LadyArowana
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Moo said:
Congratulations, I think, what will you do with it?
- Thread starter Moo
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Congratulations, I think, what will you do with it?
JoceAndChris
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Ohh, fascinating! What a lovely find - so nice to be connected to the 19 th C functioning of the house. Can't remember if you said there is an open fire Moo?
What will I do with it? I shall leave it exactly where it's always been, ever since the coal man used it to empty his bags of coal down the chute into the cellar. Not that it will be used for its original purpose, because the cellar has a different function these days.
But we will have (smokeless fuel, of course) fires - there's one in each half of the sitting room! That's something I'm really looking forward to.
But we will have (smokeless fuel, of course) fires - there's one in each half of the sitting room! That's something I'm really looking forward to.
DJH
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Another of the unusual things I was involved in ( :wink: ) was an experiment in lining a coal hole of a place in Berkeley Square where it was lined with lead sheet ( :x ) to keep it dry and it was then used as a small office/store. That was at least twenty years ago. I wonder if t's still OK down there?
Doug
Doug
jocelyn plummer
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I suppose you could fill it with wine bottles :wink:
A lovely idea, Joss, but the way things are going they'd have to be other people's empties.
Our bright idea of having a velux instead of a window in the bathroom meant that the ceiling had to come down, revealing some very suspect 'improvements' that really have to be remedied.
Originally the back return of the house had two interconnecting bedrooms and the bathroom was downstairs at the end of the kitchen. The chimney breast was removed from the first bedroom so that they could create an upstairs bathroom with a corridor leading to the back bedroom - a pretty standard alteration.
But the chimney above was, we've now discovered, supported in such a Heath Robinson manner that I'm amazed it's still standing. So drastic measures are called for, involving steels and things.
On the plus side, it means that while we're at it we can get rid of the chimneybreast in the rather cramped back bedroom, and get masses of much-needed insulation into the otherwise inaccessible loft space.
All of which confirms my view that we were sensible to buy a wreck, rather than a house in 'move-in' condition. You never know what might be lurking behind that state-of-the-art kitchen and stunning paintwork.
Our bright idea of having a velux instead of a window in the bathroom meant that the ceiling had to come down, revealing some very suspect 'improvements' that really have to be remedied.
Originally the back return of the house had two interconnecting bedrooms and the bathroom was downstairs at the end of the kitchen. The chimney breast was removed from the first bedroom so that they could create an upstairs bathroom with a corridor leading to the back bedroom - a pretty standard alteration.
But the chimney above was, we've now discovered, supported in such a Heath Robinson manner that I'm amazed it's still standing. So drastic measures are called for, involving steels and things.
On the plus side, it means that while we're at it we can get rid of the chimneybreast in the rather cramped back bedroom, and get masses of much-needed insulation into the otherwise inaccessible loft space.
All of which confirms my view that we were sensible to buy a wreck, rather than a house in 'move-in' condition. You never know what might be lurking behind that state-of-the-art kitchen and stunning paintwork.
It's been such an exciting day today - possibly even more exciting than The Day The Pebbledash Came Off.
Nearly seven nail-biting hours watching our builders' heroic efforts to relocate the soil-pipe and completely rearrange the drainage at the back of the house. No problem for us during the day, thanks to the caff at the end of the road, but they (and we) were anxious to get it sorted so that we'd have a working loo overnight, and they succeeded!
A bit of a lash-up ( the ancient loo from the bathroom propped in place and the outlet just shoved into the waste-pipe) but they did it. And I now have another bit of domestic comfort that I will never again take for granted.
Nearly seven nail-biting hours watching our builders' heroic efforts to relocate the soil-pipe and completely rearrange the drainage at the back of the house. No problem for us during the day, thanks to the caff at the end of the road, but they (and we) were anxious to get it sorted so that we'd have a working loo overnight, and they succeeded!
A bit of a lash-up ( the ancient loo from the bathroom propped in place and the outlet just shoved into the waste-pipe) but they did it. And I now have another bit of domestic comfort that I will never again take for granted.
plasticpigeon
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I agree about buying a wreck as I'm certain most houses are a total mess under the freshly painted surfaces and when putting things right it's better to wreck bad decor than good. I've learned so much this last year that I wish I could start again.
JoceAndChris
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Just catching up on this thread - exciting developments Moo! How's it going putting a skylight in the bathroom? Could you share costs/ choice of skylight as this is something we need to sort out - want to get double glazed ones.
Thank goodness the soil pipe got sited so promptly, I'm always amazed how quickly the drainage men work.
And I totally agree about buying a house in poor decorative order, you get to reassess all the aspects of the room and the structure behind, from heating to lighting, joinery, plasterwork and the underlying structure. It's very good to go over it all with a fine tooth comb. But we've stopped short of lifting floors, because they're so historic and hopefully aren't concealing horrors. In their case, I think repair can only happen if things start caving in.
Do keep us posted on your progress Moo, it sounds like things are moving rapidly!
Thank goodness the soil pipe got sited so promptly, I'm always amazed how quickly the drainage men work.
And I totally agree about buying a house in poor decorative order, you get to reassess all the aspects of the room and the structure behind, from heating to lighting, joinery, plasterwork and the underlying structure. It's very good to go over it all with a fine tooth comb. But we've stopped short of lifting floors, because they're so historic and hopefully aren't concealing horrors. In their case, I think repair can only happen if things start caving in.
Do keep us posted on your progress Moo, it sounds like things are moving rapidly!
Well, things are certainly moving rapidly, but not in a way that makes life more comfortable!
We still have the makeshift loo, but our water supply consists of a couple of pipes sticking out of the wall and operated by turning the on-off thingy with a screwdriver. The builders have put one of their giant plastic buckets underneath to catch the drips, but luxuries like washing and teeth-cleaning can only happen if one kneels on the filthy floor. Thank goodness our son is a ten-minute drive away, so we've become very frequent visitors!
It doesn't look as though we'll have a kitchen or bathroom until 2013.
We still have the makeshift loo, but our water supply consists of a couple of pipes sticking out of the wall and operated by turning the on-off thingy with a screwdriver. The builders have put one of their giant plastic buckets underneath to catch the drips, but luxuries like washing and teeth-cleaning can only happen if one kneels on the filthy floor. Thank goodness our son is a ten-minute drive away, so we've become very frequent visitors!
It doesn't look as though we'll have a kitchen or bathroom until 2013.
jocelyn plummer
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:lol: :lol: :lol: