note the subtle animation here - thanks to Jon for the new logo

8th December 2002

Merry Christmas all - thanks for visiting.

At the time of writing Paula has started work at a level where she left off in Surrey.  Dick is juggling 3 main lines of work - a bit of continuing work at North Lodge, some web design and some building work for friends and neighbours - thanks for all the support those concerned, you know who you are  ;-)

In some sort of summary we have revamped 'the house' section into a before-and-after type format to see how the room ended up, or as someone put it recently "did the house stand or fall"

We intend to make this the last update as we're sure you've all had enough.   You've got our mail addresses so please keep in touch.  The site wont be closing down, just remaining for posterity, or until they ask for more money to keep it up-and-running.    ;-)

Many thanks all for visiting the site and for your e-mails - and for taking the time to read our wafflings - don't forget to catch up by reading the update below that never made it to print - why not take a moment to re-read this entire page .?  

Speak soon amigos - lots of love

Dick and Paula

      x                   x

10th September 2002        (nb  - - - - - this update never made it to publishing)

hello all - can it be 100+ days since an update - didn't we say 3 weeks time - that was months ago ..!!  Forgive us.  It's all been a blur.  We're still here, the house bears no resemblance to it's former self, and the holiday season has brought many welcome visits.

Where to start .?!

The bluetits hatched - no thanks to angus who caught one of the parents briefly .!!  The swallows that we shared the house with last summer returned and spawned two young families.  Large chunks of the garden were leveled by the removal of that big-old-pine tree.  That left space for the greenhouse, and what a thing of beauty that is ..!!  The van went to a man and his dog - the bike went to pay the plasterers - and middle age finally, officially arrived with the purchase of an estate car ..!!  Dick even made it to Brands Hatch for the weekend ..!!

But let's go back a bit.

The plasterers arrived slightly after they said they would - which was lucky as we struggled to be ready for them.  After a slow first day where they fitted new brake pads to the van and disappeared for 3 hours to 'pop into Liskeard' (10 minutes away) followed by their labourer going to the chiropractors for his bad back and them packing up for the day after the sum total of nothing getting done.  Day 2 onwards was a different story - a blur of activity from 8-5 every day.  Dick was left to do nothing more than make the tea - an unbelievable 250 tea bags were consumed during the work ..!!

Imagine this - way back in time our 1st night was spent with nothing more than 2 inflatable beds while we waited for the 2 lorries to arrive the next day.  Months later we've dug up, knocked down and generally touched every single part of the house to some degree - Imagine the joy, relief and pleasure to be moving into the house - finally - ALMOST 1 YEAR TO THE DAY from when those lorries left.  It has been amazing and is now just the start of 'Life at North Lodge Part II'

The kitchen is still mainly in boxes and flat-pack, but at least it's got a roof.  The bathroom has no paint, but at least most of that pink suite and that shower have gone. The spare room has beds in it and you cant see out the roof, even we've moved out of our substantially-built campsite leaving it to be the only part of the house that really still leaks ..!!

And now summer is drawing to a close - work on the house still seems to generate huge lists, and we suspect one never really finishes - there's the garden and all the out-buildings to do next - let alone an annex which means starting all over again to an extent ..!!

26th April 2002

Another date for the diary - April 26th 2002 was not only Dick's 34th birthday (thanks for all the cards, donations and presents) it was also 1 year (yes, really - only 1 year) to the day that paula and dick first clapped eyes on North Lodge at one of the estate agents open days.    little did we know then what we know now.....

...let us also apologise for getting everyone's hopes up last time - we had used the phrase 'big news next time...' in the dickthebuilder.com-update-mail-message.  

all hell has broken loose - mum's have been buying hats, several people had been getting their old baby clothes down from the loft, and many of dick's friends had been dusting off their passports for trips to distant lands.  have no fear friends - you'd all be the first to know big news like that.....

...sadly the big news was that BT had successfully installed the Home Highway and the web-cam was scheduled for re-commissioning ..!!   worse still is that the webcam quality is so poor that we're not even going to bother with that now - ne'er mind.

sooooo - what's *is* new .?   well, spring has sprung and the garden has exploded with snowdrops, daffs and bluebells - also the local wild-life has is out and about and showing off its sunday-best-plumage.  as well as the more spectacular birds in the neighbourhood we have welcomed some bluetits into our post-box

actual building work has been the continuation of preparations for the plasterer - he's book in 5 weeks time - as well as completion of ceilings throughout, 3rd-fit of the kitchen plumbing, new timber lintels wherever they are to left exposed by the plasterer and some modifications to the front entrance and end garage - more details of these in the contents section.

at the time of writing paula is working as a temp at the local health authority - in the HR department (we call them personnel) perfectly placed to spot the job-of-a-lifetime as it passes.  dick has passes the 2nd phase of the B&Q recruitment process since his life-long dream of becoming a post-man withers - apparently you have to have lived here a bit longer to be considered....

