Digging the dream!

14 skips, a car jack, smiley fish tiles and a near fatal bacon butty!

It has been my dream for many years to have a place at home where I could paint and when we first moved into our house 17 years ago we had a vision to transform it. We have done most of the work ourselves and over many years we have gutted the house, re-plastered, reinstated the Edwardian fireplace, converted the attic, moved the bathroom, sanded floors, knocked through downstairs, stripped paint, installed a steel beam with a set of step ladders and a car jack! and built an epic deck! The house was a bit of a state when we moved in. The most annoying thing about the house when we first moved in was the smiley fish tiles in the bathroom and the splodges of purple and blue paint in the hallway. There have been a few DIY mishaps along the way, like when I stabbed my wrist with the pointy end of a router and blood was spurting out like a fountain! and when Danny slipped on the deck and broke his wrist! It has been a real labour of love.

Two years ago we decided to build a two story extension on the back of the house, which would give me an art studio and a bigger kitchen - my dreams come true at last! This job was a bit too big for us to do, so we got a lovely builder from Glossop, called Simon Stanton. Before construction could start we first had to remove the deck which Danny had set on concreted posts that could have held up a block of flats! Simon removed 14 skips full of rubble and stone which was removed from a huge retaining wall on the back of the house. After months of excavating, the foundations were laid and we could start to see the space - it was very exciting!

Every Friday I would cook bacon butties for the builders and they would stop for a chat and update. Simon started choking.....really choking, I thought he was mucking about but he couldn't speak and intuitively turned his back to me. I acted fast and gave him a big thump on the back, but he was still choking, I hit him again even harder but nothing happened and I finally gave him the hardest punch on his back with all my might! Obviously that worked because we finished the build!

When the bifold doors went in we were delighted but the glass for the roof had been sent in the wrong colour, blue! (not Simon's fault) They had to remove it - but we had no roof and it was November in Buxton! Well it snowed, so we had snow inside the extension! Two months later we finally got a roof and it then took ages for the stone walls to dry out. Eventually the plaster went on, electrics were done, staircase in and balcony tiled and after 18 months the project was complete. I moved into my art studio last year and every day I think how lucky we are to have this beautiful space and magnificent view.

Digging the Dream!

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