By the sound of it this house has had its share of chimney fires. Whether you’re burning solid fuel or wood, there is likely to be abuild up of tar and soot in the flue, so now is a good time of year to get your chimneys swept before fires are in frequent...
After only a short time I am starting to appreciate the work that is needed to not only manage but to learn the ways to get the most out of a wood fired range. The Doric wasn’t strictly designed to burn wood – rather it is a solid fuel stove, but we have...
This weekend, I got the rest of the solar panel built up on the roof, and almost immediately you could see the benefits. Even though the sun has only appeared for a few minutes, the water down in the tank is heating up nicely. Can’t wait for a bit of decent...
The little platform above the living room needed some bannisters to keep people from plunging to their doom, and I wanted to re-use some of the wood from the original thatched roof, so here it is. The rails are made from lengths of bog oak that was used as laths under...
After many years of sitting cold and quiet, and having been tampered with to burn oil, our woodburning range had a proper fire burning inside it, and suddenly the house began to come alive. The sounds of the fire, and of the water bubbling through the pipes gave the...
