What comes first etc

[Penners]

Yup - I hate Marmite, too!

 

[Keithj]

Pal of mine lives in a gorgeous house in Ipswich. It's all been redone inside impeccably ... except for wires hanging out of the walls in various places. Apparently the "first fix" sparky moved away at some point during the restoration. Five years on, he said they've got used to the wires. I suppose you do!

Anyway, I nagged about what "might be". The towel rail in the bathroom is now heated, and the wires have become a discreet switch-sized panel that sets the temperature. Further second-fix will be done as soon as the roof repairs are complete (how slates atop a 4-storey house get broken is a different question).

 

[Feltwell]

Yup - I hate Marmite, too!

And there was I thinking that age was supposed to improve your taste........ :wink:

Don't tell me - it has

 

[Penners]

You got there before me.

 

[Feltwell]

There's a first time for everything!

 

[LadyArowana]

(how slates atop a 4-storey house get broken is a different question).

They have to land somewhere

 

[xanthe]

Lots of great replies - thank you!

Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately - I have a very high tolerance for disorder... my husband doesn't share it! The vast majority of things will have to be done by others - DH is not into DIY and my back puts paid to me doing much.

I'm dreading the electrics and plumbing - on several floors, there are no 'ceilings' just floorboards, so nowhere to run cables. The CO has already put a ban on any floorboard lifting (floorboards are early C17th on first and 2nd floor).

I think living with it all for a year is a good plan! It all looks pretty good on the surface, so easy to do that.

Enjoying hearing about others experiences!

Malcolm - the fridge is on husband's wish list too... sadly the only place available is the garden shed.

 

[livias]

Thw solution that I came up with to run cables and pipework when there was no floor void was to make oversized skirting board, with a side and a top to box in both the wiring and the central heating pipework. I made it out of Victorian pine floorboards that I lifted from elsewhere and it looks fine. Has the added advantage of providing a tidy skirting edge cos in my medieval house the wall plaster just met up with floorboards and had a tendency to get tatty on the join

You need vent holes every so often to let heat out. Put hot pipework above the wiring

Expect some very odd noises cos it funnels sound to unexpected places. We had a 'ghost' caused by birds in the gutter

Anna

 

[agbagb]

There might be something useful bits here and on few of the other posts.

I found the wiring and plumbing had to be done concurrently with all the other things. An absolute nightmare to plan and co-ordinate if you are not doing it yourself with a flexible scheduled. Sticking to all the regs is another thing to consider (so don't take what I've done as 100% correct).

There has been debates before on how much to hide, disguise or have as visible modern additions. Practicalities could determine which path you go down.

I have managed to get most of the temporary wiring and sorted eventually.

PS. Wiring checked and consumer unit fitted by qualified electrician.

 

[Feltwell]

Oh come on, stop teasing us - which picture is the "after"? :wink:

I like the cable clip OCD by the way. You're as bad as me!

 

[xanthe]

Love the before and after wiring shots. Very neat!

Sadly am stuffed on the skirting boards - all the rooms have massive sill beams or wall-plates sticking out and forming the skirting boards. The house is one room deep and two rooms on each floor and so every single wall has one of these - even the inside walls have them. There is a modern extension on the back which has no issues (CO isn't interested in where holes are drilled there!)

Current owners have run pipes and wires along the tops of the beams at the base of each wall but they look awful - I suspect there are some more attractive looking wires and pipe options out there these days! My mother had a friend who used to polish all her copper piping till it sparkled... made it a 'feature' I suppose

 

[88v8]

Current owners have run pipes and wires along the tops of the beams at the base of each wall but they look awful - I suspect there are some more attractive looking wires and pipe options out there these days!

In our cottage all the wiring is on the surface, grey pvc wire secured with buckle clips. Mostly been there 40 years. It mostly runs on or alongside the ceiling beams and drops down to plugs & switches.
Far from looking better, modern wiring could look infinitely worse as the 'Safety' crackpots now decree that any surface wiring has to be in conduit.
The only conduit I've seen is plastic and it looks c**p. We inherited some in the kitchen where there is a new(ish) cooker point.
No additional conduit has appeared since we moved here and none will. I also avoid using white cable, or plastic cable clips.
If I were ever needing to use visible conduit for any reason, I would be looking for brass (used in the US & Canada) or something in the marine line. However, it's not something I've yet had much cause to research.

