Back Yard 2007
Entrance 2007
White House Cottage
Gypsy Corner
Kilkhampton
Bude,  Cornwall
EX23 9RJ
Click any link below to read Individual episodes rather than
having to scroll down the whole page for the latest update.
The most recent one is in Red.
______________________________________November  2007___________________________________
                                             First Photos
                                         The Beginning of it All

All development in England is regulated by Planning Councils. You have to obtain permission to do virtually
anything. The only vacant land is farm land which is restricted for that use only, and  one is not allowed to
build on it, therefore making houses very, very expensive. Bruce and Jan want to live in England part of the
year (the Summer), but were quickly coming to the realization that property in England was way out of their
price range. Down, but not out, they found a piece online in October that was to be auctioned in Cornwall on
Friday November 2nd.  It was unique in the fact that it used to be a house and was on 3/4 of an acre of land.
It was quite run down, had no power, gas or water and in disrepair as you can see by the photos, but Bruce
took a chance by taking a four day weekend to fly to England using frequent flyer miles to go to the auction.

The real estate market is soooo competitive in England that sellers advertise and put their property up
for public auction to try and get the best price. The gentleman who was selling White House Cottage was
actually born there in 1917. He was also selling a 21 acre field across the A39(Highway) from it. The seller's
attorney said because of the unknown planning regulations regarding White House Cottage he thought it
would fetch somewhere around 80,000 pounds ($160,000), waaay above  budget. The auction was to be held in
the town of Bude at the Falcon Hotel, about 7 miles away from the property at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  
There were about 30 people present for the auction in a back conference room. The first of three properties
being sold that day was a house on 2 acres which was a converted vicarage. It went for 450,000 pounds
($900,000). One British pound is worth two American dollars. Next on the block was White House Cottage.
The auctioneer asked to start the bidding at 30,000 pounds, no takers. He then asked for 20,000, then
10,000 before asking if someone would please start the bidding.  Bruce piped up "5,000 pounds". The only
other bidder said "10,000", Bruce said "15,000", the other bidder "16,000", Bruce "17,000". By this time
Bruce's heart was pounding because he knew the end was near as the bidding was down to 1,000 pound
increments. The other bidder said "18,000", the auctioneer looked at Bruce and asked for 20,000, but he
came back with 19,000. Silence........ one, two, three, the gavel fell and Bruce was victorious. He could not
believe his ears, he immediately called Jan on his cell phone and said they were the new proud owners of a
"chicken coop". As an aside, the 21 acre field sold for 75,000 pounds. And as a bonus, after the auction  it
was revealed that there was a clause in the paperwork for a provision for White House Cottage of 21 years to
connect to a water main in that field from the new owner.

______________________________________February  2008___________________________________

              The task of returning White House Cottage to it's former Glory begins!

First comes submitting three "Do I need Building Regulation or Planning Permission" forms to the North Cornwall
Planning Council to put in a gate with two stone columns at the drive entrance . A request was also submited to
replace the hedge along the road with a stone and earth wall. The third form was to request repairing the
building, replacing the roofing and roof structure, pouring a concrete floor and plastering and painting the
outside. The forms can be submitted online and Bruce has been  e-mail corresponding with a contact person at
the Council. She said that the first thing needed is an address. After a few back and forth e-mails, she
found the property on the maps and requested an address. Lo and behold, last week the Royal Mail gave the
address at the top of this page. Bruce and Jan now have a residential address in England, a positive first step.

The hope is to start small and not ask for too much. Getting local knowledge from people who know what to ask
for and how to ask for it is essential. The "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar" idea. Bruce has
a long time friend in England who was told about the purchase. One thing led to another and Carole said she
had a very good friend who was on the Padstow City Council in North Cornwall. Bruce was introduced via e-mail
and he asked his advise on the situation. Neil replied to Bruce's questions with what are thought very positive
opinions. He said that since the building was once a residence he didn't think that permission was needed to
live in it. Of course the equivalent of a building permit will be needed to do the renovations together with all
the compliant inspections. Because there is no electricity, gas or telephone Neil thought going "green" with wind
and solar was the way for a better chance of acceptance by the Council. The waiting now begins for an answer
from the Council to what the next step might be.      

_______________________________________March 2008_____________________________________


An answer was just received from the North Cornwall District Council. Under the Town and Country
Planning Act,  Planning permission to build two stone columns and an iron gate is  required because it
would be more than 1 metre tall. But  building regulation permission would not needed for that. There was
no decision on the stone and earth wall replacing the hedgerow. Referral was made to the Council's Coast
and Countryside Manager, David Attwell. The most positive answer is that  Planning permission is not
needed to do the renovations as long as  the existing roof height is not exceeded and get the plans
submitted to Building Regulations for their approval. (Just like a building permit). This is very exciting
news and feel that it is a good positive first step, and hopefully one of many!

Bruce e-mailed the planning officer who's name was on the correspondence to ask if it meant we were free to
put up a gate at the road if it was 1 metre in height or less.  She e-mailed back and said we could do that.
So that is one of the things we will do to keep looky loos out in Bruce and Jan's absence.

Bruce has contacted several people who have the qualifications to draw plans and consult on the renovation. All
were too busy to do anything now and one was not taking on new work for six months. But what he did learn
was that there are two application paths for new construction or renovation. The first is a "Full Plans
Application" which as it implies requires a set of drawings which the planners review before approving the
project. The second method used mainly for smaller projects is the "Building Notice Application". All the fees
are the same, about $850, but no drawings or plans are required. The inspection process is the same except
the building inspector reviews the work on site. The latter is the route of choice, as Bruce will be able to
make the application in person with less scrutiny when he is there at the end of March.

________________________________________April 2008_____________________________________
                                              April 08 Photos
Unfortunately Jan had to cancel her trip because of an emergency with Frankie.  But Bruce was  able to get a
lot accomplished by being there almost three weeks, and by being there in person.  He bought an unplanned
car, well  not exactly a car, it is a van. A Fiat Doblo to be exact. It is a 1.9 litre turbo charged diesel cargo
van. It gets 55 miles per gallon, and with the price of diesel and gasoline at over $9 a gallon, that sounded
pretty good. Cousin John had a co-worker who happened to have the Fiat for sale. There are very few pick-up
trucks available in England, so a van will be ideal for hauling and carrying building materials and debris. So it
ended being a fortunate coincidence.

Upon his arrival in Kilkhampton, camping at the property did not look very appealing, so Bruce went to a local
campground about 4 miles away and took up residency there for 14 days. It was a nice campground owned by
very nice people, Matt and Tina Lewis. There were showers, toilets, and a washer and dryer. Just his luck it
was colder in April than it had been all Winter. It snowed twice and hailed three times.  Three nights the
overnight temperatures were -3 Celsius which is about 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Most nights it was just above
freezing. He had to buy four sleeping bags and sleep in his clothes every night. Brrrrrr! He was able to buy a
butane catalytic heater and huddle around that to try to get warm before going to bed. The daytime
temperatures were about 50 degrees, but when the sun was not out it felt quite cold. He had packed a Honda
generator in his suitcase so had lights in the tent and a means to charge tools and electronics.

