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Thursday 12 May 2016

Beaming!

Yesterday I spent several hours applying a thick paste of paint stripper to the huge beam in the living-room of Cowslip Cottage.    It had been painted with thick, black, treacly paint but I was keen to see what the wood underneath was like.


It is a huge chunky piece of wood and I found myself wondering how many years have passed since the tree was a sapling.   It must have grown for many years, the beam is about four and a half metres long, so it was quite a big oak tree when it was harvested.


Given that Cowslip Cottage is more than 160 years old, then add on the age of the tree and it takes it back to vastly different times.






I love the metal detail at the window end, I'll work hard to get it cleaned up properly.









This is the underside of the beam, the one side which really worried Max, he thought it may have been an add-on, made from some cheap wood...but no, it is of the same age and beauty.








I worked on scraping and washing the beam until lunch time.  I'll do the same again tomorrow.   It is so exciting, the wood is golden and glowing and the grain is fabulous.   It is a joy to be revealing it again.



Once I had cleared up for the day I needed to take a few minutes of fresh air, any excuse to enjoy your pretty gardens.


They are difficult to spot but the Estate cattle are chewing the cud in the area through the trees.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow reveals.
x


6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Dom, That wooden beam is fabulous!

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  2. honest to goodness you are like a dynamo. Cook, baking, cleaning beams up... your doing a great job.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sol, It's amazing what having a deadline can do - eight weeks and they will be home ... eeek! still so much to do. I want the cottage to be nice for Miles, but even more I want Poppy to get the first sight of her new home and be happy with it. I am also pretty keen to get some carpets and furniture in there, play with it a little, but in the meantime I need to apply several gallons more paint and stop playing with that beam!

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    2. Are they here for good? or just a trip?

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    3. Hello Sol, They are back for good and will be living in the cottage. Things have progressed but there is still a way to go. Revived and refreshed by my day off, I'll be getting back to work with the rollers and paintbrushes.

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.