Home Renovation in Walkerburn (Part 1)

/ moragnoffke

Home Renovation in Walkerburn

Here is our first short post to keep all my followers up to date with what is happening in Walkerburn. When we bought the house we knew that we would want to make some changes before we moved in. 

Renovations are challenging but we are up for the challenge.

As we wanted to put in an upstairs bathroom and the passage was too short to allow for the 2nd doorway we planned to reduce the 4 stack chimney thereby extending the passage by 1.2 m. You will be able to see the photos in my short YouTube video.

First the chimney and internal walls

The process of demolishing the chimney and walls took several weekends as Derek has a day job as well. Fortunately it is not too far from where we are staying so we packed picnic breakfasts and lunches and spent whole days there.

The chimney had already been lowered to below roof level which made it easier for Derek to begin taking the chimney down. I was worried about structural safety but Derek reminded me that he is a mechanical engineer so he should know what he was doing. 

The first two photos show the original floor plan and the new plan; thereafter you will see the four stack chimney Derek is taking down, brick by brick. Then there are images of the walls been taken down. They were made of compressed ash so it was much easier and faster to dismantle than the chimney. You can also see me helping: a picture can tell a thousand words.

Getting the bricks and rubble down from the attic proved to be very hard so Derek purchased 2 X 3m lengths of ducting. It was positioned out the top window. We ejected the bricks and rubble out through the ducting and Derek packed them at the back. They are waiting to be reused later.

Getting ready for underfloor heating

In the next few photos you can see that Derek is taking up the floor boards so that he can lay underfloor heating as it gets very cold here in Scotland. The photos also show that there is an old “services” tunnel hidden under the floor boards. He removed that toilet from the corner of the bedroom. Derek mentions to all, with some humour: “You will notice the unique touch of having a toilet in the bedroom.” It is amazing how many skills Derek is willing to take on.  

Lastly the photos of the trusses, attic view and work bench

The attic has a fancy fold down ladder but most of the space is filled with cross bracing so there is not much space for storage. He is removing the cross bracing and trimming them to become vertical struts. The project is half done now as he is waiting for the insulation, a plumber and the gas engineer, amongst other hiccups. Derek finds it frustrating having a whole lot of jobs halfway to completion but I am sure it is going to be a very comfortable place to live in eventually. It will take time but he will feel satisfied.

I am sure that if you have a look at the images it will all make more sense.

We will give you a further update later soon.

Take care, have a nice weekend.

A warm smile coming your way.

25 thoughts on “Home Renovation in Walkerburn (Part 1)”

    • Thank you. I think Derek has made friends with all the hardware and building shops nearby 😂and I tell you because I know you work or worked in a hardware store after retiring so you might appreciate it. I have never seen him so keen to go shopping… And all for the cause of our house. I sometimes shudder to think that we have taken on so much… It was definitely Derek’s idea. My first response was “you do remember you are 60 year’s old and not 20. ” I keep telling myself and him that we’re doing this in phases. The worst is phase one – with all the dust and bricks… Once that is done we will hopefully move in and we can just do things at a slow pace. The brick shoot was definitely a clever idea of Derek’s. I will tell him you like it. He welcomes the encouragement. Yes – we do sleep well at night now 😂👍

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  7. This seems to be a humongous project, but the way you and Derek are going ahead is really appreciable. It needs both courage and conviction that I’m sure both of you have in ample measure, and finally it is going to be a very satisfying place to live in. All the best 👍💐

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    • Thank you, I will pass the message onto Derek… I trust it will be soon too😜😂 I hope we will be there for Christmas but I think we might be in only next year, put it this way, I am not holding my breath. I do think we can move in when it’s partially done… So I am praying and holding thumbs…

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