Things That Make You Swear

[wobs]

When I was sanding down some woodwork, I reaslised that my balistrades (sp?) had thin wood boxing on them.

Excited, I drill a couple of holes in the corner of one and could see some turned wood. Promising.

Excitement turned to some colourful language when I removed said panelling:

AAAAAAAAAAAH!

 

[Lime]

Some people are just stupid.
I have a neighbour who would have done that to his newel posts.
However he doesn't have the imagination to box them in so he has just cut the tops off.

Why do people buy old houses and think only barret-box style is the way to go?

 

[Penners]

Vandals!!

That's just one of the myriad examples of house modifications carried out by people who value what is currently fashionable more highly than they do the original fabric.

When we bought our lovely old Hornton stone house in Oxfordshire (about 20 years ago), it had been lived in by the same elderly couple for 32 years. The old dear took my wife into the sitting room and showed her a vile green-veined tiled fire surround.

"We weren't able to do much in the house, dear," she said, "but at least we got rid of those awful, old-fashioned, Victorian fireplaces."

She was such a sweet old thing that I couldn't even get cross.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Careful Penners, it may be that we will be proudly saying to the next generation ' I re-instated the original'---------- :wink:

 

[Penners]

Proudly indeed!

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

Oh goodness Wobs, I really feel for you. How could they? Yet in our heart of hearts we just know they could and did on a regular basis.

My latest swear, just this weekend; why did the idiots who constructed the useful, but awful hardboard cupboard in the utility room, build it on top of the hideous 1970's lino? Why? Did they think they would want to live with that forever? And although I've managed to get almost all of it up from inside and outside the cupboard now, I can't get my hand in under a piece of timber so I can't cut the offending lino flush with the edge of the base of the cupboard and so it has a nibbled look. As if the mice have been at it, where the pliers have snipped away at it!

But that was just annoying because it slowed the job down. Your case was vandalism.

 

[Penners]

If we're going to extend this thread to cover anything/everything that makes one swear, just don't get me started.

There isn't enough space on the PPUK server. :evil:

 

[wobs]

The neighbours' houses mostly still have their balistrades, so a bit of woodwork envy does creep in from time to time.

Plenty of architectural vandelism around here, as they aren't even in a conservation area, and quite a lot of rented houses. You can guess the rest.

 

[AMc]

My local pub has (what look to me to be) 4 panel Victorian doors covered with sheets of plywood & painted. It went bust last year and was refurbished by the new owners before being reopened as a more upmarket gastropub*. I noted with some amusement they have added beading onto the ply to make the doors look a bit like 4 panel doors. I haven't had the heart to suggest it to the landlords yet.

*"Gastro" as in very nice, quite pricey food. Thankfully still "pub" as in I can take the builders for a Friday lunch pint in work boots without being told to leave the premises.

 

[still_adrianth]

When I was sanding down some woodwork, I reaslised that my balistrades (sp?) had thin wood boxing on them.
...
AAAAAAAAAAAH!

It's just because they didn't finish the job. This is how it should look:

We found one surviving spindle in the shed.

Though it's annoying now, I find it interesting how decor about 50 years old is unacceptable. This "improvement" was done about 50 years ago, about 50 years after the house was built. Presumably they found the original as distasteful as we find this! Fortunately, in 50 years time we probably won't care much about our decor being despised by the youth.

(Seriously - thanks for your posting. Now I know it's probably not worth taking the boxing off that post. But I'm getting rid of the string!)

 

[wobs]

Good to know I'm not the only one to find this (I think).

I also had a new spindle turned to replace one that had been removed for no apparent reason. I still look at the neighbours balistrades with some envy though.

 

[essexbearhunter]

Now I know it's probably not worth taking the boxing off that post. But I'm getting rid of the string!

Another inspiring architectural feature bites the dust! It was probably someone's attempt to evoke the airy feeling of the railings on an ocean liner (or up-market cross-channel ferry :lol: )

 

[Flyfisher]

Presumably the miscreants responsible didn't have young children crawling or toddling around the house at the time of that string makeover.

 

[Jill]

At least you have string!



Stairs have since gone.

 

[wobs]

Something that didn't make me swear!
The cupboard door was boarded over, but the back still showed panelling (without beading, as is usual for a cupboard door obviously):

Took the boarding off, and it still has the beading! Hurrah!

Was quite relieved, not least because it probably caused a bit of bulging to the boarding, so they probably couldn't be bothered to plane it flat.

 

[Flyfisher]

Isn't fashion a funny thing? Covering panelled doors, usually with hardboard, was quite the thing once-upon-a-time. Then it was all about uncovering them and stripping them to within an inch of their life. What's wrong with a well-made, nicely-painted, panelled door?

 

[thornlea]

All our large Victorian doors were rep;aced with equally large 2 glass panelled doors - it is going to cost a fortune to get them back to the 4 panelled style. Fo rme though, the biggest thing that makes me swear is white gloss being liberally applied to every surface of sash windows - painting them closed, painting shutters closed, painting over the sash cord - painting an inch onto the glass - the list goes on

Jon

 

[Penners]

I'm with you, Jon. Lazy, corner-cutting painting has messed up so many period properties.

I reckon it's when you get to the end of the third day of a proper paint job that the temptation starts to creep up on you....

 

[Flyfisher]

None of our sashes open for that very reason and the temptation to curse is particularly strong on lovely sunny days, like today, when I'd like all windows and doors wide open. But they'll open one day, when I finally get around to that job on the list . . . .

 

[JoceAndChris]

Fortunately the woodwork here hasn't been painted too many times - I'm starting to see why as I'm nearly at the 2 year anniversary and I'm nowhere near the finishing point, despite many, many weeks devoted to painting. Even on Georgian things there are only 5 layers. A number of surfaces still have the Viccy wood-graining.

I guess it's a lot to do with the status of your house and how regularly tradesmen were paid to decorate - this neglected house has seen very few tradesmen. Sashes open and close nicely When will I make an end?