Steve Cleeves' pheasant "trademark" sneaked onto the roof when I was not looking as I am not a fan of this sort of thing (bah, humbug!) There is a house seen somewhere on my travels that has a thatched kangaroo – enough said!		As we intended to open up the old front door, the necessity of a replacement porch presented itself. I did not think the cottage, fairly simple in design, needed anything elaborate so Bob Hall drew a rough sketch on a scrap of paper and we went for that. Bob suggested a slate roof but in my wisdom, and without any experience in their application, I opted for cleft oak. In due time what can only be described as three bundles of firewood arrived from the suppliers with an invoice for £300!
The front door we obtained from Romsey Joinery - framed and braced random oak boards. I made the mistake of storing this on its side in the garage. When we came to fit it, it had bowed by a good ½” side to side. Like true gentlemen, the suppliers dismantled it, corrected the bow, reassembled and returned it free of charge.		Limewashing. I put this off for a long time as I thought it was going to be difficult. The thing to remember with lime is that it does not set or dry like modern paints. Lime needs to calcify (basically reform into chalk). Thin, milky coats applied in the right conditions and with adequate time to dry between coats gives a superb finish that absorbs sunlight and literally glows with a depth unobtainable with modern finishes. Impatience usually results in a wall of fugitive, dusty, chalk.
Mistakes made and things we would not do again: Use a drying agent when using lime cement for bricklaying – it's difficult to judge quantity and unless it's a load bearing wall, usually unnecessary. Use cleft oak tiles – or at least pay someone who knows what the are doing to fit them! Buy things too far ahead from when they are needed – the door bowed and the new window was just a bit too large. Try to limewash walls previously painted with acrylic or plastic paint – it rubs off! There are probably more but we have not discovered them yet.