The five main things on the agenda were:
1- Meet with the man who was going to install the water line.
2- Find someone to do the groundwork.
3- Find a structural engineer.
4- Find the appropriate way to dispose of the old asbestos roofing material.
5- Get the building permit in his hand.

1- The A39(the main road adjacent to White House Cottage) had to be crossed either by thrust boring under
it, or open cutting a trench across it to connect to the water main in the field on the other side. Initially the
hope was to bore under the road, but after meeting with Simon, he was told by the local utility authority that
it was too risky to bore for fear of hitting any of  the several fiber optics in the road. 5 miles down the road
in Morwenstow there is a very large satellite receiving installation for transatlantic communications. Simon  
filed the initial paperwork, and said he should be able to get the water line in by mid May.

2- After staying in a B&B the first night in Kilkhampton, Sally the owner, gave Bruce a lot of good local
contacts.  One of the contacts was a ground works contractor whom he hired and said that it would be no
problem to install a hedgebank (about a 4 foot high by 350 feet long mound of dirt with a hedge planted on the
top) along the road, grade the site and add some drainage.  He made a very good suggestion about altering the
entrance by curving the hedgebank around the front of the house a few feet creating a screen from the road.
Bruce hopes to return in June for a couple of weeks to oversee the ground work.

3- Finding a structural engineer for such a small project on short notice proved not to be an easy task. Bruce
had tried to make contacts before leaving only to find six months to be the earliest anyone would be able to do
the job. Once there and following lead after lead, he found Michael who could do it in the two weeks
remaining. After looking more closely at White House Cottage it looked like the existing walls and foundation
could not be utilized to support the new roof. So Bruce proposed to Michael that new timber frame walls and
foundation be built inside the old walls to support a trussed roof.  Michael said that he had done that sort of
thing recently with a barn conversion. A week and a half later  Bruce's cousin John and his wife Jo from
Teignmouth came for an afternoon drive to see White House Cottage for themselves. Upon walking inside to
look around, they noticed some papers on the old stove in the chimney. It was junk mail and the engineered
plans from the structural engineer. The Postman had actually delivered mail to the inside of the building and
left it on the old stove!!!!!!

4- Finding out how to dispose of the asbestos roofing material proved to be somewhat comical. When asking  
local contacts how to dispose of it, they all said bury it in the back yard. The asbestos assessment firm who
made the determination that there was asbestos in the roofing material said to bury it. And finally the local
company which provides a dumpster and hauls it to the appropriate landfill, said to bury it. So as not to run
the risk of future problems with anyone who might have a problem with not disposing of it correctly, it will go
into the $500 dumpster and get disposed of at the rate of $320 a ton.

5- And the last and most important task: To have an approved permit in hand. During  the first week, and
after about an hour and a half drive to Bodmin where the Council offices are, the application was made and
accepted at a cost of $1,300. A week later the call came that the Building Notice Acceptance was ready to
be picked up. Another drive to Bodmin and the required paperwork was successfully in hand. ***As an aside,
Bruce had driven back to Bodmin at the end of the last week to deliver the engineering to the Council, and
today (04/20) in St. John, received a Voicemail on his UK mobile phone (he bought one while there) that the
plans were satisfactory.

The owner of the campground (link to their website)  where Bruce was staying, was building about a 1,200 sq.
ft. accessory building with men's and women's toilets and showers, laundry facilities and wash sinks etc. The
concrete slab was  sitting ready to begin framing (it was to be a timber frame structure). By this time all
Bruce's tasks were accomplished, so he spent 4 days helping the owner and his builder frame the building
including putting up the roof trusses. It was interesting to see how wood frame buildings are built in England.
Except for all the measurements being in Metric and peculiar names for some of the parts (such as noggins for
blocking, headbinder for top plate and spandrell for a gable end truss), the method is very similar. A little
goodwill went a long way, apart from making new friends, Matt was kind enough to let Bruce store the Fiat van
on his property in exchange for Bruce's help.

Here are a couple of ideas that are being thrown around as to future floor plans.
1- Leaving the fireplace where it is and adding a stone wall to it. Plan A.
2- Tearing down the old fireplace and rebuilding it facing toward the back of the house. Plan B.
(This will be up to the discretion of the building official).

_______________________________________June 2008______________________________________
                                               June 08 Photos

Bruce left St. John on a Friday and arrived in London at 8am on Saturday. Not having to rent a car meant
taking the fast train from Heathrow to Paddington, changing trains to Exeter, then on a bus to Bude and
finally a taxi to the Willow Valley Campground. The actual journey was 26 hours portal to portal. With a 5
hour time difference that meant it only took 21 hours to get there.

Upon arrival, Bruce was pleased to find that the water line that he had contracted for had been installed the
week before. There was now a water meter and an outside hose bib. The total cost to tap the 12 inch water
main across the road, cross the road, put in a meter, hose bib and all the fees came to $5,800.

The plan for the week was to clear the property of all trees and bushes to the property lines. Dig a 350 foot
ditch along the East side where a road drain discharged at the high end of the South corner. Build an earth
bank 300 feet long, 4 feet high for future hedge planting. Fill in the old pond, create a drive and parking area
and install a septic tank.

The English have a great system for excavating. They use a track hoe which they call a digger, and a sort of
large motorized rubber tired wheelbarrow that is driven by an operator called a dumper. It seemed to be a
very efficient way of moving material around the site with the least effort. Almost 1000 cubic yards of earth
was moved in a week using the two machines. The material that came out of the ditch, new pond and various
holes was moved and used to build the banks. The 120 tons of stone that was brought in was moved using the
dumper. All the garbage and burn pile was moved with the dumper.

Monday- First day of work. The digger had been delivered an Saturday and the operator (Wayne) arrived at
8am. Bruce had contracted with Michael Vanstone to provide the equipment, one man and materials to do the
job. It was Bruce's job to run the dumper, which had a capacity of about 5 cubic yards. First on the agenda
was to clear all the trees and debris from around the front of the house to get to the pond to be able to fill
it in. Michael brought a couple of loads of rubble from his yard, which had to be later removed  and replaced
with 6 inch stone. After removing all the vegetation a large amount of debris was found left by the previous
owner. It was mostly rusted old farming equipment. Bruce spent his spare time during the week picking up and
bagging all the small pieces of rubbish which kept turning up. All that went to the tip (public dumpster) on the
way to the tent at the end of the day. Upon visiting the tip, it was discovered that they accept asbestos
roofing at no charge. It had to be wrapped in plastic and put in a marked bin. That will save about $1,600.
The rubble brought by Michael had too much dirt and not enough rubble, so had to be dug out of the old pond
and replaced with 24 tons of 6 inch stones. But all of that was not wasted and went into the building of the
banks.

Tuesday- A massive hole was dug for the debris, which created more material for the banks. Wayne was an
artist with his digger.  He stripped off the 12 or 18 inches of top soil, piled it aside and dug the hole. After
putting in the debris and 4 feet of clay cover he put the topsoil back leaving it abut 6 inches high for future
settling. The finishing of the clearing the parking area and moving the trees from the front to the back took
care of the rest of the day.

Wednesday-  The 350 feet of ditch was finished using a laser transit to maintain a uniform slope from the
beginning of the road culvert outlet to the back corner. There was about 5 feet of fall between the two. All
the dirt from digging the ditch was carried to the West side of the property to use in building that bank .
Because more dirt was needed for the bank a new pond was dug at the end of the ditch in the North East
corner. A nice surprise was the discovery of a stream at the new pond corner. This made it so that the outlet
of the pond can run into the stream. It is a nice little stream, about 4 feet wide with flowing water. There is
also access to the adjacent woodland.

Thursday- Most of the day was used to build and sculpt the 300 feet of banks. The one along the road was
6-8 feet high on the inside and 3 feet on the road side. This was because the ground is about 4 feet lower
than the road. More stone was brought in for the driveway. The old hand dug well which was about 5 feet in
diameter and 12 feet deep with almost no water was filled in.

Friday- More stone, about 120 tons in total was delivered for the parking and drive areas. The burn pile was
consolidated and piled high into a mountain. The last bit of bank was finished on the South end next to the
road and the new pond had some finishing details completed. The new septic tank showed up too late to be
installed.

Weekend- Bruce put in the gate and fence to create an entrance. The center post was put in a sleeve in the
ground so it could be removed in the future for large truck access. He also bought a 45 lb bag of grass seed
and seeded all the bare ground including the banks.

Monday-  A 7 foot by 7 foot by 10 foot deep hole was dug for the septic tank 15 meters (45 feet) from the
house. Twelve tons of chippings (1/2 inch gravel) were delivered. Six inches were put in the bottom of the hole
for a base. The tank was dropped in and more chippings with dirt in the corners piled up until the whole tank
was encased in chippings. Apparently tanks have been known to float out of the ground if they are pumped out
when the soil is saturated with water.

Bruce left in the early afternoon for a drive to Bodmin to the North Cornwall  County Council to get an
understanding of the answer he had received in response to building a garage addition. The earlier request was
rejected for the reason of having too much volume, with no further explanation. Upon meeting with a
representative of the Council, she explained that a building can be increased by a volume of no more than a
maximum of 70 cubic meters without Planning Permission. This revelation of "permitted development" was a
welcome surprise. It means that instead of adding a garage  Plan C has emerged, increasing the size of the
two small rooms. White House Cottage is  now 240 cubic meters, so can be increased by almost one third in
size without permission. One other thing revealed at the meeting was that there are no regulations for doing
any interior work, which means that interior walls can go anywhere and the fireplace can be moved or replaced.

Tuesday- The return trip home to St. John in the reverse order.

Unfortunately, once again Jan could not go and Bruce had to go alone.  But now both Bruce and Jan have
tickets for this coming September 5th, returning September 17th.

Click on June 08 Photos  to see all the recent progress. Then click on the 'Inside Pics 11/07 and 'Outside Pics
11/07' tabs at the top or bottom to compare the changes.

Upon returning home, application was made in late June to see if an extension of less than 70 cubic metres will
be allowed. Click here to see what the new footprint will look like. Or click here to see what our ideas are for
an extended floor plan, if approved.


________________________________________August 2008____________________________________

Bruce had not heard from the Council by mid August, so he e-mailed to see if there was any news. They
replied that they had not received the June inquiry (even though Bruce had an e-mail confirmation). But the
person who responded to this most recent e-mail said that she had made the decision that we only needed
Building Regulation permission for the extension, attaching the appropriate forms necessary to apply.  The
application and a cheque  for 304.33 pounds  were mailed, so now we wait again.  Hopefully there is enough
time to be able to pick up the permit when in Cornwall in early September.

On August 27 Bruce  received an e-mail from the North Cornwall District Council saying that they had
received the 'Building Notice' application and fee. But apparently there was a miscalculation of the fee, and
another 115 pounds 67 pence is needed. That day another cheque went that way. Hopefully when the
additional money is received the application process will go smoothly and be approved. If approved, this will be
one giant step toward rebuilding White House Cottage.

Part of the reason for the urgency is; it seems that as stated below in the most recent 'Planning Guide for
Householders' there is going to be a change in the rules.

"It is  expected that the rules  governing what  householders can do
without the  need to  apply for  planning  permission will  change  on
1 October 2008. The advice contained on pages 7 to 21 only applies
therefore to works begun before that date."

This is very troubling; so the push is to get all the approvals, and actually call for an inspection  in September
so as to be on record as having begun. All the work approved and applied for and has been under the existing
rules so as not to have to go through the rigorous process of getting Planning Permission.

Our fingers are crossed.


_____________________________________September  2008___________________________________
                                              Sept 08 Photos

Miracle of Miracles, Jan was able to go with Bruce this time. They arrived in Cornwall on Tuesday, set up
camp and went to visit White House Cottage. Jan had not seen it in person, so was very anxious to view all the
changes. The previous summer had been the wettest on record in the Bude area, so the campground was wet
and muddy. But the summer rains were beneficial to the grass seeds  Bruce had sown on the new banks in his
previous trip in June. The pond was full of water and all the new dirt banks were now very green with  grass.

First thing Wednesday morning they drove to Bodmin to the North Cornwall District Council and met with
Gloria. Bruce was concerned that because of the delay in payment for the extension, the paperwork nor
approval would  be ready. To his surprise Gloria met them with the extension approval and the paperwork to
request an inspection. A pre-inspection request for both the repair and extension were filled out on the spot.
When they returned to the campsite that afternoon, the hedge plants had been delivered  as promised. The
rest of the day was comprised of moving the plants to the site.

Thursday, Friday until dusk and Saturday until 1pm were spent planting 1000 plants, 500 Hawthorn, 250
Blackthorn and 250 Sea Buckthorn. Bruce had also bought a tool that when stood on removes a plug of dirt the
size of the root ball of the plants. The process was: stand on the tool (which pushed out the previous plug), put
the plant in the hole, drive a bamboo cane beside it and place a plastic guard over both the plant and cane to
protect against rabbits. This was repeated 1000 times. We think Bruce made an error in ordering too many
plants, as 600-800 would probably have been sufficient.  But now there will be a very dense hedge hopefully
sooner than later.

Friday at 3pm the building officer arrived and was very pleasant. One of the first things he wanted to know,
"was White House Cottage a dwelling"? One thing led to another and soon he was explaining what inspections
were required for each stage of construction. He had brought all the plans and engineering with him, so mainly
explained the energy and safety codes to Bruce. He said an owner is allowed to do all the construction,
plumbing and wiring. He provided Bruce with an Inspection Request Form for required future inspections. The
only thing that requires a licensed person is gas piping. All in all it went very well, and hopefully the use of the
building will not come up again until after the final inspection.

Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday were spent visiting friends and relatives, and the occasional pub or
restaurant, such as The Bush Inn. Over the weekend Bruce and Jan went to look at a caravan (camper
trailer). The new plan is for Bruce to live in a caravan on the property in April, instead of a tent or shed. This
makes more sense because it is instant and requires no time wasted building something to live in.

Tuesday was the bus and train trip to London, spending the night and returning to St. John on Wednesday
morning.

The plan now is that Bruce return in April for three or four months to tear down the existing portions approved
and get White House Cottage rebuilt to the stage of a new roof to be able to leave it in a secure state.

