So we were straight back to work on Monday - for one week only though as we have more guests arriving tomorrow!
We really wanted to crack on with the bedroom so we took down all the lovely curtains and rugs and turned it back into a building site. Before we could put up the last sheet of plasterboard we needed to clean the chimney that we will use for a woodburner in the bedroom. M & D popped by in the morning to say hello and came up with the genius idea to attach a wire brush to the end of a long piece of flexible pipe, so we could get it right to the top. So we drove off into Chirpan to buy pipe and a few other bits.
Back at home we set to cleaning. This chimney has been left for about 6 years so was completely full of mud and gross stuff. The brush didn't quite hack it at first so we attached a chisel onto the other end of the pipe and rammed it in! It took a while but we eventually broke through and slid the whole seven metres of pipe up. We ran outside, hoping to see the brush sticking out the top of the chimney, but it wasn't there. We then had a look in the attic and found the end of the pipe there! Obviously now the chimney was clear water would just come straight in when it rained so we needed to cover the top of it with plastic (just until the roof gets done in September.) The bit of chimney in the attic had broken and was impossible to cover, so we decided instead to get on the roof and cover the actual chimney top. When I say we, I mean Pete, got up there and tied plastic over. Annoyingly this wasn't completely fool proof as water can still get in through the roof and end up coming down the chimney anyway - so we just hope it doesn't rain too much!
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| Attaching the brush |
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| Shoving it in! |
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| CLEAN |
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| Pete on the roof |
We then cleared up the huge pile of stuff that had come out of the chimney and cracked on with putting up the last piece of plasterboard! Yay! :) We also filled in the big gaps, over the water pipe and around the beams, with foamy stuff that we can cut flat when it dries.
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| Big pile of crap! |
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| Last of the plasterboard going on :) |
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| Filling in the gaps.. |
By the time we'd done all this it was still only 5 o'clock, so we thought we could carry on working for a bit and sort out the chicken coop. We had had enough of the chickens pooing everywhere so had bought an extra 20 metres of wire to make a bigger fence - the chickens are now living in a palace!
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| Cow dog chickens |
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| Chicken mansion ^ |
When we'd finished the coop we noticed it was getting dark - but it was much too early! We then checked the computer and found that my phone was 2 hours slow, so we had been working all day and it was now 9 o'clock! No wonder we were knackered! So it was dinner and a film in bed.
Tuesday
We started the day with another trip into Chirpan - we always forget to buy something!
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| Just some sheep hanging out at the wood yard. |
Then we spent the day taping and joining the plasterboard (basically filling in all the gaps.) This was much easier said than done as not one piece of plasterboard lined up with another! Still, by the time we'd finished the walls were looking a little smoother than before - I think we did a good job!
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| Taped and joined! |
We stopped working at home relatively early as we needed to do some paid gardening work. At about 4 we drove over to SG to do some strimming at our new job. We bumped into a Bulgarian couple we had met a few weeks ago who speak perfect English and are really lovely and cool! They invited us over for a glass of their home made wine and home made cheese - how could we refuse! They showed us around their home and their huge veg patch, but we didn't stay long as we needed to get on with work. We worked for an hour or so in the garden and then D walked past and invited us over for a beer (they live next door.) We had had a lovely evening drinking beer in their garden, and even got the rakia (locally made moonshine style alcohol) out at the end of the night.
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| Drinks at M & D's |
Wednesday
Thankfully I had steered away from the rakia last night as it's really gross, but Pete had had a small shot and woken up this morning with a banging headache! So we had a slightly more chilled day today, involving ANOTHER trip to Chirpan (all we do is go shopping) and doing a few odd bits around the house.
I carried on with pointing the stone wall in the bedroom and sanding back the filler on the plasterboard. We also cut back the foamy stuff so now the walls are flat(ish) and ready to plastered tomorrow! Woo!
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| Mmmm smooth |
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| Pointing the last corner |
Pete got to work finishing the stud wall between the 'horrible' room and the what-will-be bathroom - it's great to finally have a partition there so we can feel what the rooms will be like. I also carried on the wiring for the sockets, across the hallway and through the stud wall, so it's starting to come together in there as well.
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| Stud wall and electric cables |
An early night for us - dinner and film! :)
Thursday
We had arranged for D to come over today to quick us a quick lesson on plastering so we didn't get it completely wrong. We hadn't arranged a time though and have managed to loose our phone, so whilst we were still tucked up in bed at 8.30 this morning we heard a van horn honking at us to wake up! We quickly got out of bed to let D in and got straight on to plastering. We got the hang of it quite fast and just spent the whole day plastering. We'd started at half eight and didn't even check the time until gone four! Another long day. But the room looks fantastic - it needs a few more coats, especially in some areas where we need to smooth out the uneven joints, but for our first go at plastering we are pretty pleased with ourselves.
