Honeysuckle

One of the plants I had to hack down when building the shed was a nice Honeysuckle ‘Graham Thomas’ – it was about 3 meters high and had a glorious scent when it was in flower.    I cut it back to the ground but did not expect it to recover, however, it has surprised me by...

One of the plants I had to hack down when building the shed was a nice Honeysuckle ‘Graham Thomas’ – it was about 3 meters high...

Mail me with your critisisms

A letter has flooded in from a Mrs Trellis1 of North Wales. “Dear Mr Miliband, ” (she writes) “Your blog was quite amusing at the start, but now it is boring. Regards Mrs Trellis” Well, fair point Mrs Trellis.  Here is an off colour cartoon to liven things up. 1) name changed to avoid embarrassment. Yes,...

A letter has flooded in from a Mrs Trellis1 of North Wales. “Dear Mr Miliband, ” (she writes) “Your blog was quite amusing at the start,...

Evolution Foosball table installed

Evolution Foosball table installed

The table arrived on Monday. It does fit nicely in the corner and, despite being quite heavy, is relatively easy to move around – it folds flat in situ and can be rolled around on the wheels at one end. Having said that it would be a lot more convenient if I could just stand it...

The table arrived on Monday. It does fit nicely in the corner and, despite being quite heavy, is relatively easy to move around – it folds...

Climbing Rose - Mme Alfred Carrère

Climbing Rose - Mme Alfred Carrère

I briefly thought about having a clematis and rose together on the new trellis on the front of the shed, but have now decided to keep it simple with a white rose. I plan to use Mme Alfred Carrère – introduced by Joseph Scwarz in France in 1879. This is a climber that has a tinge...

I briefly thought about having a clematis and rose together on the new trellis on the front of the shed, but have now decided to...

Wire Trellis Installation

Wire Trellis Installation

a narrowly avoided fiasco re. the trellis.  My original plan was to suspend the wires vertically from the overhanging roof, perhaps using pad-eyes,  but I decided it would be too hard to get the wires tight and tidy. The tensioned wire trellis kits from s3i looked a much better option, but it appears I had...

a narrowly avoided fiasco re. the trellis.  My original plan was to suspend the wires vertically from the overhanging roof, perhaps using pad-eyes,  but I...

Rubber Flooring

Rubber Flooring

The rubber flooring was straightforward to lay – I started by covering the (SIP panel) flooring with 6mm ply, screwed down every 300mm (I countersunk and filled the holes). You need a completely flat surface to lay the tiles You then apply the adhesive in sections big enough to work at one go, wait for it...

The rubber flooring was straightforward to lay – I started by covering the (SIP panel) flooring with 6mm ply, screwed down every 300mm (I countersunk and...

Rubber Floor Tiles

Rubber Floor Tiles

it was a toss-up between bamboo and rubber, and I have plumped for the latter. Rubber was my missus’ suggestion, and since she is generally right about things I did very little research. During the small amount of reading I did though, it did not take long to find people with critical things to say:...

it was a toss-up between bamboo and rubber, and I have plumped for the latter. Rubber was my missus’ suggestion, and since she is generally...

Decoration

Decoration

I am  pleased with the end result, certainly not perfect but not a bad effort for a first attempt either. The walls are white ‘with a hint of apple’ in case you were wondering! One schoolboy error was that I forgot to do a mist coat for the ceiling, despite knowing full well it was...

I am  pleased with the end result, certainly not perfect but not a bad effort for a first attempt either. The walls are white ‘with...

Fermacell finishing - Part II

Fermacell finishing - Part II

..  ceiling is done – doesn’t look nearly as bad as I feared. A few small ridges and dents if you look very closely, but otherwise a passable effort. I am really pleased with the ecoled downlighters. A bit hard to show in a pic, but they are very bright – to give you some idea, they...

..  ceiling is done – doesn’t look nearly as bad as I feared. A few small ridges and dents if you look very closely, but otherwise...

Fermacell - finishing

Fermacell - finishing

Preparing for decoration * Step 1: filler over the joints and screw heads * Step 2: fermacell fine surface treatment (FST) * Step 3: caulking in the corners lessons learned FST is a smooth filler that comes pre-mixed in a large tub – it has the constituency of whipped cream and goes on easily. The technique with FST that...

Preparing for decoration * Step 1: filler over the joints and screw heads * Step 2: fermacell fine surface treatment (FST) * Step 3: caulking in the corners...

Internal Plasterboard - Fermacell - top tips

Internal Plasterboard - Fermacell - top tips

I have finished fixing the fermacell plaster boards: pretty easy on the walls, not so easy for the ceiling.  The ceiling was eventually accomplished by chopping the boards in half and using temporarily affixed battens  to give me somewhere to locate one end of each board so that I could then prop the other end...

I have finished fixing the fermacell plaster boards: pretty easy on the walls, not so easy for the ceiling.  The ceiling was eventually accomplished by...