House renovation blog

At last, we discover original detailing

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:37:40 +0000

We will restore this:

And from the rubble, a hallway emerges…

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:34:39 +0000

Lounge / studio wall

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:29:05 +0000

New workshop

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:27:20 +0000

in the street…

Toby is chiselling rebates for hinges in our new doors.

New hallway wall

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:25:51 +0000

Stud work for new wall partition:

We suspected when we bought the house that the ground floor layout was not original. In the 60s and 70s many Victorian houses in the UK were ‘modernised’ by covering over original panelling, removing victorian spindles, smoothing out and simplifying / unifying surfaces etc. The changes to ours we assume is also due to a conversion. Our house has had several failed planning and attempts to turn it into flats but at some point between the 50s and 70s we know it was divided so that the shop and the house above could be accessed separately. A new front door was installed and replaced one of three shop window panels and the hallway was re-sculpted. We are still trying to piece together it’s history between it’s original use as a cordwainers (posh cobblers) in the Victorian era and it being purchased by the masonic order in the early 80s.

It is very different to know precisely about the original layout, no original plans for this building exist. We have looked at neighbouring houses in our terraced row but sadly ours is probably closest to the original, as all the others have been divided up and rebuilt into flats and all the shop fronts have been removed long ago. In this situation all you can do is look for clues and make a best estimate. You can only really know once you start demolition what walls are original, new, hidden etc.

A little bit of spring

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:21:14 +0000

Did I speak too soon? (As I watch snowflakes float past the window)

This time last year we didn’t have a garden so it is really nice to see it almost one year on for it’s second spring. Bulbs from last year are starting to emerge and have multiplied. I divided and replanted them last weekend.

Because our garden is on two different levels and the extreme perspective caused by the geometry, the top level is feels to me like a stage. When I look at the window I think it looks like the plants are there to perform to us (now we need to create the drama – come on plants!)

Goodbye

admin — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:12:57 +0000

Goodbye at last to the old back door to our lean-to, and to a tonne of bricks that we removed from our courtyard. That’s how we roll on our Sunday mornings.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre

admin — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:06:11 +0000

Almost a working bathroom. Looking forward – haven’t lived anywhere with a working shower for over 5 years!

Meshing front courtyard

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:37:26 +0000

This evening, after casting a concrete lintel above the window (just visible top left):

Just like the rear, the front courtyard is being meshed before Toby renders it (to provide reinforcement to the render, preventing cracking).

After this job we continued to grout the bathroom. The jobs are never-ending when you take on a house like this!

Grouting – at last

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:07:00 +0000

The never ending job of tiling continues….
A custom-cut mirror has been ordered for the recess (in front of the exposed brick wall) and a shaver socket to be fitted where the lose tile is:

We took some time selecting the grout colour so that it matched the tiles, to give a more de-seamed appearance.

Tiling options were drawn up before laying (so we knew where to begin for the best compromise between use of material and appearance. NOTE: large format tiles mean more waste potential):

Shower/bath recessed shelf:

Sink and toilet to be installed, right-hand wall to be plastered and painted white: