The exposed stone is WHY you buy a building like that! Stones, beams & original floors is what makes historical homes amazing. I’ve restored 3 homes, oldest being 1898 in PA. I’d save everything I could.
I stop in here and there to see how various couples, single, and families are progressing. The two of you landed on my radar during COVID because of... "Let's take a deep breath." I am 83, which is connected to certain yoga practices (pranayama). I sort of checked in and out... When you got the mill, I thought that the two of you were too delicate - inexperienced - and naive. But I have been so wrong. You are growing stronger and stronger. I especially respect the courage of your facing a serious eating disorder at the same time. Somewhere along the way, I found you "childlike," and that began to worry me... but then that childlike quality matured... You keep the wonder but you are focused and working - envisioning perhaps a center... You are maturing, and we are watching... Again, I am 83, and so I understand how, in a long lifetime, we hear calls and life unfolds unexpectedly... You both are working hard, and I am cheering you on... We must live these precious (often painful) hours of our human existence with tenacity, courage, and gentleness. I am proud of your progress.
I somewhat agree with you - however I also think there's a huge tendency to underestimate people in general and that to me is worse than inexperience... Rome was not built in one day nor was the experience of one single man nor woman... The happy go lucky attitude towards strives is often the way to challenge any opposition... Just saying... 😉
You guys have found the most beautiful piece of property! When Drew opened the window and the sound of the stream and the birds came to our ears, it just gave me such a peaceful feeling of well being. I can’t wait for you to be able to move in. You won’t know what to do with all that space!! The water mill is just as beautiful as the property. I love that it’s not just straight walls. So lovely.
When you have an injury it’s important to keep it covered with Vaseline or Aquaphor. Keeping the scab from getting hard will allow it to slough off when you wash it daily . There will be less scaring. Also a soft scab will not be as painful when you need to bend the area.
Your hard work is already showing how beautiful your walls are going to be. I love the earthiness of the look. It will be so grounding when you live there. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after the pointing is done. Thank your sharing your journey with us. ❤
If you need to fill that big hole, maybe keep some of the small rocks that have been falling out of the wall, and use them to fill the holes. If you’ve been watching Theo point his walls, he does reuse small stones to fill the holes. Great video. A lot of hard work. Keep it up!!
Also probably better to fill with lime mortar and stones not foam as the mortar acts as the glue holding the rock and brick together. Without the glue the stones/brick could shift over time.
Drew you're doing a terrific job cleaning those stones. There are so many expats renovating beautiful stone houses all over Europe. And many have great utube channels. Lots of very helpful videos to watch and learn from. Theo did a great job, along with many others.👍💗😊🇨🇦
That is some seriously hard work your doing Drew. It is looking gorgeous! But I'm thinking that's going to be some major clean up before Brittany is able to safely be in there. I bet you will both be so happy when it's all a memory and you are happily moved into your new home.
Hi Drew. What about using a wet and dry vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust as you go. Place the vacuum cleaner tube and tape up over your back and shoulder down along your arm to your wrist onto your hand sucking up the dust. Keep up the good work you two !!
Nice tweak to the Intro, Brittany - good fit, with the audio and video cuts you have made. From minute 16:00 to 17:00 was where Drew shows what a rockstar he truly is - I would have stopped after one pass-over the wall, he just went over it again and again. Wow.
Hey Drew, Hard work and alot of sweat is involved with the beauty of the natural stone. I would recommend when you fill and point using a vinyl mortar bag to fill in those gaping holes and run a nice line of grout. It's like putting icing on the cake. This will make it so much easier to lay it out between the stone and look more natural also.
Great progress. I was glad when you put on the respirator mask. I used one at work and was talking to the screen saying Drew get the better mask it will make the difference & you DID 😂😂😂 ~ 👍💕✌️
I was born in Portugal, and our house had (and still has) walls just like this. In fact, we inherited it and (happily) still own it. It's on the Silver Coast, about an hour north of Lisbon. We live in Rhode Island (the smallest state in the U.S.) and will be in Portugal again this summer. We all love it there, including our American born children and grandchildren! ❤🇵🇹 There's lots of good advice here in your YT community. The best I've seen among other creators is Theo from the Indie Projects. He was new to stone restoration, as you are, but he mastered it, and you can too! It's a messy, tedious job, but as others have said, it's SO worth it. Every time you look at those walls in the future, you will feel a sense of pride that YOU did it, with your own two hands! ❤👏👏👏
My grandfather and his parents came to America. My great grandmother came in through Ellis Island. Sadly I never met them but my mom and aunts have told us stories. My bucket list to travel to Portugal 🇵🇹
It's nice to see even the mill is getting into the spirit of New Year's resolutions and shedding a few pounds of sand and dust. :D Amazing work and you both continue to be an inspiration to your community.
