Lime rendering begins.

Fear not with your 1970's council house cement pebble-dash wall fears, it will dry to become white and this is only the first coat of three anyway.  It will end up a nice subtle creamy-white like the earth mortar on the left.

Another rainy, windy day so to avoid housework I have started on the render on the back wall because it's inside the hangar and dry.  Reasonably dry.  Brush down wall, but not too much or there will be no wall left. Spray with hose - using a mister on this wall would take all week due to the amazingly thirsty mud mortar and super porous stone.  The key is to experiment with a wee patch first to avoid catastrophe.  Hopefully.

Coat no.1 is a mix of NHL 3.5 lime and coarse sand, ratio 1 lime, 2 sand, 0.6 water.  It is then rested a bit  and then put back in the mixer when more water is added to make a slurry the consistency of cow shit.  You then chuck it on the wall using your best tennis forehand technique, remembering to put a hard board below to catch it all when it falls off again.  This is normal.  Also cover everything with plastic sheet and cardboard as it goes everywhere.  Fling it on little by little, and after 3 hours of mixing and chucking and slurping tea you get the above mess.  Belters.  Do not touch it afterwards - leave it sagging.  Mist twice a day for 4 days and protect from sun/wind/rain/cats, then on to the second coat (later).  Nothing to it!  No need for builders and their short-cuts, mess and expense, no need for cement (very bad stuff).  Local, sustainable, vernacular, self-sufficient, and you get big forearms.

Bread oven chimney down and out

Took forever to get the top off as it was solid concrete.  I managed to get it into three lumps and could just about manage to get them off the top of the chimney stack and resting on my chest like some bloody strongman, wobbling about up a creaking scaffold.  I had to work myself up into a temper to throw them off the top, which must have been amusing for any passers by.  Not that there are any passers by.  Ever.

'AlrightcomeonyoufuckingbastardsandLIFTYOUCUNT-FUCKOFFTWAT!'
weeeeeee-THUD.

Nice alignment.  Might have to dig them out of the lawn...
Then it came down ok as the rest was rubble and mud and I didn't even need a crowbar for most of it!
Upside down house.  Thick hard heavy concrete on top, soft stone and mud below.  Bloody peasants.

Found a use for some old CDs as well.  Always thinking, me.

Pigeons hear that sub-bass and robot-dance themselves to death.  Word.

What Phill needs for breakfast.

Get it down you with a greasy egg sarnie!

A bit of a roof.

One side nearly done.  I made the mistake of pre-cutting the wood on the level floor and then wondered why it just would not fit up there.  Turns out the roof is skewed and the old wood was just wangled in by eye.

The old super-thin slates were turning to compost in our hands so it was a devil of a job to get the old and new to fit together.  The new wood was also a bit thicker so there is a wee bump where the join is, and the line of slate hooks looks a bit wobbly.  Still, not too bad for a first attempt, but I wish we'd been able to spend longer measuring.  Was chucking it down though, so a waterproof roof is better than half a roof neatly done and a wet bedroom!

Nice tight scarfing over the supports.  All oak.

I had to use Spanish slate in the end as no-one produces Breton slate any more.  Pity - the older buildings around here have it and it looks fine to me!

Oak and thick hard slate and stainless steel fixings = a repair job in 200 years or so.