___________________________________April - Aug  2009_____________________________________
                                               April-Aug 09 Photos by the Week

Bruce returned in the second week of April for 14 weeks, with several goals in mind:

1-Remove the old roof.
2-Tear down the three unstable walls of White House Cottage.
3-Excavate for a new foundation.
4-Pour a new steel reinforced integrated monolithic footing/foundation, and cover with a radon barrier
membrane.
5-Build 3 new block walls.
6-Repair faults in the old walls still remaining.
7-Pour a steel reinforced concrete ring beam around the entire perimeter of the building.
8-Wood frame exterior structural support walls inside the existing and new exterior walls.
9-Erect a hip roof truss system.
10-Install and paint new facias and barge boards.
11-Install fabric roof membrane and 1x2 battens for slate roof.
12-Install 2,200 100 year old slate tiles with lead flashings.
13-Install new gutters and downspouts.
14-Plaster the outside of the building.
15-And a few other things if time or money permitted. Install a second entrance gate, build shutters and
doors, build a wind turbine mast, install a new drain field and  install  a solar panel.

Bruce arrived  on April 11th and went straight to Bush to collect the caravan which he had bought  "sight
unseen" last fall. It had been stored at the campground by his friends Matt and Tina. The first project was to
take it to White House Cottage, place it behind the house and build a screen around it so as not to be obvious
from the road. A real English flush toilet was then put behind the caravan and connected to the septic tank
installed the year before.

1-Planning was done on how to remove the roof without spreading asbestos dust and not have the walls fall over
during demolition. The roof sheeting was corrugated asbestos cement board and some corrugated tin. Asbestos
being a hazardous substance has to be disposed of in the proper manner. The asbestos cement board is in a
stable form and the only precautions were not to cut it and to wrap it in plastic and dispose of it at an
approved disposal site. Everyone from an asbestos mitigation company to a removal company said to "just bury
it". As it happens the local recycling centre had an approved skip(dumpster) for accepting asbestos. The gable
ends were sheeted in asbestos as well, so they came off first. So it all had to come down in sheets and be
wrapped in plastic. It was brittle, boards were screwed on the roof first to be able to walk on the roof in
order to grind the fastenings and slide the sheets off. They were then wrapped in plastic and taken to the
tip(recycling center). The skeleton of a wooden framework that was left had to be taken down carefully so as
not to force the walls in or out and fall over. The two center frames were left tied to the chimney to be
lifted out by the digger when it came to do the wall demolition and foundation excavation.

2-After all the debris was removed, the digger showed up as planned with Wayne, the same expert operator
who did all the hedgebank work. The first job was to knock down the end wall  by the digger. This allowed
Wayne to get inside the building with the machine to carefully remove the last two wooden trusses which were
tied to the chimney. Wayne skillfully lifted and lowered each one and set them aside on the ground for later
disassembly. This way there was no lateral stress on the fragile remaining walls. Once in the building, the old
brick fireplace and chimney were the  next to go. Bruce operated the dumper and took loads of fireplace and
chimney rubble out and dumped it against the bank. The old concrete slab under the fireplace, one inside wall
and three exterior walls all were taken and dumped at the far end of the property for a possible future new
road access.

3-With all the old portion gone, the job of rebuilding began. Because the old walls were not built on a concrete
slab, but just on concrete footings, it was easy to excavate inside the walls for a new integrated concrete
footing and floor  slab. After all the material was dug out and hauled away, the whole footprint of the building
was dug down 12 inches. After that, a truck load of hardcore was brought in. This was then placed in the
center and compacted to a depth of 8 inches.  This meant that the perimeter of the building to a width of 3
feet would have concrete 12 inches thick and the center area would be 4 inches thick.

The last thing to do before the digger and dumber left was to do a "drain field repair". Wayne, was an artist,
he stripped the sod off the top and placed it aside. Then he took the 12 inches or so of topsoil and placed it
next to the trench. Next he dug the trench and placed that soil on the opposite side. After placing the pipe,
gravel and filter fabric, the soil, topsoil and sod were replaced in the reverse order they were removed. The
result was as if nothing was disturbed. Brilliant!

4-A grid of 1/2" steel reinforcing bar was placed around the perimeter in the footing area, and 3/8" steel
mesh mats were put on the entire area. Extra steel was put in the area of the new fireplace and all the steel
was held up 2 inches off the ground by small concrete blocks. Holes were drilled every 18 inches into the old
footings and 5/8 inch steel dowel pins were driven in to connect them to the new concrete. After a building
inspector came and approved the steel it was time to pour concrete.

Wayne and a couple of other workers from Vanstone Company were hired to assist with the pour. English
concrete companies have as an option trucks with attached articulating conveyors. These stretch out as much
as 12 metres.  Bruce had ordered 21 cubic metres (about 25 yards) of concrete. The workers arrived, and
the first truck arrived, but it's conveyor was broken. Now What?. That was too much to wheel barrow,
besides the fact that there was only one on site. Wayne to the rescue.  He called his boss and within an hour
a digger was delivered.  The digger was used to bucket the concrete over the walls and put it in place. In less
than two hours it was all in place and screeded  with a vibrating aluminum screed. Using the digger bucket  to
place the concrete and three people and a vibrating screed made it a breeze.

5-With a new foundation in place the next thing was to build three new concrete block walls.  Bruce had
contacted Stewart by e-mail to ask if he would do that job. The blocks were delivered from a building
merchant in Holsworthy twelve miles away. Bruce placed them inside the building in order that they be within
easy reach for Stewart.  Bruce mixed the mortar, cut the blocks and handed them to Stewart for placement.
15 hours were all that were needed to finish the job.

6-If you have been looking at the photos of the old part of the building which was left, it should be fairly
obvious that there were a few defects. It looked like the old walls were built at different times with
different materials.  Some were block, and some were made with some sort of poured concrete.  It almost
seems like beach sand was used in the mix.  That part is crumbling apart in places and when picked at, there
were small shells in the walls. The front door and front windows were cut back.  1/2 inch re-bar was then
drilled into the walls and forms installed.  The corner of the building with the big gap was also repaired.
Concrete was then mixed using the mixer Stewart left for Bruce to use for a couple of months.

7-The final big concrete project was to tie all the repairs, old walls and new block walls with a 6 inch thick by
12 inch high steel reinforced concrete ring beam at the top of all the walls. One form was put up on the inside
of the building and set level using a laser transit. A 150 foot long steel structure was put inside the forms on
top of the walls.  350 links had to be tied to the 4 pieces of 1/2 inch steel reinforcing rods. The outer forms
then closed in the beam and Stewart and his helper assisted in hand carrying the concrete to the top and
pouring it in. Jan arrived just in time to see all this happen. This is only the second time Jan had been and was
very excited to be there for a month of work.  And yes a little fun as well. She got busy right away
organizing the burn piles and taking advantage of the good weather for a few days of burning. A couple of days
later the forms were stripped and it was time for  wood. Some time was made for a little fun as well.  A
couple of days here and there for sightseeing. And a couple of Pub lunches. The weather co-operated while Jan
was there, so a lot was accomplished with her help.