Always make sure the mask fits good, and put the glasses on top of the mask. The way you wear the combination at 07:50 makes that you still inhale dust, but also the humid air is able to reach your glasses. Keep up the good work on restoring the mill
Tedious work, but so worth it. I've watched Theo from the Indie Projects on YT do it both inside and outside of their off-grid house. He used a small pointing trowel to fill in the gaps. Lots of patience needed, but you will be so happy you did as it cleans up all the dust. Keep going.
You guys have found the most beautiful piece of property! When Drew opened the window and the sound of the stream came to our ears, it just gave me such a peaceful feeling of well being. I can’t wait for you to be able to move in. You won’t know what to do with all that space!! The water mill is just as beautiful as the property. I love that it’s not just straight walls. So lovely.
All clouds in Vermont today, but plenty of sunshine and fun from Brittany and Drew to make up for it. Lots of love coming to you from me and my kitty and so much thanks for another lovely episode. :D So excited to see all your progress as you take such great strides forward.
Drew’s hard work and labor are evident, yet he always manages to keep a positive attitude and a smile, which is truly inspiring. The stones look beautiful-I can already envision the joy you’ll both experience as your dreams and hard work come to fruition. Love your incredible spirit, as well as your unwavering support, Brittany. I can’t forget to mention your adorable kitties! They’ve adapted so well to their environment, thanks to all the love and dedication you’ve shown in their care. It’s such a delight to watch them frolicking around. 😻😻😻
Great progress! Any chance you can use the ground up material you take off the walls and mix it up with the new pointing material to make a “original” pointing material? If that makes sense. You two are living your best life keep it up :)
Hello from Thailand. We are here on vacation so just forgot it was Sunday due to moving several time zones. We always enjoy our deep breath on a Sunday.
Drew, when you’re finished cleaning the loose mortar, finish the walls with one or two coats of a varnish. That will stop any dust from falling off the walls. Plus it will make the stones a true feature. And more beautiful. You’re doing a great job, maybe Brittany can help with the varnish project. Shouldn’t hurt her asthma, with less dust coming off in the future.
Doug from DIYFFERENT uses a commercial style mask. It’s pricey and requires proper maintenance but it’s very effective. It’s like a backpack and has a full shield as well as the breathing apparatus. It’s a serious piece of kit.
Just been watching another channel 'escape to rural France' with Dan and the gang. He has a stonemason in the basement of the chateau and he is doing the job that you're undertaking at the minute, his walls look amazing. It might be worth a quick look for some tips in completing the mammoth task for your stone walls. Your place is looking great already can't wait to see it finished xx 💕
I can finally see your vision! It looks so beautiful! I’ve never done stone work, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I think if you enjoy the trade and take pride in your art, the time will not burden you.
I love you guys and I love what you are doing with the place, is going yo be a beautiful home, I'm portuguese living in Canada for 54 years but Portugal is always in my heart ❤️
Way to step up and not back down Drew and hire someone to do this tedious job and messy at the same time. Rockstar. Brittany your editing skills doesn’t go unnoticed by me and I’m sure by others. ❤your channel and the progress you’ve achieved so far. 🙏🥰🇺🇸
The brick above the doors and windows each look like some sort of ancient-lost-city skyscraper, if that were a thing.😅 They look like artwork❤! Cave-dwelling skyscrapers! 🥰
Another TH-cam channel, I watch that I think you know of, the nomadic movement, they have recently added in a coffee break to the episodes. It’s a place where they answer questions from Instagram in every video. This might be something you guys could consider. It’s awesome to be able to interact that way with the audience.
Looking beautiful. Others have mentioned using a varnish, not sure what is used on stone but some type of clear, smooth coat finish would be a good idea. Would help it not be such a dust catcher in the future and make it easier to dust or vacuum. Love the look your going for with this rock.
It’s not shabby chic at all. It’s an architectural finish that once done will look fabulous. Don’t try to stuff foam into the voids, force pump the lime toothpaste consistency into them filling them up. See if you can get refillable sausage tubes and gun at your hardware store.