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| Learning from D |
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| Both having a go |
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| 1st coat done! |
Once we'd finished we had a well desered beer (or two) in the evening sunshine.
Friday
We set our alarm and woke up early today as we needed to do yet more shopping in Chirpan and it was market day. We stocked up on fruit and veg - peaches and nectarines are everywhere now, as well as corn on the cob which will be great for the BBQ! We then did the rounds of the builders merchants and bought everything we need to get the 'horrible' room looking good - including loads of wood and plasterboard for the walls.
By the time we'd finished shopping and got home it was already about 1 o'clock, so after a quick lunch we got back to work. Pete carried on with the second coat of plaster whilst I went down the road to do some weeding for paid work. I stayed about an hour and then came home to start work on the headboard. We'd bought wooden panels that slot together (although every panel was warped in some way so this was harder to do than I thought it would be!) so I sawed them all to length and got the headboard looking pretty good. It needs some neatening up and painting but it's definitely helped the room look more finished.
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| 2nd coat and the beginning of our headboard |
We finished working at about 7 and M & D came round for a few beers in the evening.
Saturday
Back in the room - Pete plastering (getting boring now) and me adding sockets to and putting shelves in the back of the headboard. Today was the final coat of plaster though and the room is looking fab! At lunch time we went to the shop to get bread and to pick up our NEW KITTEN! All three of the kittens were terrified of us so we just picked the cutest one, took him home and named him Bilko. He was trembling with fear and crying and wriggling when we picked him up, so we left him alone, in a closed room upstairs, so he could settle in a bit. We carried on working with intervals of going to play with the cat! We also have a problem that the only thing that Lucy is bothered by and wants to chase/bite is cats. We slowly introduced her to him, and she did try to snap once, but we told her off and she already realises she is not allowed to eat this one. But we are taking it very slowly as you can see in Lucys eyes, and when she licks her lips, that if we had our back turned she'd go for him. Anyway he is the cutest thing ever! Now there are 12 of us in the house - at least Pete has got some male company now. Another film this evening in bed.
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| Sockets |
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| And shelves :) |
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| Lucy meeting Bilko |
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| Bilko is scared of us! |
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| The ladies in bed |
Sunday
We spent the morning playing with Bilko - he already is very friendly and climbing all over us and purring, which is great! We were back in the room again today - sanding back any marks on the plaster, brushing back the pointing on the stone wall and chipping all big lumps off the floor. At about lunch time there was a torrential downpour which leaked down our bloody chimney as well as through an upstairs window and down, through the floorboards, onto our newly plastered wall :( Luckily we were there to notice and blocked out the water with towels.
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| Rain rain rain |
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| Leak :( |
Another job we had to do today was fit the pipe for the wood burner. We had assumed you just slid some pipe through a hole in the plasterboard so it would enter the chimney, but we had since found out you need a 90 degree bent pipe to actually send the smoke out. And you need to cement it in. Annoying! This meant we had to cut a big hole into our newly plastered walls to do all this - this is what happens when you're learning as you go! Oh well, we know for next time. It wasn't too bad anyway and I managed to fill the hole and plaster it by the end of the day - you'd never even know!
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| Pipe cemented in |
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| GONE! |
Pete also begun to collect stones for the step he's going to build by the door - we need one as the floor in the bedroom is much lower than in the hallway. So it was a good day really - the walls just need painting now and once the step is built we can TILE the floor!! Exciting - the end of camping is in sight! (The ceiling and window can wait.)
We stopped working at about six and had a very cold shower - the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy and overcast. DW has just got back from a holiday to England and we hadn't seen S & G for a while, so we decided to head to Spasovo bar to see them and some other friends. We had a great night drinking alot of beer and listening to loud Bulgarian pop music!
Monday
The weather has been crap again today (hopefully it will brighten up for the arrival of Petes mum, stepdad and brother!) We spent all morning playing with Bilko - he is so good already - and cleaning up the house. In the afternoon we drove out to SZ to pick up some white goods for M & D as a favour but we came straight home as we didn't really fancy a beer and we had left poor Lucy tied up outside and it had started raining alot. Back at home we chilled out for the rest of the evening, wrote the blog and had some dinner. Then another early night to bed and watched a film.
Tuesday
This morning we have just been cleaning and tidying the house, garden and tent. Also playing with Bilko (not sure if we'll get any work done now!) Now it's time for a shower and then off to Chirpan to meet Petes family!
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| Then there were 12! |
