Recycling and Reclamation

One of the problems with renovating an older house is trying to get the right period materials. The challenge was to find bricks for the extra window we are having put in; we needed the sill and plinth bricks (Staffordshire Blue), the edging and normal bricks (Cheshires). This is what we are trying to achieve:

This is what you are faced with at a Reclimation Yard:

We found the bricks in 3 different yards and bought around 200 in total....we also saw some wonderful oak internal doors that used to belong to Mark Hughes (ex footballer and now Stoke City Manager) so we had those too.

My poor old car has been taking the strain for a lot of these bricks.....no problems with traction here.

Every trip from the car to the cottage and back works out at a quarter of a mile! At the weekend it worked out at  3 and a half miles carrying glass from a greenhouse bought on eBay.