LOVE your vlog! You deserve an award for the best response to viewers comments. Good explanation, very receptive, not defensive, but kind, intelligent and the best answers ever! I start deep breathing automatically when your intro starts ... you're such good people. Best wishes Colorado Cherri
Hi, happy 2025 and the goal of moving into the mill. Please remember that the bigger cavities you mix with smaller stones and the lime motor. This makes them stronger and use less lime motor as it has more grab onto. This is important step to remember. It also helps to make the wall look more even, if that makes sense.
use a cake frosting funnel with a circle tip or a zip lock plastic bag corner to do the pointing you can get a bit farther into the deep spots with the lime mix.. good luck its looking great inside
In a few weeks you are going to look fr for this video, so that you can say (not the right decision)! Advice! Do your windows before finishing the stone walls. If any part of the frame needs intense fixes or replacement, you will be glad not to re-do your stones even though it's just around the windows. Think 5 steps ahead when planning out the jobs, that way you won't need to re-do or fixes to previously done work. Nice work
Hi. I highly recommend you get yourself a workshop vacuum cleaner for sucking up all that dust. Cheap and worth their weight in gold. Also, use spray foam filler for plugging up those deep cavities.
The stone walls looks awesome after kleaned. Use big cake icing bags to do the pointing work with will make the work much easier and less messy. I much enjoy and love your progress on the watermill. ❤
Your friend is exactly right about removing as much as you can of the old mortar. The structure is secured on the outside, you’re not causing any issues. But if you would’ve just repointed the surface leaving loose material, it’d fail.
Thanks for another great video. I really enjoy your weekly updates. The mill house is coming along so well. Clearing the holes in the bricks makes them look soooo good. One thing I can suggest for the dust I learned from my home remodel. Put box fans in all the windows but one blowing out. Seal as much of the window as possible, I used cardboard and duct tape. Box fans are pretty cheap and having one window open and the others with fans was a game changer. It's astonishing how they rip the dust out of the room. A couple of questions: 1. Are you going to need to wash the rocks down to get all the remaining dust? 2. Is there a need to seal the rocks and joints. Seem like if you don't then the dust is just going to come back. Keep the videos coming, I love your channel.
Drew fantastic job on the walls, they look amazing !! if you have an air compressor you can use it too get the last of the dust out of crevices, when we did some work pointing on an old stone wall I got so frustrated trying to get the lime into all sorts of gaps and the mess we were making so I turned to some very large diy piping bags which were fantastic for getting the lime mortar into deep gaps neatly and made the finish look fantastic and it so much easier than using trowels and fingers, can’t wait for you too move into your lovely home when it’s done, so long as you have a clean bedroom too sleep in and a bathroom too relax in everything else will come. Sending love from the uk❤❤
Drew you are doing a fantastic job on the stone walls they are looking so much better and will look incredible by the time you have both finished with them. It’s an incredibly dusty job isn’t it. So cute that the cats follow you. Your neighbours fruit trees are wonderful those oranges look so nice. Liked your waffle head Brittany lol x
What a monumental task you are faced with in cleaning out these walls Drew but you are tackling it with gusto and the walls are looking good, your hard work sweat and tears will all pay off in the end when the room is finally cleaned and repointed. Great job
Watch videos of Theo of 2 years ago. You will learn alot. He did an absolutely amazing job pointing the walls of his first tiny barn home. He also used the masks you are now using
Great episode- what boundless energy Drew has! Not sure if a pun was intended, but when Brittany said he was a ' Rock Star'- while working on the Rocks, for sure!
Those little yellow flowers are something we use here in South African traditional dishes instead of lemon. You use the long stalk and the flower, we call them 'Suurings' which is a slang Afrikaans word meaning sour. As kids we ate them by the handful. I think it's a wild sorrel. ❤️🇿🇦
Hello all. You might check out Make Do Grow's blogs with their use of lime/lime hemp mixture for tuck pointing. It allows the stone wall breathe and moisture to pass through from inside to the exterior.
Drews hard graft will pay off in the end. Those stone walls will add a lot of character and help preserve some of the historical nature of the building. They'll be walls worthy to be stared at like a piece of abstract art and not a blank wall.
Thanks for your vid 😇💟💟💟 Love and bless you guys 🙏 good work 👍😁💪👌👏💕 when you point the walls its going to look wonderful 💯😉 maybe use this gemical stuff to give the stones there original color back before pointing 😀
Drew you are a beast tackling all that stone cleaning, the big broom seemed most effective with drill wheel touch ups or extra muscle. When it all gets pointed it will really be awesome!!! Go Drew Go!
