Magnolia Gloss

I took a tin of magnolia gloss to the shop today, to do some painting. It was quite sticky and I had to stir it for ages before it was all the same colour in the tin! I started with the side window because Nod was coming to take the wood from upstairs, so I couldn't do the stairs rail until after that.



I didn't think to look at how long it took to dry...

...and it said on the tin that it would be touch dry in 6 hours. 6HOURS!!!!! ...and, of course, I had to wash out the brush in white spirit. Which I hate. You shouldn't put the used white spirit into the drains, so disposing of it presents a bit of a problem.

Anyway, after Nod had been I put a coat on the stairs rail too - and at least that will have overnight to dry.


I'll wait till I have a full day (and a warm one) at the shop before I do the windows again! That's if I can ever open them again. I had to close them before the six hours...

Along with all that palaver, I noticed a wet patch on the ceiling...


...and it seems that rain is coming down the chimney (which is supposed to be completely capped off) into the hearth of the old Limousin fireplace above and running onto the floorboards there...

...and seeping into the plaster below. Now I have been wondering what to do with that bit of ceiling downstairs - as it looks awful, being the only bit of lathe and plaster left. Now I feel I must remove the hearth and get a waterproof plate put in the chimney. I can't get up on the roof as there is no access, to see why the capping off has not prevented this.

Removing the hearth is not an easy job either, as it involves working in a very confined space and removing some massive stones and a whole lot of mortar. I'm going to take in a chisel tomorrow and have another go...

...you can see some of the stones in the picture above.

Then, of course, I have to remove the lathe and plaster downstairs and I just KNOW that's going to create a whole load of mess... Maybe I'll wait till Jason's here at the weekend, and he can hold a bucket underneath or something!