When hiding modern ugliness, think about lighting. Bright lights are your enemy. The lighting in a period house should be on the dim side, and as far as possible positioned so that undesirable features are in shadow. Dim lighting also obviates the need to dust.

As regards pipes, the visuals have also gone backwards. Mostly plastic now. The best-looking pipe is copper with neat Nibco joints which, as you say, can then be annually polished. So, find a plumber who is good at soldering and can demonstrate an ability before they start.
When I say Nibco, I mean end-feed, not Yorkshire which is easier to use but not so good to look at.
http://www.nibco.com/Fittings/Metal-Fittings/Pressure-Fittings/Wrot-Copper-Pressure-Fittings/

And use copper saddle clips, not plastic.
http://www.plumbuniverse.co.uk/product-Two-Piece-Spacing-Copper-Saddle-Clip--available-in-different-sizes--4165
This is a Spacing Saddle clip, which holds the pipe off the surface.
The clips should be fastened with brass round-head screws, not pozis.

To an extent you may be able to box in wiring/pipes. That can look OK if done well.

I feel for you if partner is impatient for results. Getting anything done that's outwith current standard modern processes & materials is difficult. Workmen tend to ignore what you say, turn up with their 'normal' stuff and hope to get away with it.

Ivor

 

[kreyszig]

+1 on Ivors comments regarding copper pipe. We haven't started anything along these lines yet but I plan to replace any visible plastic piping with lovely brazed or soldered copper as he's linked to. We have quite a few painted copper pipes snaking their way along our walls, I think celebrating a bit of decent workmanship and fixing them with some decent, er, fixings will do quite nicely.

 

[Feltwell]

Not polishing copper pipes is my preferred option, and not just because of laziness. If you've dark wooden skirtings, then unpolished copper blends in quite well.

I agree on the fittings - I tend to use Yorkshire out of ease, but end feed are neater and I do use them on more exposed locations.

 

[kreyszig]

is there a way to clear lacquer the pipes so they would only need polishing the once? (I did actually miss the "not" in the above post!)

 

[livias]

I agree about not polishing copper pipe. The Ancient House Museum in Thetford is a medieval house and that is what the architect specified on the lottery funded refurb. After a year it blended beautifully against the oak

 

[xanthe]

I'm definitely not up for spending every weekend with the Brasso on the copper-piping!

Agree that best look would be copper just left to naturally tarnish.

Current wiring is white plastic that's a bit grubby. They've also screwed IKEA type spotlights to the beams :shock: . There are a couple of ye olde worlde lamp things that aren't that offensive for the foreseeable. I think standard lamps connected to a light switch is probably going to be the way forward, and something basic in the inglenook (it's painted white so would throw light back into the room).

Husband is keen on LEDS, and I've seen that there is a talk on LED lighting at the Listed Building show in London in Feb so that might be enlightening (sorry, couldn't resist) .

 

[Flyfisher]

We have quite a lot of our wiring installed in metal conduit, mostly on the surface of the walls but partially plastered over in places. In all cases the conduit is painted the same colour as the background. It's still visible of course, but it's hardly noticeable - to us anyway. The only places where it looks a bit odd is where the original round brass light switches, which were originally fitted into matching round conduit 'boxes' and look perfectly fine, have been replaced by modern white switches in a surface-mounted white box - probably because it's unusual to see such things connected to round conduit.

I suppose it depends a lot on the nature of the house and the decor of the rooms. I suspect we're subconsciously moving towards 'farmhouse chic' rather than Georgian splendour

 

[Penners]

end feed are neater

Qualified agreement with that. End feed can be very neat if you've got the knack of them, but if you feed in too much solder you can make a very messy job of the joint.

I speak from experience.

 

[Feltwell]

Yes, there is a bit of a knack to them. I struggled until I was showed how to do it.

Clean the pipe end and inside of the fitting thoroughly with fine wire wool, then coat the inside of the fitting with flux. Assemble and heat the joint as evenly as you can until the flux just starts to bubble out of the joint, then briefly touch the end of the solder in one spot and let capillary action draw the solder around and into the joint. Don't be tempted to put too much solder on, it just makes a mess.

Works for me but I'm sure others have their own preferred methods.