I would use a Karcher outdoor vacuum cleaner on the "cleaned" stones to get the final surface to point on. Also use lots of water (spray) to ensure the stone are very wet to ensure that the lime doesn't have all the moisture sucked out of it - looking cool
It looks beautiful ❤ So much character in older homes. Love it. But wow, what a job and a half Drew! It'll be so satisfying when it's completed. I saw an article in This Old House where the contractor used a spray bottle with water to help keep the dust down. He sprayed the mortar before chiseling/scraping it. Don't know if that's something you could do in your climate.
Great job Drew. You’re going to be so grateful to yourselves in the future for doing this. At the beginning of the video you mentioned that some are asking why you don’t just power wash. I don’t know anything about it but I would imagine that you could damage the walls by doing that as the stones were placed there so long ago and the lime mortar is fragile now.
Lots of dusty work, but I think it is looking wonderful. Perhaps using an expansion foam for those large holes, it will also act as a bonding agent for the stones being placed in the wall. Having a large garden or having access to fruit from the neighbor's trees is awesome. Citrus has so many uses, whether it be for juice, for cooking, to use as a marinade or even using the leaves to make a tea, that is cool.
I was doing self dental cleaning with electric brush ,tiny brushes and tried to order Sono Care cleaner, which I accidentally erased. You two are awesome❤
The exposed stone is WHY you buy a building like that! Stones, beams & original floors is what makes historical homes amazing. I’ve restored 3 homes, oldest being 1898 in PA. I’d save everything I could.
I stop in here and there to see how various couples, single, and families are progressing. The two of you landed on my radar during COVID because of... "Let's take a deep breath." I am 83, which is connected to certain yoga practices (pranayama). I sort of checked in and out... When you got the mill, I thought that the two of you were too delicate - inexperienced - and naive. But I have been so wrong. You are growing stronger and stronger. I especially respect the courage of your facing a serious eating disorder at the same time. Somewhere along the way, I found you "childlike," and that began to worry me... but then that childlike quality matured... You keep the wonder but you are focused and working - envisioning perhaps a center... You are maturing, and we are watching... Again, I am 83, and so I understand how, in a long lifetime, we hear calls and life unfolds unexpectedly... You both are working hard, and I am cheering you on... We must live these precious (often painful) hours of our human existence with tenacity, courage, and gentleness. I am proud of your progress.
Hmmmmm………🥺
I somewhat agree with you - however I also think there's a huge tendency to underestimate people in general and that to me is worse than inexperience... Rome was not built in one day nor was the experience of one single man nor woman... The happy go lucky attitude towards strives is often the way to challenge any opposition... Just saying... 😉
I hope the people you bought the mill from are watching your videos. Such care and work.
You guys have found the most beautiful piece of property! When Drew opened the window and the sound of the stream and the birds came to our ears, it just gave me such a peaceful feeling of well being. I can’t wait for you to be able to move in. You won’t know what to do with all that space!! The water mill is just as beautiful as the property. I love that it’s not just straight walls. So lovely.
I know the stone walls aren’t finished yet but they look stunning already. So beautiful.
The stones are going to look so nice. My favorite thing is how much your kitties love you both. ❤
When you have an injury it’s important to keep it covered with Vaseline or Aquaphor. Keeping the scab from getting hard will allow it to slough off when you wash it daily . There will be less scaring. Also a soft scab will not be as painful when you need to bend the area.
Drew, you are doing an amazing job. Brittany you always do an amazing job editing and getting these wonderful videos out. 🤗😊
Your hard work is already showing how beautiful your walls are going to be. I love the earthiness of the look. It will be so grounding when you live there. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after the pointing is done. Thank your sharing your journey with us. ❤
It's really hard work cleaning up the stone walls. So worth it, they look great. Looking forward to seeing the end results.
If you need to fill that big hole, maybe keep some of the small rocks that have been falling out of the wall, and use them to fill the holes. If you’ve been watching Theo point his walls, he does reuse small stones to fill the holes. Great video. A lot of hard work. Keep it up!!
Always save the rocks that come out because it will help with filling empty holes!!!!🤗😍
Also probably better to fill with lime mortar and stones not foam as the mortar acts as the glue holding the rock and brick together. Without the glue the stones/brick could shift over time.
