Living Room Makeover

Well, its taken us about three months, but the living room is finally in a presentable state, that we wouldn't be ashamed to show people.  There has been an amazing transformation taking place.  

Before:

Behind the layers of shiny paint there was paper.  We didn't discover this until we started painting, and the wet paint started to peel off as it was being painter with a roller.  Firstly we thought it was just paint, but after peeling this off, and trying again, we found that the second layer also came off.   We then discovered that the wall had been papered with lining paper.  The first coat of paint brought the surface of the paper off, and the second layer of paint brought the backing paper off.  We had undercoated the walls with cheap magnolia so we didn't waste too much money.  Behind some of the paper the plaster just fell off, and we had to scrape it back until we had a good enough surface to re-plaster.  We sanded the walls and repainted, then put on two top coats of Crown Liquer.  

This is how it looks now:

We're really pleased with the result.  There are still a few things we need to do, and we still have some building work to do in the future, but for now, we have a lovely warm and cosy room to enjoy and receive visitors in.

Garden and Birds

There has been quite a bit of activity on the bird feeder at the front of the house today.  Lots of blue tits and great tits, also a robin feeding.  They seem to like the fat balls at the moment.  This morning I saw a woodpecker pecking away them on the feeder at the rear of the house.  It was amazing to see.  Found vine weevils

I've been collecting wood again today....I picked a load up and put it in the back of my car as I came back from a trip to Screwfix. 

Moving Day

Wow...what a tiring weekend.  After finishing work at 6pm on Friday 12th September, I went home and helped pack our hired Luton van.  The boys had already been hard at work, and had loaded on some heavy pieces of furniture, including one very heavy piano, two sofas, a large fridge, a large freezer and a washing machine and tumble dryer.  They had also started loading cardboard boxes, full of smaller items that had been packed prior to moving day.  

We took one load up on the Friday night....arriving about 1am in the morning.  We discovered there was no electric, no water and no heating, so we just unloaded our mattress to sleep on, and a double blow-up mattress for my son Paul (who made the journey with us) to sleep on, and all went to sleep.  It wasn't until the next morning that we unloaded the van.

After driving back to our old home to pick up another load,we again drove back to Wales for some more boxes and the remaining furniture.  I don't know how Rob (my partner) drove all that way, loaded up the van and then drove all the way back to Wales....in all making six trips in 48 hours.  He must have been exhausted.  The last trip made by both of us was to pick up our cars.  A well earned rest was had on the Monday, although we still had to sort out the electric, heating and water and buy food.

Luckily the main utilities were all solved quite simply....The electric meter, was a prepayment meter, for which we had to buy electric at the local store.  Once we put the loaded key in to the meter, that allowed the boiler to work for heating, and the pump to work so that the water could be pumped up from the holding tank which is fed from our stream.  We also found the local Morrisons supermarket in the nearby town of Aberystwyth and bought some food.  We had to be very selective over the kind of food we bought, as we hadn't yet got our main cooker.  I couldn't take my old range cooker, as it had a gas hob, and we do not have a gas supply here, our heating and water is fueled by oil.  Our brand new induction hob cooker wouldnt arrive until early October, so we would have to manage as best as we could with a slow cooker and a microwave for the time being.  What an adventure.

We made it here....Now we had to decide a plan of action....but more of that later.

Tanrallt, Capel Bangor

Tanrallt is a four bedroom cottage situated on the outskirts of the Welsh village of Capel Bangor.  It lies approx 5miles from Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales.  We first came across this house while searching for a renovation property to buy on the Prime Location website. 

The website described it as a detached, extended four bedroomed country cottage in 0.5 acre of grounds, requiring some refurbishment set in a beautiful rural location with an open aspect, yet within 6 miles of Aberystwyth, with 2 reception rooms, oil cenral heating and two adjoining stone sheds.  Accessed via a track and suitable for cash buyers EER 52 (whatever that means).  It was on the market for offers in the region of £184,950

The property is in spacious grounds adjoining the Vale of Rheidol railway track.  There are also, according to the information on Prime Location, good facilities in the village of Capel Bangor, including a garage/petrol filling station and two popular eateries/inns, and also a regular bus service to Aberystwyth, where there are excellent social, educational and shopping facilities, with public transport to all parts.

 

The property enjoys a rural environment in a warm lying sunny position, in an extemely pleasant locality in which to reside.  The surrounding countryside abounds with natural beauty and the adjoining valley - Cwm Rheidol is a noted beauty spot. 

 

The property is built of stone walls, rendered and has a modern built extension.  The main walls support a pitched roof laid with artificial slates.