...back to work - we've had to postpone some visitors until the plasterer has been and gone, but summer is firmly on the way

ttfn viewers

dick and paula

     x                    x

14th March 2002

hey HEY - long time no, errrr, type.

we were looking through the pages below and around the site the other day, amazed by how much got done in those early months and such events as the roof, the taming of the garden the digger and the central heating.

things appear on the outside to have slowed down - it's not often people stand in awe at the guttering and a load of wires - but fear not reader because the biggest single step is fast approaching - plastering ..!!  this single thing can transform an area of bare stone, wiring channels and plasterboard into an actual room.  we are now into those final stages, why even today paula and I were up two ladders balancing a sheet of plasterboard on our heads ..!!  on that note i promise a re-wiring update next time, honest ..!!

so, what else's been going on .?  a post-christmas (seems an age ago) diet and lots of adverts on the telly for un-attainable items has forced us to create our own varieties of home-made take-aways   we have also adapted the 'guest-quarters' (read: stalag17) into a plant nursery for the spring - visitors at easter, so they'll have to all be in the ground by then ..!!

more exciting and creative was the inevitable replacement of some beams that had rotten away at one end.  there was a moment during this that a neighbour came round and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the whole front of the house held up with acro-props.  it was then we realised the scale of this particular madness.  hmmm ..!!

post-roofing visitors (not to mention us) have had the joy of bathing with a large gap between the bathroom wall and the newly-raised roof.  this wall was made of bricks (not unusual i hear you say) but the bottom course had been 1/2 removed and a piece of wood inserted to nail the old ceiling on to - i effect 6 foot of wall 'balancing' on 2"-wide bricks at the bottom - it had to go, and a new block-work wall to replace it.  we thought the old gap above the wall invaded the bathers privacy - this was nothing while the wall only came to the showerers arm-pit ..!!  

amongst run-of-the-mill building work there has been a spot of bad weather - you may have spotted it yourselves.  although we are considerably warmer than you (in a harry enfeild voice) it's still been mighty-windy.  something had to give, it happened to be the tree down across the road and the slates off the store roof in our case.

before we go - a picture of the garden - some may remember the neck-high wild flowers, other will have fond memories of the bonfires - here it is in it's current (dormant) state, the snowdrops up one side, the daffodils down the other - now stand back and watch the explosion that is inevitable following the savage pruning everything got last year, and the new levels of light achieved - update next time - and remember, whatever the weather, enjoy your garden...

....see you all soon    Dick and Paula

27th January 2002

merry new year (if we haven't wished you this already - bit late, sorry)

following december's big roof news, we spent a couple of weeks recovering the last few plastered walls and tidying up for christmas and new year - we went to cumbria for christmas week and had people here for new year.  we even had the neighbours round for a christmas drink  ..!!

*man* - we thought it was getting cold in cornwall - we found ourselves on the side of a 'fell' on christmas morning.  at a time one would usually be thinking 'it's a bit early for a drink, but hey - who's counting' and preparing ones body for seven courses of home-made finest - this year dick had (at least) five layers of clothing and associated apparel on, including a scarf wrapped round the head to prevent loosing an ear to frostbite.  it somehow increased the appetite even more - odd ..!!

although the roof has sheltered us from precipitation its design means there is a cavity above the ceilings that is ventilated to prevent moisture and condensation - the roof should last forever - unfortunately we dont have any ceilings (yet) and so this ventilation is straight into the bathroom, kitchen and upstairs.....

....dick's brother (sleeping in an aforementioned upstairs room) woke with a fright, thinking he had developed cataracts - only to find that the white mist in front of his eyes was, in fact, his own breath.  other sleepers in the downstairs rooms, who did not have sleeping arrangements that elevated them from sleeping on the slate floors, were observed to leave strange outlines of their bodies on the floor where the body heat had caused condensation - it should be noted that this effect was very similar to the turin shroud, and may help solve this ancient mystery  ..!!

new year celebrations were uncontrollable mayhem - an orgy of depravity seldom seen - we'll say no more, the pictures say it all....the fishing trip and kite-flying trip *did* happen - both were not exactly a rip-roaring success with the kite ingesting 10lb of sand which didn't help its aerodynamics and the mackrel-bucket came home empty - this is subject to tackle-upgrades and a future report of success at this venture - trust me...