Drew you're doing a terrific job cleaning those stones. There are so many expats renovating beautiful stone houses all over Europe. And many have great utube channels. Lots of very helpful videos to watch and learn from. Theo did a great job, along with many others.👍💗😊🇨🇦
really, Drew is a superman ,
I am never seen such courage !
he's a great worker , he has a lot of merit !! the result will be magnificent !❤❤❤❤
That is some seriously hard work your doing Drew. It is looking gorgeous! But I'm thinking that's going to be some major clean up before Brittany is able to safely be in there. I bet you will both be so happy when it's all a memory and you are happily moved into your new home.
Leaf blower will help a lot with the undusting 💪 and thank you for the encouragement 😘
Drew, all this hard work is admirable. You both are blessed with beautiful land, animals and love ❤️
What a lot of work but so worth it!! And thanks so much for keeping the deep breath! ❤
Hi Drew. What about using a wet and dry vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust as you go. Place the vacuum cleaner tube and tape up over your back and shoulder down along your arm to your wrist onto your hand sucking up the dust. Keep up the good work you two !!
Tedious, hard work for Drew! But you know it will be beautiful when finished.
Thank You for taking Us on Your Journey, on fixing Your Stone Home
Nice tweak to the Intro, Brittany - good fit, with the audio and video cuts you have made.
From minute 16:00 to 17:00 was where Drew shows what a rockstar he truly is - I would have stopped after one pass-over the wall, he just went over it again and again. Wow.
thank you, it really is so nice to have the changes affirmed ⭐ and thank you for recognizing and pointing out Drew's valor 💪❤
So glad to see you show a pic of Theo. I know your friends with them, so hope u had a long helpful conversation with him.
Hey Drew, Hard work and alot of sweat is involved with the beauty of the natural stone. I would recommend when you fill and point using a vinyl mortar bag to fill in those gaping holes and run a nice line of grout. It's like putting icing on the cake. This will make it so much easier to lay it out between the stone and look more natural also.
Great progress. I was glad when you put on the respirator mask. I used one at work and was talking to the screen saying Drew get the better mask it will make the difference & you DID 😂😂😂 ~ 👍💕✌️
I was born in Portugal, and our house had (and still has) walls just like this. In fact, we inherited it and (happily) still own it. It's on the Silver Coast, about an hour north of Lisbon.
We live in Rhode Island (the smallest state in the U.S.) and will be in Portugal again this summer. We all love it there, including our American born children and grandchildren! ❤🇵🇹
There's lots of good advice here in your YT community. The best I've seen among other creators is Theo from the Indie Projects. He was new to stone restoration, as you are, but he mastered it, and you can too! It's a messy, tedious job, but as others have said, it's SO worth it. Every time you look at those walls in the future, you will feel a sense of pride that YOU did it, with your own two hands! ❤👏👏👏
Thank you for sharing! And yes they are dear friends of ours. Did you catch the photo of theirs that we included in the beginning 1:24 😘
My grandfather and his parents came to America. My great grandmother came in through Ellis Island. Sadly I never met them but my mom and aunts have told us stories. My bucket list to travel to Portugal 🇵🇹
It's nice to see even the mill is getting into the spirit of New Year's resolutions and shedding a few pounds of sand and dust. :D Amazing work and you both continue to be an inspiration to your community.
Always make sure the mask fits good, and put the glasses on top of the mask. The way you wear the combination at 07:50 makes that you still inhale dust, but also the humid air is able to reach your glasses.
Keep up the good work on restoring the mill
When you have finished pointing the walls give them a coat of clear varnish or auto lacquer it will protect them.
Their is s stone sealer that is used in Italy and Portugal.
Tedious work, but so worth it. I've watched Theo from the Indie Projects on YT do it both inside and outside of their off-grid house. He used a small pointing trowel to fill in the gaps. Lots of patience needed, but you will be so happy you did as it cleans up all the dust. Keep going.
Yes! Theo did such a gorgeous job 😍. Cheers!
Same here~ made me think of Theo 👍
You guys have found the most beautiful piece of property! When Drew opened the window and the sound of the stream came to our ears, it just gave me such a peaceful feeling of well being. I can’t wait for you to be able to move in. You won’t know what to do with all that space!! The water mill is just as beautiful as the property. I love that it’s not just straight walls. So lovely.
