Ruston House

15 March 2019 - The Cart Shed Appears On StreetView

If you've been following the Garage sub-section of the Gardens area of the site, then you'll be expecting this final image. It's one captured from Google's StreetView service the day I discovered Google had revisited Chapel Road after ten years. What interests me about this image is that it's not the one you see today when looking at the StreetView 2019 capture. While I did tweak the quality of the image before posting on the site I don't have the power to change the viewpoint.

2 October 2015 - The Completion of the Garage

With planning permission for our cart shed granted in March we were free to arrange the build. We decided it might be prudent to have a certain amount of tree pruning done, so the build itself finally commenced on 9 July. By the 22nd the main oak frame was in place. The day before our wedding, on 12 September, any spare timber was cleared from the site and the cart shed become the bar at our reception!

12 September 2015 - The Cart Shed Build Completed

Although declared "completed" by the day before our wedding, with any spare timber cleared from the site, it wasn't truly "finished". However, we were able to fill the cart shed with the tables and chairs as it would become the bar at our reception the following day! The finishing touches were still to be added. It was in the following week that the roof timbers were partially boarded to provide over-winter storage for Just 17's sails and other gear.

22 August 2015 - The Cart Shed Build - Week #7

As explained in the previous report there was a lot going on at this time and that is probably why there were no photographs taken during Week 6 of the build. However good progress was clearly made in this week. Now the cart shed is clad in the planned wavy-edged larch and has already been stained black. Work has moved on to tiling the roof and by Thursday most of the steeper front edge had been hung with tiles that closely matched those on the house.

8 August 2015 - The Cart Shed Build - Week #5

By Monday the plank that forms the main ridge of the roof was in place and installation of the timber that is to support the tiles on the front of the cart shed is well advanced. Before midday on Tuesday all the timbers supporting the roof are in place. I don't recall why I took a break from photographing the construction of the cart shed, but there was a lot going on, mainly in lead lead up to our wedding including construction of "The Tree House", the erection of two gazebos and a lawn being tended after decking was replaced.

1 August 2015 - The Cart Shed Build - Week #4

Progress seemed to have slowed by the fourth week after the start of the build. At this stage I can't recall if the problem was that the orders for more timber were delayed or David needed to attend to other regular clients, or that he took a holiday. However, more timber had arrived since last week's report, and there was some internal framing had been added.

25 July 2015 - The Cart Shed Build - Week #3

By the Wednesaday the main oak frame was in place. The heavier timbers had been lifted into place with the aid of a hand cranked winch that looked a little like a fork lift truck, not a great deal more complex than the blue painted supports still on site. Work progressed steadily. The oak frame was in place, more timber had been delivered and the guide timbers to work out the pitch of the roof were in place.

18 July 2015 - The Cart Shed Build - Week #2

With the brickwork completed we were awaiting the arrival of the timber to commence building the frame of the cart shed. The first pictures of the week show it had rained revealing, under the front of the car, the lack of a completely level floor to the cart shed. From time to time David did not come to Ruston House. Perhaps it was the rain that kept him away until the Wednesday this week, by which time the first of the timber deliveries had taken place.

11 July 2015 - The Cart Shed Build Starts

With planning permission for our cart shed granted in March we were free to arrange the build. The build itself finally commenced on 9 July. David had arranged for someone to lay the few courses of bricks that were to lift the timber off the concrete base. I don't recall it being discussed but, at that point, it was realised that the pad had been laid too close to the boundary with the cottage's land. The overhang created by the roof and gutter that meant that the fence had to come down.

26 May 2015 - Our Trees Are Clipped

In planning for the proposed Cart Shed we had decided we needed some of our trees. The surgeon turned up to do the job. While he was up the trees, we spent time thrusting the cut branches through his chipper, spraying the output into two large tarpaulins. He tackled the trees that would be either side of the new garage. We thought that cutting down large branches once the new building was underneath would not be the best idea!

31 October 2014 - Garage Foundations Constructed

It was more than a year after moving that work finally begun on the garage. Gone was idea that it would include a third bay to act as replacement for the temporary shed. It was to be a simple two bay cart shed and, with confidence that may have been misplaced as we hadn't applied for planning permission, part of the brief to North Walsham Garden Centre was that they should construct a 6m x 7m base.

The Plan For A Garage

It was always our plan to have a garage built at Ruston House. Having it beside the house on the site where the previous owner had a shipping container was briefly considered but there was not enough space there for the double garage we wanted. Besides, immediately in front of the fence, which we were expecting to take down, was some of the plant that controlled the sewage treatment system for the house and neighbouring cottages.