skill and with […]

Just a quick post for somwhere to put comments.  The main Planer Thicknesser article is here . The model covered is a Woodstar PT85 which seems to be very similar to other makes. The videos have received knocking on for 70,000 views on Youtube and there are plenty of folks who have them useful. It’s few years […]

This is just a quick update as I’ve not mentioned the woods for a while.  Well the trees keep growing without me.  The little time I do get to spend in there, after just looking around and enjoying it, has been spent making a start on a shed.  I really could do with somewhere to […]

Another weekend at Whitby and I’ve peeled back some more layers to reveal more of cottage’s past. First on the list was re-bodging the plumbing in the bathroom so it will still function, toilet, sink and cold tap as we do need a minimum of on site welfare provision. These I can strip out again […]

If you’ve read the previous post from the “other half” you’ll know we’ve got plans for the bathroom in the cottage.  After the last weekend’s investigations, I’ve got other things to keep me occupied.  The details of a finished bathroom are far from my mind.  I’ve discovered there’s not a lot holding the floor up and […]

The doors and windows in the cottage are not original, but are old and characterful and will do until Stuff Doer gets round to making new ones (not the horrible plastic ones on the top floor, they’re on the “as soon as is reasonably feasible” list). This though means the windows and doors we have […]

How to fix a beam or joist end. Comparison of common techniques and a novel method. Your comment are welcome

When I made these fixes I was think the roof would last another few years. However there are so many problems with it and weak points that about to fail, we going to have a re-roof in the next few months.  Quotes are coming in and it’ll be decision time shortly. The full details of how to […]

Restoring a fire place in our Whitby cottage to a previous opening. Involving rebuilding a Victorian brick arch. The full and technical pages are here but in brief: After a few hours carefully removing cement render with a hand chisel and then getting frustrated with the slow progress and resorting to power, we could see […]