Spray foam comes with a straw to shoot into tight spaces and deep holes. That would help a lot fill in those deeper holes in the stone walls.
All clouds in Vermont today, but plenty of sunshine and fun from Brittany and Drew to make up for it. Lots of love coming to you from me and my kitty and so much thanks for another lovely episode. :D So excited to see all your progress as you take such great strides forward.
Always a joy sharing the journey with sweet and wonderful you + kitty 😍😘😽😽😽
Love the view and sound of the stream out the window!
Drew’s hard work and labor are evident, yet he always manages to keep a positive attitude and a smile, which is truly inspiring. The stones look beautiful-I can already envision the joy you’ll both experience as your dreams and hard work come to fruition. Love your incredible spirit, as well as your unwavering support, Brittany.
I can’t forget to mention your adorable kitties! They’ve adapted so well to their environment, thanks to all the love and dedication you’ve shown in their care. It’s such a delight to watch them frolicking around.
😻😻😻
Great progress! Any chance you can use the ground up material you take off the walls and mix it up with the new pointing material to make a “original” pointing material? If that makes sense. You two are living your best life keep it up :)
Hello from Thailand. We are here on vacation so just forgot it was Sunday due to moving several time zones. We always enjoy our deep breath on a Sunday.
Thank you for taking the time to pause and enjoy with us 😌🙏😽
Drew, when you’re finished cleaning the loose mortar, finish the walls with one or two coats of a varnish. That will stop any dust from falling off the walls. Plus it will make the stones a true feature. And more beautiful. You’re doing a great job, maybe Brittany can help with the varnish project. Shouldn’t hurt her asthma, with less dust coming off in the future.
Love that idea 🫶
Be careful. Do not varnish in below freezing temps. Will ruin the look.
Exposed stones are what makes the building cozy & gives it such interest. The style is not shabby chic.
Doug from DIYFFERENT uses a commercial style mask. It’s pricey and requires proper maintenance but it’s very effective. It’s like a backpack and has a full shield as well as the breathing apparatus. It’s a serious piece of kit.
Just been watching another channel 'escape to rural France' with Dan and the gang. He has a stonemason in the basement of the chateau and he is doing the job that you're undertaking at the minute, his walls look amazing. It might be worth a quick look for some tips in completing the mammoth task for your stone walls. Your place is looking great already can't wait to see it finished xx 💕
I can finally see your vision! It looks so beautiful! I’ve never done stone work, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I think if you enjoy the trade and take pride in your art, the time will not burden you.
🫶🎶🙏
Wow! So impressed (as usual) It looks fantastic!
Thank you so much! 😁
I love you guys and I love what you are doing with the place, is going yo be a beautiful home, I'm portuguese living in Canada for 54 years but Portugal is always in my heart ❤️
Drew is doing a great job on the stone walls
The rocks are so beautiful…..love the look…it sure has come along way since you carried your sweetheart over the threshold!
Great job on the shabby sheak stone walls Drew. Looks stunning
Way to step up and not back down Drew and hire someone to do this tedious job and messy at the same time. Rockstar. Brittany your editing skills doesn’t go unnoticed by me and I’m sure by others. ❤your channel and the progress you’ve achieved so far. 🙏🥰🇺🇸
Always such a great morning when I see you guys have dropped an episode! Thank you! Great job, but that has to be really hard on that elbow.
The brick above the doors and windows each look like some sort of ancient-lost-city skyscraper, if that were a thing.😅 They look like artwork❤!
Cave-dwelling skyscrapers! 🥰
Another TH-cam channel, I watch that I think you know of, the nomadic movement, they have recently added in a coffee break to the episodes. It’s a place where they answer questions from Instagram in every video. This might be something you guys could consider. It’s awesome to be able to interact that way with the audience.
Love that idea! Something for us to add in 😘
Looking beautiful. Others have mentioned using a varnish, not sure what is used on stone but some type of clear, smooth coat finish would be a good idea. Would help it not be such a dust catcher in the future and make it easier to dust or vacuum. Love the look your going for with this rock.
PVA 1 to 5 water mix would seal the stone and loose mortar and reduce future brick dust
It’s not shabby chic at all. It’s an architectural finish that once done will look fabulous. Don’t try to stuff foam into the voids, force pump the lime toothpaste consistency into them filling them up. See if you can get refillable sausage tubes and gun at your hardware store.