8-Cornwall is in a radon hazard zone so precautions need to be taken in new construction to prevent radon gas
infiltration into buildings. A yellow barrier membrane which also served as a damp proof barrier was put on top
of the floor before any wood walls were framed up. The building had been engineered in such a way that the
roof was to be supported by wood walls erected against the outside walls.  That way the old walls were no
longer structurally bearing any weight. Bruce did all the cutting and Jan did all the nailing, and in less than a
week all the walls were up.

9-Jan came just during the right time frame, because trying to put up trusses with only one person would have
been next to impossible. The trusses were delivered on a Friday, and by the following weekend they were all
up. Bruce had changed the roof design from gables to hips. This is a more traditional design in the area and
showed off more slate roof tiles. One unexpected benefit was that it lessened the volume of the house and
therefore by definition, there was not any extension. The original application was approved because the
extension was for less than 70 cubic metres in size. This fact will become important in future developments.

10-Facias and Barge boards had to go on before the roof felt and battens. It was easy to paint them at the
same time using the scaffolding Bruce had built.

11-Jan was also a great help in putting on all the battens onto which the slate tiles were attached. The roof
constructions was one of the ways building is done in the Old Country.  No plywood is used for lateral bracing
over the roof trusses. 6 foot wide (actually 2 metre) water proof membrane which is breathable is applied
directly on the trusses. This is not an easy feat in the wind with no firm footing. Once again not a one person
project. Then, 1 inch by 2 inch wood battens are nailed over the membrane into the trusses.  They are spaced
according to the spacing of the slate tiles which will be fastened to them. Because of the hip nature of the
roof no two battens were the same length, so there was a lot of cutting involved.

12-Bruce decided that the one thing he wanted was a traditional slate tile roof. A lot of the roofs in new
construction in the area are concrete roof tiles.  These are practical, durable and fairly economical.  The next
step up, and one which is very traditional is natural slate tiles. Cornwall had many slate quarries years ago and
was a major producer of roof tiles, which were highly prized for their quality. Major production then moved to
Wales and now China, all for economic reasons. The Delabole quarry, which is about 30 miles to the south of
White House Cottage, still produces quality slate, but at a  high price, and in small quantities. Another option
is used or reclaimed slates. But they are in high demand, therefore are quite expensive.  The advantage of
reclaimed slates is once installed it is an instant "old" looking roof. This is what Bruce wanted to accomplish,
because after all White House Cottage has been there over 100 years.  One of the problems with reclaimed
slates is finding sufficient quantities of similar tiles from one building. Luckily White House Cottage has a roof
area of about 12 squares (1200 sq. ft.). Bruce found a source in Tavistok in Devon, about 40 miles away.  But
the problem comes in the price. New slates from China are about 75p each, reclaimed 100 year old Delabole
slates are about 2 pounds(200p) each. That makes them almost 3 times the price of new!!!! Needless to say,
Bruce wanted the old ones, so was able to have 2,200 Delabole slates delivered for 175p a piece. AND 30
ridge tiles  from the same building to match, for 5 pounds(500p) each.

Installing used slate tiles is very time consuming. To begin with, when they are removed the holes where they
were fastened tend to become enlarged because the old nail heads pull through. As you can see in this picture
the holes are no longer small. That means new holes have to be drilled. Almost all the tiles had to be drilled,
2,200 tiles times 2 holes each is a lot of holes. Next Bruce decided on a hip roof, so that meant a lot of
cutting with a diamond wheel in a 4 inch grinder, on the roof! And another thing, all the joints have to be
flashed WITH LEAD FLASHING! Bruce figured he had about 240 hours of labour in the roof tiles.  But, well
worth it,  wouldn't you say?

13-Bruce was concerned about whether he was doing the roof tiling according to the proper building standards,
so he called for an inspection after the roof trusses were installed and before too many slates were on. One
of the required inspections as per the pre-inspection of 2008, was a timber frame inspection. Bruce called for
one on Friday morning at 9am, at 2pm the building inspector arrived. He walked inside, looked up at the roof
and said "looks like a roof to me, proper job." and asked to sign the inspection card, looking to leave.  "Wait a
minute, is that it?" said Bruce. He had a few questions for the inspector about insulation and further
inspections etc. After the inspector left, Bruce realized he had left his bank card at the bank and drove to
Bude to  retrieve it. Upon returning he found a note in the caravan door.  It was from the Cornwall Council
Planning Enforcement Officer, Mr. Paul Pockett. The note said to call him  about the building works at White
House Cottage. So, between the time  the building inspector had left and the time Bruce returned, Mr.
Pockett had shown up. Doesn't one hand know what the other hand is doing in the Planning Council? It took over
two weeks after leaving numerous messages, to finally talk with Mr. Pockett in person. The first thing Bruce
asked was whether he was in violation of any regulations.  Mr. Pocket responded that he was not. The gist of
the conversation was that people in the area had been calling the Council complaining about the work going on.
Mr. Pockett said that the Council had made a mistake about White House Cottage, that Bruce  must stop what
he is doing and state  his intentions? Well, that did not make Bruce's day, so the next week he went to see
an attorney who was an expert in planning issues. A month later Bruce received a letter from Mr. Pockett
saying that work must stop converting the building into a dwelling. Also would Bruce state in writing what his
intentions were. Bruce sent an e-mail to Mr. Pockett explaining that he planned to stop work and leave the
building in a safe and secure manner. Bruce is still waiting for a resolution because he has heard nothing
further from the Council concerning the issue.

14-With the "use" issue looming over his head, Bruce was depressed about the turn of events, and as it
happens the money ran out before the time ran out, so the last couple of weeks were spent building shutters,
rendering(plastering) the new block walls and putting up gutters and down spouts.

15-The British planning/zoning system is rather peculiar, it all revolves around the "use" of the property.  
"Use" of a property is governed by the Planning Council, and only approved use in the Council's eyes is
permitted. White House Cottage was once a dwelling and according to the Council has lost it's "use" as a
dwelling by abandonment. Apparently a person can change the use of a property from a dwelling to agriculture
without permission, but cannot reverse the use without permission. This seems a little hypocritical. In addition,
property (rate) tax is only paid on land which is inhabited. Farm land has no property taxes levied. No
property(rate) taxes are paid on White House Cottage, which seems like the Council is "cutting off their nose
to spite their face". And furthermore, if a person uses a property in a non-compliant way for 4 years without
anyone complaining then they can apply for "lawful development", and obtain approval for that use.  The whole
system seems quite regressive.

Bruce was able to apply to the Council to vote as a resident of White House Cottage and got a letter saying he
was a resident, and did vote in the local election while Jan was there. He also applied for an "old fart" bus
pass and was given one as a resident of White House Cottage and can now ride the bus for free  in Cornwall
anytime of the day, and free during off peak hours every where else in England.

So the saga continues.  

                                   
____________________________________November 2009_____________________________________
                                    November 09 Photos

Bruce returned in mid October for 5 weeks, with several goals in mind for this trip:

1-To further establish residency in England at White House Cottage by being there to participate in the  
canvasing of eligible voters ending on October 31 for the upcoming national election in May 2010.
2-Insulate the floor, run the water lines for heating and plumbing.
3-Pour a 2" screed of concrete over the floor insulation and the plastic plumbing pipes.
4-Install electrical conduit in the walls and insulate the walls.
5-Install plywood on the inside of the exterior stud walls for lateral bracing as per the engineering.
6-Build the fireplace.
7-Plant Huckleberry and Western Maple plants brought to St John by Jan in September for England.
8-Meet with a Cornwall Council Planner to get a better understanding of the status of White House Cottage.

