Friday, October 9, 2009

Repairs around my cottage . . .

This is what the fence looks like so far. There are no words that can express how hard and time consuming this task has been but I am very pleased with the results. It is just primed at this point. All the pickets had to be removed and 6" was cut off the bottom. The horizontal board (in plastic) is a nice save and I love the way it looks. The posts were originally encased in wood boxes with decorative elements at the top and bottom. The old pickets were set between the boxes which weren't holding up well either. I decided to put the nailers on top of the pressure treated posts that were under the boxes and attach the pickets on top with all the posts behind. My friend had to cut 8 new pickets because of the new arrangement. The finials are old turned door stops that I got at a flea market for $1.00 each. I love them. I've been at this job with my helper for a week now and we are almost finished. I had to do a lot by myself last weekend...washing all the boards with bleach and soapy water to get rid of the mildew plus sanding and priming. I've enjoyed every minute of it.

Here is an old photo showing the condition of the pickets before the extensive repairs began last week.

One of the geraniums I brought into the house to winter over is just putting out new blossoms. I do enjoy house plants this time of year. Six geraniums, 3 pink and 3 red plus my giant rosemary bush are just enough inside my cottage.

The metal table with a glass top was picked up from the curb. Really. My town's once a year trash day is a picker's delight. I got this from a house right around the corner. Isn't it perfect for my plants? Sometimes I can't believe my own luck.

Thanks for stopping by the cottage to look at a few of my photos. ♥Rosemary



Content in a Cottage

4 comments:

Gal Friday said...

I love getting a peek into your "cottage" and the fence is beautiful, after all the thought and work that went into it to save/restore it!

Marcy {pine creek cottage} said...

What an amazing job you have done on the fence - and I love the finials!

Your home looks gorgeous. I'll have to find some plants to add to my interior too.

Happy Friday!

Sue said...

Hello Rosemary,
Your fence looks fantastic-nice work.
I can't begin to tell you how much I've missed your blog over the past month. It's so good to be back home and getting into the old routine.
And nice score with the table. It's amazing what people throw out. Such a waste (but good for those of us so inclined.....)

Millie said...

Rosemary, hats off to you, the fence looks wonderful! MOTH built a similiar fence at our old house (except from new timber pickets)with cast iron capitals & I know the amount of work needed to paint the timbers. We even offered the kids $2 for each picket they primed & painted - they just laughed at us & headed off down to the Skate Park. We probably should have done the same!!
Millie ^_^