They may not be the grandest arches but they have come out quite well all the same. These are the window to the dining area/master bedroom, front door, and bathroom/bedroom2 window
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So after finding the foundations unexpectedly quickly we decided to search for the gravel bed. We found it! .... not much further down than the foundations ended so why didn't they go that little bit further when they built the chapel? we will never know. We also found the water table- what a lucky day! One thing we discovered was that the Minecraft (in conjunction with Ordnance survey and national Geological Society) survey conducted by the girls was very accurate.... It all did end less than 1m down..... and to think we doubted them.
Opening and finishing the edges of the original window openings..... So we set out with thoughts of a long day ahead of us. We would not rest until we had got through the concrete and dug down to where the foundations ended.......... .....................not very long later we were there! 450mm and and less than a brick length out! We even dug underneath just to check, but yes, that was it! Next job as re-opening all the doors and windows. It was easy to see where they'd been as they had been bricked up with very different bricks and cement mortar rather than lime. Unfortunately that also meant that these couldn't be used to finish the edges or......... to repair the bits of wall that collapsed whenever anything was done....... and they probably were the most solid part of the building, but apart from that, everything going well..... First up the back door, ultimately the door from dining area to lounge. This had two steps up to a raised garden. However we removed that to get to the original floor level introducing a plummet from inside to the ground. So now for ease of access we extend downwards. Next step will be to extend sidewards to make a whole for French doors and easy access for diggers to do the foundations etc.
"Just patch up the worst cracks and do a little repointing where really needed" we said......... ...........A massive game of Jenga™, 300m of stainless steel staples, and awful lot of lime mortar later...... |