by Katie Thomasson
T
hings are really starting to come along all of a
sudden. The windows finally arrived at long last
(they were made by a carpenter, who delivered
them several months later than initially agreed).
Before we started ripping out the old rotten
windows, I began the process of protecting and
finishing the new ones — they arrived untreated, as
requested, to save a little extra money. This was a
lengthier process than I’d imagined it would be, as
I first had to treat the frames with a wood preserver
before applying the final top coat. The wood
preserver recommends that two to three coats are
applied before applying the paint, but with each coat
taking at least 48 hours to dry, it can take a week just
to preserve them.
I chose to finish the windows in a wood stain,
which could be mixed to any colour. This gave
me the freedom to choose from an almost infinite
number of colours, rather than the limited options
that the exterior wood paints provide off the shelf.
What’s more, the wood stain leaves an opaque satin
finish, which subtly shows the grain of the wood
underneath, enhancing the natural material used to
create the windows.
Although the wood stain is a little bit more
expensive than the standard wood paint, it actually
saved me some money and time overall — once
you factor in that the stain doesn’t require a primer
(which can be just as costly as the paint itself). I also
painted the two pairs of French doors in the same
colour, tying them all in nicely.Treating timber windows
While we worked on getting the house fully
watertight, the corner bifold doors (right) were
fitted at the same time. We’re really pleased with the
end result; opting for dark grey aluminium doors,
we were a little unsure that they would fit with the
aesthetics of the rest of the house, which is much
more traditional in style. However, they really help
zone the kitchen diner, and I think they will blendKatie rolls up her sleeves and gets involved with staining the
windows for the cottages while the bifold doors are installed
progressing
Despite delays with
the supplier, the
windows have now
been fitted and the
two cottages Katie and
Andy are renovating
and extending are now
weathertight.Treating the new windows on
a DIY basis has been a long process
The Build The renovATionDiAry
KATie
ThomAsson
has renovated
four period
properties,
takingonmuch
oftheworkon a
Diy basisseamlessly with the dark navy kitchen, which they
will eventually sit next to.
With the superstructure now completely finished,
we can bring down the scaffolding and tick off the
last few internal snags from the ‘to-do list’, including
erecting studwalls, scraping off the old woodchip
wallpaper from walls to be plastered, and getting the
final few doorways in place. Then we’ll be ready for
the first fix plumbing and electrics and plasterwork
— all due to start in the next couple of weeks.