Bad light and rain (and hail) ends play early

English summer is with us, that's for sure.

I had hoped tonight to get a scratch coat on the pantry wall and have a play with some burnt sand mastic - but the weather was against me.

The expanding foam used by the joiners between window and mullion is technically (or simply) not really allowed and should have been done in a traditional manner of packing gaps with slate and filling with burnt sand mastic. However, it is done and ensure's the windows are in pretty well! But, it has taken longer than anticipated to get round to doing the render and the expanding foam starts to rot when exposed to UV rays. i.e. the sun. So i did a little research and asking around and the best thing to do apparently is to use this burnt sand stuff to cover and then render up to.

Now, the sand isn't actually burnt, as sand doesn't burn, but it is a mixture of dry fine sand and linseed oil. It is mixed for use, so you get a tub of sand and a tub of oil, and the theory is to add just enough oil to fill the gaps between the sand, thus making a paste, and not to saturate the sand so that the sand would be moving in oil. I think i got this pretty much right and set to work coveringing over the foam with this stuff preventing any further decay of the foam.

I toiled with wind, rain and hail and used up all i had mixed before being called off as i was frozen and wet through! i have done the door and the living room window at the front of the building... so a little progress.

It seems to go on ok, but sumps a little in the bigger gaps, so i could do with sourcing some slate to pack the gaps a little. Although... traditionally i believe paper was also used.

As for any plastering in the pantry, I decided to not bother getting wet through setting up the mixer etc.

I'm away on saturday but hopefully sunday will see a little more progress with something! I really hope the weather brightens up soon. I have a schedule which would mean all rendering would be complete by the 8th of June - a month. At this rate though.... that is more than ambitious!