picture season

[plasticpigeon]

It is summer and a lot of people are posting pictures of their homes/projects so I thought I'd join in. I am doing up a rare beast. A modest turn of the century railway workers terrace. There must be at least 100,000 houses like mine in Birmingham but to find one without a through lounge and PVC everywhere is more difficult. After constantly battling tradespeople I have decided to take on a lot myself. Here is some recent stuff if anyone is interested. The back extension has subsided around 5cm leaving the wall under the window very loose and wonky so I rebuilt that (after the builders did it 4 times and I still wasn't happy!!!) A lot of the back wall has been rebuilt too. The sills, windows and brickwork between the windows is my work. the brick arch, verge and chimney are the builders. The chimney is quite acceptable I'm happy with that, but I think the arch and verge are messy. I will end up doing them again in a year or two I'm sure. I'm thinking of painting the frame of the little casement window green, but leaving the opening casement white, what do people think???

All the help and general chit chat on this forum has been invaluable, thank you all for sharing your stories knowledge and experiences.

 

[88v8]

Green & cream/white, yes, great. Not so durable on casements, because, as I've mentioned elsewhere, thermal gain causes cracking between the (hot) frames and the (cooler) casements, but fine on box sashes.

I suspect that finding people to do really high quality work is always hard. Most customers don't know quality or don't want to pay for it. Bricklaying to match the pointing, the mortar colour, the right size & texture bricks, keeping the perpends, all easy to mess up. In a way, people with low standards must lead a happier life as they are never disappointed.

Wouldn't be surprised if your house ended up being listed as the only terrace for miles in a decent 'period' condition.

Ivor

 

[stuart45]

Really nice work plasticpigeon. I think you said you bag rubbed the joints instead of using the churn brush, but they have come out well. It is annoying when your work is better than the builders you had to pay.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thanks Stuart. Yes I bag rubbed the joints, I found it easier than using the brush. I think I got the joints on the back of the house nicer than under the window as the window was the first bit of brickwork I have done. To be honest it is all trial and error at the moment, and my bricklaying is very slow. I could really do with spending a few days with someone who knows what they are doing!

 

[billybuntus]

Nice work. I refuse to use 'tradesmen' as they all seem to be inept and the ones that 'may' have done work to some sort of standard want paying in gold bullion.

The ones I've used in the past have been shabby to say the least.

I love doing everything myself and I am very fortunate to have an 'uncle in law' who has spent his entire life working on period properties and is also a cabinet maker. His knowledge is invaluable even if he does moan at me a lot for not quite living up to his expectation