A reprieve for the derelict workshop - the birth of the Shearer Eco-Centre

I had decided when I viewed the house that this old stone store was beyond economic repair and that it would be much more sensible to knock it down and build a timber workshop and motorbike store in it's place.

When I moved in, the urgent need for somewhere to store the motorbikes meant I ended up getting a separate shed. I decided to temporarily clear out the store just so I had somewhere to store my tools in the meantime.

More f*$%ing ivy!

These walls should really be attached to each other!

My mum made this for me over 30 years ago
- it has now graced 4 workshops!

A few weeks later, I had a drastic change of plan. After speculatively applying for a grant that I thought I had no chance of, I was awarded a 100% grant for a full heating and hot water system with a heat pump; new ceilings through most of the house and, as a complete bonus, solar panels! Talk about luck - that wiped out a huge chunk of work I'd been having to do, never mind the cost.

When the surveyor turned up, they said that they couldn't install solar panels on the house roof because of the type of construction, which would be likely to leak. Thinking on my feet I said "how about if I replace the roof on this outhouse and extend it to the house - could you put them on there?" After a bit of toing and froing, they agreed. But the sting in the tail was that it had to be done ready to install the panels in 2 weeks!! A very intense 2 weeks of work commenced.

While I was waiting for the roofing materials to be delivered I demolished the roof and very ropey front wall and rebuilt it so that it was properly tied in to the end walls. You can see in the photo below how wonky the far stone wall was - not vertical in either direction! 

I took the chance to install a bigger window, by making a frame to fit a nice thick pane of glass I'd been given 😄😄

Then I reinstated a post to support the overhanging roof section. This would provide some protection to the area where the heat pump was to be installed.

I extended the structure over to the house wall to give some shelter to the back door but, more importantly, room for an extra 2 panels.

With just a weekend remaining, my son came to give me a hand fitting the roofing. 18mm OSB sheets were fitted followed by black bitumen based roofing sheets. 

And, with 1 day to spare, the scaffolding went up and the solar panels were installed.

Followed in quick succession by the heat pump installation. This area will ultimately be semi built in using trellis panels and shade cloth attached to the back. And the front wall will be rendered when time allows.

These posts are actually vertical, despite appearances!