...and so back to work.      straight after guests left north lodge the ceiling and insulation turned up - although wiring and plumbing need to be done before ceilings go up - it has been possible to insulate the aforementioned ventilation - that and the fact we have fired-up the rayburn - warmth returned ..!!  the new roof needed new - actually refurbished - guttering, so the old stuff was taken down, wire-brushed treated for rust and painted.  the workshop doubled-up as the south-west's largest wind-chime ..!!

question - what do you get people for christmas who are living in semi-refugee-status, without furniture and with six months building work ahead - simple - tools, lots of tools - many, many thanks all.  please also see here for long-lost pictures of the mega-drill, last used during the central heating, and making a welcome return during re-wiring works.  

our local electrical wholesaler delivered the main re-wiring order last week and work is underway - some stats. for the tefal-heads out there (dick included) 1.5 kilometers of cable (so far, not including standard stuff like lights and mains sockets) digital satellite to every room, co-ax, 2 x telephone, pre-wiring a burglar alarm and finally cat5 for pc and networking (as we used to say in the city, 'a future-feature') - nice, i think you'll agree.

paula has started renovation work on the beams in the hall - at least three of these need removing and replacing, watch this space next month for news of this scary event.  while carpentry was on her mind she knocked up some tongue-and-groove paneling under the stairs, this is in readiness for the paneling round the rayburn, again, news soon.

finally - some picture news;  we found a new pet while cleaning the chimney.  north lodge enters the 80s with a shower (kinda!)

speak soon amigos ..!!

dick & paula

5th December

what a time we've been having.  banished from our own home while roofing work is underway - yes, that's right, roofing work has begun.  at the time of writing the end is in sight.  sadly the old builder had to be released of his contract and a new (and frankly younger model) brought in - with contracts signed and the price agreed he started within a week.  

this has meant a lot of changes for us;  we have kissed goodbye to our bucket collection as we are now *watertight*.  we have also had to vacate the house every day for the last 2 1/2 weeks while work is underway - this is a health and safety issue, plus the builder was worried i would 'get too involved'  <- dont know what he means ..!!   

this much time out-and-about in cornwall has, however, allowed us to investigate some new places to visit and, more importantly, get the christmas shopping done (well most of it).  quite a novelty to have that chore done before the end of november.

the other *main* event has been to refurbish the rayburn and install it into its new location, also to run the flue so the builders could install it in the new roof.  the building work has also relinquished a new room that was, previously, pretty-much unusable ..!!  the house details called this the Sleigh Room - as we dont have any sleighs we have decided to make it a dressing room....

please also enjoy with us some pictures of dick's extended workforce - mumthebuilder and dadthebuilder - to name but two...

well - i hope you can tell from the text that we are still enjoying it, and the roof work has put us pretty much back on schedule, so just 6 months more (full-time) work then.  in the next edition, the mutha and fatha of all wood-burning-stoves, pictures of the completed roof, dick's guttering pictures (oooooh errrrrrr) and new year events, such as the fishing trip and kite-flying expeditions.

if we don't write here before-hand - merry christmas everyone.

ttfn, chin chin mi' lovers

Dick and Paula

7th December

**update**

paula & i have just performed the traditional 'topping-out' ceremony, but enough of how we spend our evenings....

....the scaffold is down and the builders have gone ..!!  christmas on the 7th december - now that's novel ..!!

28th October

hello again amigos - to make up for the lack of new tools last time we went to the other extreme, and hired 'the big one'.  it has to be said although a large item for us this baby was one of the smallest items available from the local plant hire.  the mini digger was scheduled for standard digging tasks and not so standard demolition tasks.

needless to say it was extremely enjoyable operating this tough piece of machinery - while we're on the subject it was less enjoyable last time we were out in the jeep.  imagine - take a narrow cornish road, wet it and the leaves on it.  insert a steep hill, and chuck in an extremely tight corner - now hurtle down it on the way to trago mills for more supplies. anyone who has visited will know the road of which i speak.  finally - throw a hormonally-challenged middle-aged lady in an under-powered car trying to take the hill and corner at speed on the wrong side of the road coming in the opposite direction - imagine the consequences ..!!  luckily the peugot 106 'splash' was less substantial than the jeep and the damage to us was minimal, the damage to the walking pill-box was high and forced her to rattle - what a shame ..!!

amusingly it was also this point where the man delivering the digger had lost traction and had unloaded the digger from its trailer.  he drove to the house, i gave him a lift back to the digger & corner - and he **drove** the digger the last mile - this digger does 3mph (far less than walking pace) flat-out and created a massive traffic jam - a rare thing in this part of the world, well at this time of the year anyway...

