Some pics from over the pond.

[Winnie]

3rd time lucky!
I went out earlier and took a few snaps. I discovered my camera doesn't like bright sunlight, so apologies for quality. #1 is my little house built circa 1890. #2 are some Hawthoen berries, the trees are covered this year. #3 and 4 are views from out back.

I was going to add a pic of the plums I found and the resulting jars of jam... but I couldn't fit more than 5 on this thread!

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Beautiful Home you have WW. I was always jealous of european homes. In the US a home is built to last maybe 100 yrs. max. Your homes last centuries we could really do well to learn from this..IMO

[Winnie]

My house is made of blocks of solid stone and the walls are about 3ft thick, no cavity. It barely shook when an earthquake went off last year I think it was 6.4 at the epicentre about 50 miles away.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Sadly it seems the whole worlds economy was tied to the homes that people bought in the US and couldn't afford, and that aren't even built to last. People tend to try and outdo their neighbor rather do what is realistic and functional.

[Rick]

Great pics, Winnie. I love the house. A pain in the ** to drill through the walls, however. Is the roof slate? It appears to be.

Thanks for sharing!

[peter nap]

Beautiful pics and I love the house. I tiumber framed our farm house and developed a healthy respect for European architecture.

England is a beautiful country.

[ClayPick]

You can find that kind of masonry around here but only in the towns. I think that’s Lombardy Poplar beside the field. Lots of that gets used here for wind breaks. That’s a heavy house! How far down until you hit bedrock?

[red lake]

No you can not find that kind of masonry over here. The quality of workmanship in Scotland is incredible. And not just stonemasons, carpentry is top-notch as well.

The list of stonemason in the yellowpages are just as big as things like plumbers. It is a whole different world over there. The house pictured is not all that old by Scottish standards. If you ever get a chance to visit Scotland, do it!

[Sourdough]

Nice photos....thanks

[ClayPick]

No you can not find that kind of masonry over here. The quality of workmanship in Scotland is incredible. And not just stonemasons, carpentry is top-notch as well.

The list of stonemason in the yellowpages are just as big as things like plumbers. It is a whole different world over there. The house pictured is not all that old by Scottish standards. If you ever get a chance to visit Scotland, do it!

I think we’re referring to mid England, circa 1890. Folks lived here even before Ontario existed. (Nova as in New ...... Scotia as in Scotlan...........).:)

[Winnie]

The house is made of Local Northamptonshire stone(England, not Scotland), and yes Rick, an absolute pig to drill! and yes the roof is slate.
When I get a moment I'll pop up to the village and take some pics there, my brother-in-law lives in a 16th century cottage and the church is tiny!
I must get the hang of posting full size pics so I can post more than 5!
Anyway, glad you enjoyed them, I'll try and remember to take my camera out more often!

[panch0]

Beautiful Pics, home,and country

[2dumb2kwit]

Beautiful Pics, home,and country

Yeah...what Pancho said!:clap:

[2dumb2kwit]

I must get the hang of posting full size pics so I can post more than 5!


WW, you do know that if we click on the picture, it gets bigger, but if you click on it again it' gets bigger again. I made your pic's plenty big, so I could see more detail.

And as far as only posting 5.....that's 5 per post......just make more post!

5...+5...+5....show us all the pictures, that you want!:winkiss:

[2dumb2kwit]

....and speaking of detail.....in the third picture, on the right side, I see what I think is a road sign. It looks kinda like an "N". Does that mean "curves ahead"?

[Lorna]

Great pictures Winnie, thank you for sharing.

[crashdive123]

Nice pictures Winnie. Thanks for letting us have a look.

[wildWoman]

Beautiful house! Reminds me of time well spent in the Yorkshire Dales :-)

[Winnie]

....and speaking of detail.....in the third picture, on the right side, I see what I think is a road sign. It looks kinda like an "N". Does that mean "curves ahead"?

It's the sign for sharp "S" bend ahead. A couple of hundred yards up th road many a car has been trashed trying to get through there too fast!


Oh and here's the plums, and jam:innocent:

[canid]

A pain in the ** to drill through the walls, however.

that's why i love cob, you could modify walls with a bread knife and some re-finishing if need be.

[Ken]

Oh and here's the plums, and jam:innocent:

Funny. I just checked MY kitchen counter and there ain't no jam there.

Crash, you get your jam yet? :innocent:

[canid]

actually that sign is meant for land-yachters. it means there is a prevailing headwind...

[wildWoman]

that's why i love cob, you could modify walls with a bread knife and some re-finishing if need be.

Have you built with cob?? I was really interested in that too but wasn't too sure about prolonged periods of -30 in it. I love methods where you can build freeform.

[canid]

cob, particularly when combined with other insulative building styles can insulate as well as any other building material.

as long as it stays dry, rapid freezing will not damage the structure, and as long as it is not damaged, it will insulate well.

the trick to cob, as i understand is to use the proper composition of sand/clay, and next, to use absolutely no more than is needed to coat each piece of straw. this leaves a high straw [and thus, air] to mineral ratio, and a pretty good insulative value.

beyond that, thermal mass heating on inside portion of walls will keep temperatures inside stable through even wild swings of ambient temp change.

there are many ways to plan such building out, and it's a subject far greater in scope than my knowledge reaches. i'm only just learning.

i had the opportunity to spend some time this year with Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley [pioneers of the oregcon cob style] and i would highly recommend their book.