The trip did not start off all that well. Upon landing at Heathrow airport in London, Bruce went to retrieve his
bags and found no luggage. For some unknown reason American Airlines had mistakenly put his bags on a later
British Airways flight.  Four days  and an hours drive later, they were retrieved on the following  Saturday.
The concern was for the plants which were in the bags. Maple trees and Huckleberry bushes as well as 3 house
plants for cousin Jo were not very happy to be in the dark for  nearly five days. These poor light starved
plants were the first thing on the list, they had to go into the ground right away.

Reconnaissance was done on the previous trip for the upcoming concrete pour. A local concrete pumping company
had been found who would provide the line pump along with two men to help place the mud. Stewart who did the
block work and helped with the ring beam, along with his helper were asked to assist with the floor.

Before any of that could be done, 2 inches of rigid foam insulation needed to be placed on the existing radon
barrier covered concrete slab foundation. The fireplace and hearth locations were marked so as no insulation
was placed there to interfere with the extra weight of the fireplace and stone work. All the future radiators
and plumbing fixture locations had to be determined so that plastic pipes could be run across the top of the
insulation and secured before the concrete pour. The last thing was to put screed boards down to drag 2x4s
across to level the wet concrete the day of the pour.

                              But Wait, There's More!                     

One afternoon while preparing for the pour, a man drove up and got out of his car.   He amusingly said, "I had
an appointment in the neighborhood and stopped by to see if anyone was home". It was the infamous Cornwall
County Planning Enforcement Officer, Mr. Paul Pocket. This is the first time Bruce had met him in person. Mr.
Pocket said he wanted to get an understanding of what Bruce's  intentions were for White House Cottage. He
proceeded to  explain that the Council determined  it's use as a dwelling had been abandoned,  and  could not
be made to look like a dwelling. Bruce told Mr Pocket that he had all the appropriate permissions to do the
work he was doing. Mr Pocket responded that the Council had made a mistake and as was stated in their
previous letter, 'Bruce must stop all work on the building'. Bruce then told Mr. Pocket that he thought that
was ludicrous because it  previously was a dwelling, and therefore already looked like one. In the back of his
mind, Bruce was now worried that the upcoming planned work was now in jeopardy. One thing led to another and
a compromise was reached that Bruce could pour the slab, insulate and put the sheeting on the interior walls as
long at it was plywood and not sheet rock or plaster. The situation seemed to be left in a state of limbo. Mr.
Pocket said Bruce was not in violation of any laws, but was on a fine  edge. Mr Pocket asked to take
photographs, and Bruce refused to let him. In an interesting turn of events, as Mr Pocket left he said "All I
can say, it is unfortunate that you cleared all the vegetation away so that people could see what you are
doing".

Three days later, five people and a line pump made light work of  placing  8 yards of concrete on the floor.
The floor surface was intentionally left rough for what at the time was in preparation of the future
installation of a slate or stone floor. That plan is now in doubt, so it was thought that it would be wise to put
a thin coat of topping mortar to make it easier to use and maintain in the near term.

The next step was to run the electrical conduit and boxes for future outlets and switches.  The conduit was
run behind more 4" rigid foam insulation which was put in between the studs on the exterior walls. A vapor
barrier was then put on the walls before plywood (OSB) was attached with screws.

The last thing on the list was to build the fireplace. But luck having it, money ran out before time. But there
were enough concrete blocks, sand and cement left over from the previous summer to at least build the base.  
The plan is to use grey slate stones from a local quarry for the fireplace itself. Build a slate raised hearth
and ceiling high slate stone wall  with the fireplace, extending to the exterior wall.  The practical solution
seems to put a small wood stove in the fireplace instead of a real wood burning firebox. Permission from the
Council was asked to install a boiler by the previous owner.  The reply was that it was  unregulated work and
therefore did not need Planning permission, so  putting in a "wood" boiler would be a wise thing to do. The final
floor plan is expected to look like this.

The last week was spent planning the next visits projects. A trip was made to the quarry view the slate where
the  stones are to be purchased. Bruce talked to the owner, and with his help calculated the quantity of
stones required to do the job and their cost. He also went to the slab slate merchant to enquire of the type
and size of slate slabs to fit the hearth.  

And 'last but not least', was a trip back to the Cornwall County Council to speak with a planning officer to
investigate if it would be  possible to apply to  convert White House Cottage, which apparently in the Council's
eyes is an agricultural building, back into a dwelling again. The planner stated that since it is not considered a
dwelling it would  be like asking permission to build a house from scratch. And because they do not allow new
builds in the countryside it would be denied summarily. He said that there was an exception for "barn
conversions", and was the building stone with a slate roof? When he found out it was block construction with a
slate roof, he put his nose in the air and said "that would be out of the question". What a stuck up snob. The
last option  was to apply for a peculiar thing called "lawful development". If a person has made a non-compliant
use of a building for 4 years without complaint, then he may apply to have the use recognized by law, and be
approved for that use.  What a "crock".  Bruce now has all the applications in hand to be used at a later date.

And finally time was taken to drive to Torquay to the family plot to clean up the site and lay a plaque to the
memory of Bruce's mother Moreen Davey (Fielding/Goldman).

The new and revised plan is to go back in the Spring of 2010 and put in surface water drainage, french drains
and build a couple of catch basins to divert the surface water from intruding into the building.  Also on the list
is to finish the inside portion of the fireplace and fireplace wall. Oh yes, and to vote in the national election on
May 4 and "throw the bums out".
_______________________________________May 2010_______________________________________
                                                                       May 2010 Photos

Bruce arrived at White House Cottage on May 2nd to find it just as he had left it.  It was untouched except
for one cracked roof slate, and dry as a bone after one of the coldest winters in recent memory in Cornwall.

The goal this trip was to:
1-Install a french drain and a catch basin to keep the surface water from seeping into the building.
3-Run electrical lines to the future wind turbine pad.
4-Extend the sewer line to the building.
5-Make a patio out of the old fireplace bricks outside of the double doors.
6-Pipe the downspouts into the new catch basin and french drain.
7-Plant a hedge to form a future formal garden at the back.
8-Build a fireplace for a wood stove out of local Delabole slate stones.
9-And if time permitted, plant an orchard/fruit area.
10-And of course vote in the national election.

Bruce had previously arranged with his friend Matt to lend him a small digger(track hoe) so that Bruce could do
all the groundwork himself.  After thinking about it for a couple of days, Bruce came to the conclusion that he
should hire a digger and operator from Michael Vanstone, the company who had done all the previous
groundwork.  This way an experienced operator could do all the digging and Bruce could do the grunt work as
with the previous work. This turned out to be a wise decision because all the work was done in three and one
half days instead of the estimated 2-3 weeks it would have taken Bruce to do it alone. And the finished
results were of better quality.