paula  shrieked with pleasure when she opened the paper last week to see an advert for a regular retail-therapy outlet telling us they had opened in the area - we had to pay a visit of homage.

our replacement rayburn finally got unloaded from the van - this baby is whole - regulars will remember we sledge-hammered the old, knackered one.  well, this one came whole and isn't going back to the same location (hence the chimney removal earlier) and is, needless to say, damn heavy.  it had been in the van for 5 weeks awaiting a strong pair of hands - in the end paula and i applied mathematics and fulcrums to it, along with a home-made trolley and it's in the house - quite handy really, being able to wheel it from room-to-room to see how it looks ..!!

due to the amount of time we have spent there, and the quality of the food and entertainment, i feel obliged to tell you about the local pub - The London Inn.  i was surprised to find we've not taken a picture of it, and i will rectify this soon - i have, however, included details of the pub events during this month - quite impressive i think you'll agree.

a final note - in paula's diary there is a list of the animals we have encountered during the last 15 weeks.  some of these are becoming a larger part of our lives.  picture the scene - we're watching telly, angus is distracted by movement in the room and something keeps making the light blink in ones peripheral vision - suddenly we are aware of something - literally - dive-bombing us in our own living room - pinned in fear to the sofa it is a few seconds before we realise there is a bat swooping around the room, it then flies off into the rest of the house, and is only found clinging to the old roof in the kitchen because angus is rigid, doing his impression of a pointer dog - somehow we bagged it and released it but it served to remind us where we are.....

.....until next time, chin chin.

10th October

well - busy busy.  the man didn't come to commission the heating, so we fired it up anyway.  It lit first time and hasn't been turned off since - warmth at last ..!!

there was a small episode with the drill i mentioned last time - it's never a good thing to withdraw the drill and have water follow the steaming bit out of the wall.  more details and pictures in the contents section.  needless to say that the water tank had been scheduled for replacement and that one wouldn't normally drill 4cm holes *that* close to a live water tank - it is also safe to confirm that the new quick-recovery sealed-system double-feed/return tank has been brought forward in the schedule, and is installed and working.

as mentioned previously it was the wedding this week and the stag do last weekend.  my shoulder has been killing me since the clay pigeon shooting and paula's purse has been hurting since the couple of Dorking and City nights out that got squeezed into the visit, not to mention the curry, domino pizza and cooked breakfast every day.  nice to see you all.  worthy of note was the train journey to the 1st world - bodmin parkway to dorking, one change at reading and the only hold up was outside plymouth - 'sheep on the line'  SUPERB ..!!

during paula's parents visit we've had another bonfire - no pictures this time i'm afraid -  this time it was *really* big.  in fact the plume of smoke could be clearly seen from space prompting space station residents to radio houston to report terrorist activity had moved from the west coast of america to the south west of england.  please vote if you think this humour is insensitive  [yes]  [no] <- hi-tech mail vote, just click and send.

other highlights of the visit include a return trip to the lost gardens of heligan and several new pasties for the PPI (see contents).  at this point we'd also like to point out some other local places to visit

no new tools of any real mention this month - sorry to the petrol-heads amongst you - i can offer something to titillate the readers out there.  paula has at last completed the first few sections of the diary (see contents)

finally we feel it is of merit to mention the, very popular we hear, website freindsreunited where you can get in contact with old school buddies.  we didn't agree with the charges they wanted so our e-mail addresses are given within the text of our entries.  we have contacted, and been contacted by several people and it is all good clean fun .?!

speak soon amigos - chin chin

5th September

hmmmm - looks like we spoke too soon.  Reg the (82 year old) builder has had an extension to his current (large insurance) job, and has had to split our work into two bits - the roof over our heads (the flat) in 6 weeks time, but the main house in December / January  <-nightmare as you can imagine.

this re-focuses things a little, so we may have to move into a couple of (smaller and easier to heat) rooms before winter sets-in.  on that note it's colder at night, but when it's sunny it's really sunny.

our good friends Ros and her husband Andy came for a dew days, and we got lots done including installing the septic tank lids that dad & i made, and sighting the oil tank - not to mention the Rayburn (see contents)

the central heating is here - wildly over-budget, but capable of heating the house and water in double-quick time.  next time of writing i'll take you through the components and the special features - also the tools required to drill the 28" solid stone walls to route the pipework.   keep your fingers crossed for this one i feel ..?!?

dont work too hard y'all, and if work gets too much - jump on the a303 and come and help out.  on that note, thanks to all the people who have mailed and especially those that have come to visit.  see you all very soon - we're back in the 1st world in a few weeks for a wedding, and firstly the associated stag night.  

ttfn chin chin.

Dick and Paula