Owners or potential buyers of period property might find our experiences of some interest – the biggest problem is finding craftsmen used to working in traditional building materials, and when you find them, waiting for them to start work! This is one of the reasons why we have undertaken so much of the building work ourselves.

As she was. A thatch resembling a bad case of ringworm and an elaborate porch, supported on old telegraph poles, looking like the entrance to a rustic Caesars Palace casino. This illusion was ruined, however, as the front door had been replaced by a wall of breeze blocks.		Much of the timber framing to the left hand of the old front entrance had been removed in the 1950s to accommodate a Dickensian style bay window complete with window roundels.
Finding good craftsmen is a chore in itself – waiting for them to turn up would give Godot a run for his money. I have known the thatcher Steve Cleeve for more years than I care to remember – in my opinion he is one of the best longstraw thatchers around. Steve recommended Bob Hall as a first class oak specialist - so at least we managed to get off to a good start!
The removal of the bay window exposed substantial decay in the surrounding timberwork necessitating the dismantling of virtually the whole of the right hand elevation.		A neat detail – the shakes in the new timber match those in the old! The oak used came from Bursledon Brickyard in Southampton from trees felled by the 1987 hurricane.