While the operator dug the ditches, Bruce was able to build a catch basin out of left over cement blocks from
the previous year. The operator also dug all the utility ditches for the water, sewer and electrical lines.  As
he was digging the next ditch, Bruce put in the new utility lines before the previous one was  back filled. The
whole process also involved delivery of various stones for the curtain drain and to cover the sewer line. As an
added bonus, on the last day the digger dug the fruit tree holes and mixed in compost with delivered sand  for
the new trees. New hardcore was also brought in  to improve the drive way and make a new walkway.

Now that all the ground work was finished ahead of schedule, this left time to build the fireplace,  It took 6
round trips to Delabole (about 20 miles away) to fetch the slate slabs and 2 1/2 tons of stones for the
fireplace. Then it took 7 more days to build the fireplace. The first day, stones were laid up to the level of
the back block wall built on the previous trip. The second day the hearth slate slabs were installed. The large
one was 900mm by 1200mm, and weighed about 300 pounds. Bruce was able to back the Doblo into the building
and slide the 300 pound slate off onto the hearth by himself. He then borrowed a chain fall from Matt to lift
it up before  lowering it onto a bed of mortar. After 5 more days the fireplace was done (except for being 10
stones short). Only three rows of stones could be placed in one session because of the weight of them on the
fresh mortar below. One day two sessions were done, one early and one later in the day after the morning
mortar  had set up enough to take the weight of the next rows of stones.

After talking to local people about fruit trees and orchards, Bruce realized that the newly planted trees were
in danger of being eaten by deer.  This meant he had to build a 7 foot high deer fence around the entire area.
The work never ends! That extra time came sure came in handy.

Bruce was to be there for 4 weeks, with Jan scheduled to arrive for the last week, but with most of the
work already done, that meant there might be time to relax, visit friends and sightsee when Jan arrived.
Because Jan was only to be there for 5 full days, to save time it was suggested that Bruce drive to London to
fetch Jan at the airport and stop to see their old friend Pip in Southampton on the return to Cornwall. That
would save a precious day. Her plane was 4 hours late and Aer Lingus lost her bag. She did finally get her bag,
but only a day before she left.

Because most of the planned work had been finished early, the pressure was off, and a relaxing (Ha), 5 days
were filled with sightseeing and visiting friends. There was even time to do some bonus tasks.  Jan wanted a
few more fruit plants, such as kiwi and berries, so she planted those. She also planted 13 hedge plants for a
future formal garden in the back yard. She mowed the grass a couple of times and took all the rabbit guards
off the roadside hedge hawthorn, blackthorn and sea buckthorn and tied  the wind blown plants to the old
bamboo stakes with plastic tape. A person at the local nursery said that the 1000 plants were mature enough
for their stems not be bothered by rabbits. Bruce was able to make a grate to cover the catch basin, go back
to Delabole to get the 10 stones he was short, finish the fireplace and a few other odds and ends.

On a further positive note, the newly elected Conservative British government has a draft bill to loosen
planning regulations regarding  changing a building's use. These two quotes from the draft are especially
positive:

"Amending the Use Classes Order so that people can use land and buildings for any purpose allowed in the
local plan;"

"We will amend the Use Classes Order so that people can freely (i.e. without planning permission) change the use of
buildings within a range allowed by the local community in its local plan. We will retain the current categorisation of
uses (and start with an explicit assumption that all current approved existing uses are legitimate), but allow councils to
specify in their local plans the kinds of use they are content to permit for the buildings and land in each given part of
their area."

The new coalition government has a majority in Parliament, so things are looking very positive for the passage
of the bill and the future of White House Cottage.

Bruce hopes to return again in September.

__________________________________October-November 2010________________________________
                                            Oct/Nov Photos
The goal of this trip was originally to:
1-Build the bathroom walls.
2-Fabricate the shower stall base.
3-Finish the electrical rough-in.
4-Insulate the ceiling.
5-Start installing osb board on the ceiling.
6-Put up the wind turbine.

But that was not to be. In late August Bruce was diagnosed with prostate cancer, so plans to go to White
House Cottage in the Fall were put 'on the back burner'. Jan and Bruce's health insurance said they would not
pay for the $150,000 radiation treatment in the States (Plan A). Because the plane ticket to England was
already purchased, Bruce decided to go anyway and explore the possibility of enrolling in the English National
Health Service, and receive  treatment in England instead. And do some work as time permitted. The story is
broken into two parts below.

The medical part:
Because Bruce is a British National, he thought he might be eligible for health care in England (Plan B). The
difficult part seemed to be enrolling because he left in 1954, and there were no records of him.  The first
step for a new patient is to be accepted into a local Doctor's Surgery which is accepting new applications.
Because White House Cottage is in rural Cornwall and not a large city, there was a local Doctor's practice
accepting new patients 5 miles away in a small village called Bradworthy .  Friends and relatives in England had
warned that it would not easy to enroll, and there might be a waiting period of up to 6 months. Online
research indicated the need to bring identification in the form of a passport and utility bills to prove
residence. Bruce walked into the office at 10am, explained his situation and was told there would be no
problem. They asked for no identification or documentation, and asked him to return that afternoon at 3pm to
meet with a doctor.

He returned at 3pm, and met with Doctor Betts.  He explained his situation and gave  copies of his medical
records for the Doctor to review.  During the appointment, as they spoke, Dr. Betts was dictating a letter to
a Urologist at a local hospital for a referral  appointment. This was quite unbelievable. Two weeks later an
appointment letter arrived to see a Urologist in Barnstaple 30 miles to the north on November 19th. Bruce's
departure date was the 20th, but he thought he could still make the appointment anyway.  

Then on November 14th he received an e-mail from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia (Plan A) that they
had convinced the insurance company to pay 70% of the treatment in Atlanta. And that Piedmont Hospital  
would agree to accept that amount as full payment.  What a turn of events!  The appointment in Barstaple was
cancelled and Bruce left on the 20th as scheduled.

The work and other part:
Bruce had always wanted to get a UK drivers license because it would make car insurance cost about half of
what he was paying with a foreign license, and it would be another step to legitimise residency in White House
Cottage. Because the United States is not one of the licenses which can be exchanged for a British one, a
person has to start from scratch. This means applying for a Provisional License, just like one has never driven
before. Then one has to pass a two part written test and finally a practical test on the road. Bruce applied
online for the Provisional License and received it in the Post a week later. He then scheduled to take the
written test in Exeter the following Tuesday. That was passed by two points in each of the two parts. With
that in hand an appointment was made online to take the driving test on short notice two days after that in
Barnstaple. When arriving to take the test Bruce was advised by the examiner that the Doblo did not meet
the standards for the test because it had no rear windows and therefore no rear view mirror. But there is a
two year window to retake the test before starting all over again.

Working on White House Cottage this trip took the back seat to health and other activities. But the first
thing on the agenda was to  finally get the wind turbine up. With a little jury rigging and help from the Doblo
it went up without too much trouble. It produces between 25 and 50 watts an hour on average, which is enough
to operate the caravan without having to run the generator. Although there was a problem in a gale a week
later when there were 60-80 mile per hour gusts during the night.   The night of the storm all the lights and
every other electrical appliance had to be left on all night in order not to cause a fire because there was no
way to turn the turbine off. In the future the plan is to have sufficient batteries to absorb the power
generated during high winds. The turbine is a grand experiment which is a learning experience. But the puny
turbine pales in comparison to the three giant wind turbines finally being erected in the adjacent field after 6
years of bureaucracy.

