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February has been a busy month. I finally got the time to finish some things off and get the plastering done in the front section of the garage. The plastering is pretty good. There are a few parts that need a light sanding, but other than that, I'm fairly happy. Now comes the most...

Looking great! Good to see another Ducati fan here in the Netherlands.

I finally have something that resembles a workshop! And a quick video, as it is hard to take a picture with limited space and no wide angle lens: http://cl.ly/YKJx Nothing fancy at this stage, as I need to figure out exactly how everything will fit in the limited space. But it is nice to...

Small update. I had in-laws visiting over the last week so didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I did manage to finally get all the bags of plaster cleared out of the garage though. So much more space. I also finally removed what was left of the old kitchen. There was granite...

Spent most of yesterday and today scrubbing the wall with the angle grinder (had to buy a new one) and then washing it down a few times today. It got incredibly dusty at times. But the result so far is pretty good. The wall isn't perfect, but I think that adds to the overall look of it. I...

I would still expect it to not overlap joints, though? The weird thing is that the bottom 70cm of the wall is almost perfect. Perhaps our house was built before the neighbours and the wall was exposed on the outside.

Yeah, the brick laying is pretty woeful. At first I thought it was because it was so old, but I guess that is no excuse. I'm also thinking of leaving the holes open. Just 'cause, as you say.

So far the grinder has been great. No marks if you are gentle. I haven't really been removing the mortar, more cleaning the bricks and removing any plaster I couldn't get off using the SDS drill. I tried using a chisel and wire hand brush, but gave up after 2 minutes because it just takes too...

Not at all! I appreciate all feedback and advice. I know very little about all this. Head first. My Dewalt grinder has died today, so wall cleaning has stopped. Not even a year old. Will have to get it fixed

Here are a few snaps of the bricks. Not all of them have been cleaned yet. I will have to repoint at least some of them as a) bricks have fallen out or b) the bricks are just about to fall out.

Thanks for the advice! But unfortunately a little too late. I started using a wire brush on an angle grinder and it appears to work well. Removes any of the plaster I missed with the SDS drill. And it doesn't appear to be damaging the brick. I'm being very gentle though.

Thanks! I'll see how I feel once the entire thing is done and cleaned. I'd love to at some point, but I wouldn't want to ruin the floor. I'll see when the time comes. Until then, the car doesn't get much love, other than a monthly track day. Then back to the garage..

OK, so I'm back. I've had a lot of real work the past few months which meant the house work got put on the back burner. I was also getting a bit burnt out if I'm honest. I was working on the house for up to 8 hours a day, and then had to do real work as well. I work for a US company, from...

Oh, and a picture from the Nurburgring at the weekend:

A small update.. I've been busy with real (paying) work, so progress on the house has slowed down a little. Some things I've had the chance to work on: I will need to tile the new WC downstairs, and eventually a new bathroom on our first floor. I thought I'd try tiling a bit upstairs, around a...

The garden got a little clean up; getting ready to install the roof window in the future. Had to rip out all the old ivy from the fence and remove it from the 3 soil boxes. It was horrible. The ivy roots were everywhere. Around everything. And then I had to carry it downstairs. Horrible. The...

Wow, thanks! I got all my switches and outlets from here: http://www.bakeliet.nl - and struggled finding other things. But this is great! $$$$$$$

The barrier will be a large glass wall/door. Good call on the door closer though, that would certainly help.

This week has been focusing on electrics. All the existing wiring had to be ripped out because a) it was all over the place and b) most of it was very old. Random coloured wire used.. I managed to put in all the circuits for lights, outlets, washer/dryer and gas boiler, and all the old stuff...

Had some time this morning to start putting the insulation on the roof. The boards aren't ridiculously heavy, but enough when you are alone. Can't beat a trust wooden helper: The joys of working in a very old house; the joists are very randomly space out. Some 65cm, some 70cm, some 80cm. The...