LOVE your vlog! You deserve an award for the best response to viewers comments. Good explanation, very receptive, not defensive, but kind, intelligent and the best answers ever! I start deep breathing automatically when your intro starts ... you're such good people. Best wishes Colorado Cherri
Oooo we appreciate everything about this comment, thank you for being you, and for being here 😘😘
OMG that rock looks sooooo good!!!! Great job Drew!
You can use disposable pastry piping bags to squish the lime mortar into the gaps and then go back and smooth it once it starts to set
I believe you can rent an extruder. Seen that on another YT channel.
Listen I was chocking as you were doing your work. You are amazing Drew.
It’s going to be beautiful.
I love to see y’all every week. Blessings
Im glad you had time off. I missed you two and the kitties. Family of Five! ❤
Hi, happy 2025 and the goal of moving into the mill. Please remember that the bigger cavities you mix with smaller stones and the lime motor. This makes them stronger and use less lime motor as it has more grab onto. This is important step to remember. It also helps to make the wall look more even, if that makes sense.
use a cake frosting funnel with a circle tip or a zip lock plastic bag corner to do the pointing you can get a bit farther into the deep spots with the lime mix.. good luck its looking great inside
In a few weeks you are going to look fr for this video, so that you can say (not the right decision)! Advice! Do your windows before finishing the stone walls. If any part of the frame needs intense fixes or replacement, you will be glad not to re-do your stones even though it's just around the windows. Think 5 steps ahead when planning out the jobs, that way you won't need to re-do or fixes to previously done work. Nice work
It’s always important to plan ahead. The wooden window frames will have trim to cover any of those spots up.
Ambitious project but it is gonna be SO BEAUTIFUL! Lindo Drew!
Britney you make great videos for us! Thank you!
Save the stones for the bigger holes.
Yes, what we were thinking too
So many homes for spiders, scorpions and bugs. Hope that doesnt become a problem. Your place is looking amazing!
Nice job, Drew. It’s looking good. Tedious but you’ll look back and really appreciate all the hard work and time it took when you see the end result.
This hard work will definitely pay off, it will look amazing!!!!!
Hi. I highly recommend you get yourself a workshop vacuum cleaner for sucking up all that dust. Cheap and worth their weight in gold. Also, use spray foam filler for plugging up those deep cavities.
The stone walls looks awesome after kleaned. Use big cake icing bags to do the pointing work with will make the work much easier and less messy. I much enjoy and love your progress on the watermill. ❤
Your friend is exactly right about removing as much as you can of the old mortar. The structure is secured on the outside, you’re not causing any issues. But if you would’ve just repointed the surface leaving loose material, it’d fail.
Great stuff. Maybe a grout bag and a tube can reach the deeper crevices.
Also, you need morter deep as it adds to stability of the wall.
WHAT A PROJECT! I'm exhausted just watching you tackle the stone wall. Rock Star, indeed 💥
Thanks for another great video. I really enjoy your weekly updates. The mill house is coming along so well. Clearing the holes in the bricks makes them look soooo good.
One thing I can suggest for the dust I learned from my home remodel. Put box fans in all the windows but one blowing out. Seal as much of the window as possible, I used cardboard and duct tape. Box fans are pretty cheap and having one window open and the others with fans was a game changer. It's astonishing how they rip the dust out of the room.
A couple of questions:
1. Are you going to need to wash the rocks down to get all the remaining dust?
2. Is there a need to seal the rocks and joints. Seem like if you don't then the dust is just going to come back.
Keep the videos coming, I love your channel.
Fantastic job on the walls Drew! 🎉🎉
Drew fantastic job on the walls, they look amazing !! if you have an air compressor you can use it too get the last of the dust out of crevices, when we did some work pointing on an old stone wall I got so frustrated trying to get the lime into all sorts of gaps and the mess we were making so I turned to some very large diy piping bags which were fantastic for getting the lime mortar into deep gaps neatly and made the finish look fantastic and it so much easier than using trowels and fingers, can’t wait for you too move into your lovely home when it’s done, so long as you have a clean bedroom too sleep in and a bathroom too relax in everything else will come. Sending love from the uk❤❤
The piping bags are a great idea. Like putting frosting on a cake! We will see what we can find available.
Drew you are doing a fantastic job on the stone walls they are looking so much better and will look incredible by the time you have both finished with them. It’s an incredibly dusty job isn’t it. So cute that the cats follow you. Your neighbours fruit trees are wonderful those oranges look so nice. Liked your waffle head Brittany lol x
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Drew the work horse. Hope the dust / astma for B. won't be a problem when your move in.
