Now that the Summer house renovation is complete and Blazer is in good shape - I have managed to spend about three months there this year - (that was the plan after last year hardly getting to Blazer at all ).
Time for the Big Project - A big workshop - big enough to take all my wood working and metal working machines plus everything that I have in storage in Sheffield.
My wood turning workshop in Sheffield is still in operation with John working from there - sometimes jobs for me and sometimes for himself - plus I have a sub let tenant - Dave who rents half the shop to help pay the rent.
The situation is that John is looking to retire in the new year which means that the workshop will be costing me instead of earning a little.
It has taken me 16 years to find the top quality wood working machines that I have in Sheffield and I love them - they have allowed my little company to produce fine quality turnings for one of Britain's top furniture companies - If I sell them individually I will only get a fraction of their value.
I wish to keep them and use them to make items of furniture perhaps for new family here in Derby - without the overheads of a rented workshop 40 miles away.
Jackie has kindly agreed to me building a big workshop here in our garden and for my part - I will do my best to make it look attractive.
To prepare the area we decided to get rid of two raised beds that adjoin the big raised bed and to relocate the fruit bush into the big raised bed.
Jackie had already moved the bush while I was in France - so it was a case of moving the soil into the big raised bed and riddling the last of it to take out the slate ground cover - done !
We also decided to remove the diseased pear tree which was poorly rooted anyway and at the same time we pruned the plum tree and shredded all the cuttings ready for the tip.
So today we started to clear the area in the far right hand corner of the garden.
When the summer house was built some 10 years ago, or more, the soil from the excavation was made into a big rockery in this corner - I now have to move it again - this time to the tip !
The first job was to move the slate ground cover off the site so that it does not become contaminated with soil and concrete making it useless for filling in around the workshop at the end of the project.
To my surprise Jackie's son Scott volunteered to help with the digging - WONDERFUL !!
Tuesday 8th of November
We removed the stone wall that was around the small pond and the rockery - hard work - every stone was a battle.
We dug out the pond - pulled out the rubber liner and filled it in with stone.
So I made a wooden barrier between us and next door - near the causeway - to pile up the muck within reach of the grab without him coming onto the drive which would damage the slabs.
It worked well - not having to barrow up into a skip.
Scott again helping ( more like doing most of the work ) we started digging in earnest - a lot easier that moving the rocks.
We use a mattock to loosen the soil and then easily shovel it to the barrow.
So that we don't dig out any more than we need to - I took levels as we went along.
The workshop will be 24 feet ( 7.4 metres ) by 12 feet ( 3.7 metres ) externally with a 2 foot gap to the fence at the back and the side.
There will be around 7 feet space between the workshop and the summer house to allow as much light into the summer house as possible.
Once the site is clear and level, I can lay out the concrete base easily now that I have the tools.
After this project I can resell the dumpy level and might even make a profit !
The only problem we had today was the weather - it rained on and off until early afternoon, which turned the soil to sludge and we trailed it everywhere - Jackie was NOT HAPPY !!
Then the sun came out - we hosed and swept the paths and our boots - ALL SORTED
We are about half way through the rockery clearance now - Scott is back at work - so I will slowly press on on my own shifting the rest of it.
Mike.
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