On one day Bruce was able to can the 30-40 crab apples which were still on the tree and bring home for Jan.
They produced two nice jars of candied crab apples.

Another job which was able to be done was frame in the bathroom walls and pour a shower pan ready to be
tiled in the future. The back side of the fireplace stone wall had to be plastered smooth first. Then the wall
dividing the bathroom from the bedroom was built.  Then the short wall with a door into the bathroom from
the living area was installed. With the bathroom defined a shower pan was poured out of concrete. A
waterproof membrane was placed first and then a curb poured and finally the drain and floor of the shower.
A hole was drilled through the wall and the shower drain pipe dug and connected to the existing sewer line put
in the previous year. Where it came through the wall on the outside was covered up by some 'creative' cement
work.

Bruce went to the final boot sale of the season with a 'want list', but the only thing which caught his eye was
some old horse brasses.  They will look quite nice hanging from the mantel when the fireplace is finished. On
the last day there was time to mulch around the fruit trees.

Bruce hopes to return in the Spring of 2011 hopefully with Jan.

______________________________April/May 2011___________________________________
                                 April/May Photos
There is not much to report on this trip in April/May of 2011.  The basic goal was to finish the bathroom,
insulate and put up some more plywood on the ceiling,  build a stone wall in the bedroom and take the driving
test to complete getting a driving license.

Well things did not go to plan.  Apparently there is over a one month waiting period to take the driving test,
and Bruce was not going to be there long enough for an available appointment slot.

Bruce did purchase a diesel self propelled walk behind rough cut grass mower on Ebay the week before he left.
That way he was able to drive 150 miles to Manchester and pick it up the first week he was there. It cut
the time it took to mow the almost 3/4 acres tremendously. And because it had a 4 foot cutting swath and
was self propelled, was sooo much easier. It became almost a pleasure to cut the grass.  

Insulation was purchased and placed in the attic but not installed.  There was a little more wiring and gas
piping to do before that could happen.

As seen in the photos, the bathroom tiling was almost finished. Bruce under estimated the amount of stones
for the shower floor. Luckily a friend was able to purchase 3 more mats in the Home Depot on St Thomas to
complete the job on the next visit.

Bruce managed to get an appointment with a Planning and Urban Development Consultant. He gave an
understandable explanation of the rules and regulations. The planning laws say that White House Cottage can
not be converted back to residential use.  There was only one glimmer of hope that came out of the meeting.  
And that is there is a loop hole in the law that says that if one uses a structure for 4 years as a dwelling and
no action is taken by the Council, then the owner can apply for "Lawful Development Use". So there might be
hope yet.  It has been nearly 4 years up to this point with the clock still ticking.

The plan is for Bruce to return in the Fall to complete the bathroom and what ever else there is time to do.

______________________________September/October 2011__________________________
                                 September/October Photos
There is not much to report on this trip in September of 2011.  The basic goal was to finish the missing
stones of the bathroom shower floor and take the driving test to complete getting a driving license

Bruce decided that it was more economical to rent a car at Heathrow Airport rather than commission the
Doblo for two weeks. The price of bus and taxi fares, insurance, road tax and an expired emission inspection,  
was more than the rental cost. This worked out better, because he was able to stop and see Pip in
Southampton on the way to Cornwall.

Things were the same as when left the previous Spring.  Except all the vegetation was overgrown and took a
week to cut down to size. The industrial strength  diesel self propelled walk behind rough cut grass mower
certainly make the job easier.  But it still took a week of work to get things whipped into some sort of
reasonable appearance.  One plus was Jan's crab apple tree was loaded.


As seen in the photos, the bathroom tiling was almost finished. Bruce under estimated the amount of stones
for the shower floor. Luckily a friend was able to purchase 3 more mats in the Home Depot on St Thomas to
complete the job.

Because of the short notice of booking flights this trip, the only available appointment for a driving test was in
Cardiff, Wales two days before departure. So the remainder of the time was spent studying for the drivers
test and finding a driving school in Cardiff which would help. Because of more rules a driving test can not be
taken in a rented car because of insurance reasons.  That meant that Bruce not only had find a driving school
for lessons, but one which would let him use their car for the test. He drove to Cardiff four days before his
departure and a day before the driving test for a half day driving lesson and then another one before the
test.  All that planning payed off because the test was passed with flying colors.

An extra day was taken to drive through Wales and The Cotswolds in England.

The next trip will be for the first two weeks in May 2012.  Jan and Bruce have already booked their tickets.

__________________________________May 2012___________________________________

                                    May 2012 Photos and Videos

This trip had been highly anticipated because Jan would be going.  She had not been to White House Cottage in
over two years, so there would be a lot of progress for her to see in person for the first time.

At the outset, the journey did not get off to a good start because of a mechanical problem with the first
plane before even getting off the ground. The re-booking of the flights added two extra overnight stays to
that leg. After an overnight stay in London and visiting a friend in Southampton and yet another night in
Weymouth, Bruce and Jan arrived in Kilkhampton three days later to find White House Cottage in good
condition. The mail was waiting in a tub inside the door and Bruce was excited to find that his British drivers
license was there as well.

With less than two weeks, the purpose of this trip was really only to bring the yard, garden and hedge into
order after being neglected for the Winter.  It was quite overgrown and needed several days work to make it
look presentable again. There was a planned day trip to the island of Jersey to see Bruce's cousin Chrys and
her family. Bruce's other cousin John Davey and his wife Jo, flew from Exeter for the visit as well. And a
couple of other day trips in Cornwall and to Devon were on the agenda as well. One of the day trips was to the
coastal town of Padstow. Another was to a local church in Morwenstow  built in the 15th century with a quaint
cemetery and vicarage.  It had a christening vessel which was dated 956.  How old is that!

Out of the box the mower had a frozen bearing, after a quick repair it was straight off to cut down the foot
and a half tall grass. Jan set to raking the cut grass and using it as mulch at the bottom of the 300 foot
hedge. The mower had a frozen bearing, after a quick repair it was straight off to cut down the foot
and a half tall grass. Jan set to raking the cut grass and using it as mulch at the bottom of the 300 foot
hedge. The hedge needed pruning and re-staking and re-tying because the Winter winds had done some
damage. The Winter winds had also damaged the fenced off orchard, which needed some new boards for future . She
also used the new petrol weed wacker to cut the stinging nettles on the inside of the hedge bank among  other
tasks. Time flew and before you knew it, it was time to leave. The grass was cut for the fourth time before
leaving, and it was off to London by way of Wales and the Cotswolds before staying in Henley-in-Thames the
night before flying out from Heathrow the f
Counter
Bruce and Jan Fielding
St. John Phone 1 340 715-3192
England 011-44-752-299-8915
biflip1@gmail.com
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Underlined pink
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Revised  05/12
"Walk About Man"<----Click for an interactive Drive by
Tour of "White House Cottage" Courtesy of Google Maps