Look like you are doing a good job Drew. Keep it up I'm sure you will get a sense of immense satisfaction when you have finished the walls. Well done.
What a monumental task you are faced with in cleaning out these walls Drew but you are tackling it with gusto and the walls are looking good, your hard work sweat and tears will all pay off in the end when the room is finally cleaned and repointed. Great job
Watch videos of Theo of 2 years ago. You will learn alot. He did an absolutely amazing job pointing the walls of his first tiny barn home. He also used the masks you are now using
Great episode- what boundless energy Drew has! Not sure if a pun was intended, but when Brittany said he was a ' Rock Star'- while working on the Rocks, for sure!
What an unique home!
Love ,love the walls!
I can tell is very hard work but so rewarding after!
The cats are such a gift!
❤
That’s pretty cool like synthesizer music too, Brittany.
Those little yellow flowers are something we use here in South African traditional dishes instead of lemon. You use the long stalk and the flower, we call them 'Suurings' which is a slang Afrikaans word meaning sour. As kids we ate them by the handful. I think it's a wild sorrel. ❤️🇿🇦
Hello all. You might check out Make Do Grow's blogs with their use of lime/lime hemp mixture for tuck pointing. It allows the stone wall breathe and moisture to pass through from inside to the exterior.
Yes, we saw a few months back! Everyone here uses lime and for good reason. Getting the mixture/ratio right will be the next challenge 💪
You could use like a large cake decorating paper or squeegee bottle that could squeeze the pointing clay in the crevisses.
Love watching your progress. it's going to look incredible. Thanks for sharing
Wow, that looks so beautiful. Your hard work is def paying off Drew. Citrus makes us miss Phoenix ... someone def needs to make some juice!
Drews hard graft will pay off in the end. Those stone walls will add a lot of character and help preserve some of the historical nature of the building. They'll be walls worthy to be stared at like a piece of abstract art and not a blank wall.
Thanks for your vid 😇💟💟💟 Love and bless you guys 🙏 good work 👍😁💪👌👏💕 when you point the walls its going to look wonderful 💯😉 maybe use this gemical stuff to give the stones there original color back before pointing 😀
💝💝💝💝 From Angele: WOW!!!!! What a beautiful effect! It is so raw. And so visually diverse. My eyes just love it! Drew: great job!
Fantastic work, Drew,hard work, but the stone looks superb xx
You can always use your leaf blower to get some of the fine particles out before you start pointing.
Good job Drew 😊 the stone walls are beautiful! Can't wait to see when it is all done. Much love to you two 🤗❤😊
Drew you are a beast tackling all that stone cleaning, the big broom seemed most effective with drill wheel touch ups or extra muscle. When it all gets pointed it will really be awesome!!! Go Drew Go!
I would use a Karcher outdoor vacuum cleaner on the "cleaned" stones to get the final surface to point on. Also use lots of water (spray) to ensure the stone are very wet to ensure that the lime doesn't have all the moisture sucked out of it - looking cool
Looking great already, it’s going to be an amazing house, you must be so proud of yourselves👏👏👏👏
It looks beautiful ❤ So much character in older homes. Love it. But wow, what a job and a half Drew! It'll be so satisfying when it's completed. I saw an article in This Old House where the contractor used a spray bottle with water to help keep the dust down. He sprayed the mortar before chiseling/scraping it. Don't know if that's something you could do in your climate.
Great work! It looks amazing. 🎉❤🎉
Well done, I love the exposed stone. It will be beautiful when completed. Definitely worth the effort ❤️
Great job Drew. You’re going to be so grateful to yourselves in the future for doing this. At the beginning of the video you mentioned that some are asking why you don’t just power wash. I don’t know anything about it but I would imagine that you could damage the walls by doing that as the stones were placed there so long ago and the lime mortar is fragile now.
Lots of dusty work, but I think it is looking wonderful. Perhaps using an expansion foam for those large holes, it will also act as a bonding agent for the stones being placed in the wall.
Having a large garden or having access to fruit from the neighbor's trees is awesome. Citrus has so many uses, whether it be for juice, for cooking, to use as a marinade or even using the leaves to make a tea, that is cool.
I was doing self dental cleaning with electric brush ,tiny brushes and tried to order Sono Care cleaner, which I accidentally erased. You two are awesome❤
Wow