Tenement Flat Scotland - major refurb (near original state)
- Thread starter sixeighth
- Start date
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Looks like a really interesting project! Looks like you've got your hands full though, and some tough decisions to be made - I see what you mean about that door! I'm glad someone else is using Google Sketchup - I thought I was being way too geeky!
Good luck!
Good luck!
Finally made a start! Have had people in with a view to getting quotes - interesting to note the differing opinions. One electrician said the flat needs to be rewired, another said it doesn't. The fuse board arrangement confused one or two. Gas will be taken in and central heating will be installed along with new plumbing.
The only thing I'd done up to last weekend was sort the lock on the front door. We've now tackled the main bedroom by stripping the old wallpaper and scraping the ceiling. All was washed/scrubbed before a first coat of emulsion, just to get a base. Most of the patches in the ceiling are bleeding through so I'll need to seal those, possibly having to coat ceiling and cornice with oil paint.
The first disappointment was in finding the shutters don't open. Managed to saw through all the nails pinning the right edge of the architrave (left architrave in pic) then removed it to reveal a single layer only - no working shutter.
We'll be stripping the wood throughout the flat and I made a start with a hot air gun but hadn't made a lot of headway after 20 minutes. Decided to give Peel Away a go (now called Strip Away) and picked up a large bucket from a local Johnstone's. Bit of a learning curve, not ideal to start with given I'm having to reapply (not removing all in one go - it's too expensive for that!) but I think it will work out cheaper in the long run and give me more time to get on with other things.
Apologies for not replying to recent posters but I mistakenly thought I would receive an email notifying me of any replies (I realise now that this only applies to my posts).
The only thing I'd done up to last weekend was sort the lock on the front door. We've now tackled the main bedroom by stripping the old wallpaper and scraping the ceiling. All was washed/scrubbed before a first coat of emulsion, just to get a base. Most of the patches in the ceiling are bleeding through so I'll need to seal those, possibly having to coat ceiling and cornice with oil paint.
The first disappointment was in finding the shutters don't open. Managed to saw through all the nails pinning the right edge of the architrave (left architrave in pic) then removed it to reveal a single layer only - no working shutter.
We'll be stripping the wood throughout the flat and I made a start with a hot air gun but hadn't made a lot of headway after 20 minutes. Decided to give Peel Away a go (now called Strip Away) and picked up a large bucket from a local Johnstone's. Bit of a learning curve, not ideal to start with given I'm having to reapply (not removing all in one go - it's too expensive for that!) but I think it will work out cheaper in the long run and give me more time to get on with other things.
Apologies for not replying to recent posters but I mistakenly thought I would receive an email notifying me of any replies (I realise now that this only applies to my posts).
You should be getting e-mails to noify you of all replies to the topic, not just your posts.
There's a box below the text box in which you type a reply that should be checked.
Looks like you're getting on well with the flat. I take it the plaster is in pretty good shape if you can paint onto it after stripping the wallpaper and cleaning up a little? We've had to practically re-skim every wall in our house
There's a box below the text box in which you type a reply that should be checked.
Looks like you're getting on well with the flat. I take it the plaster is in pretty good shape if you can paint onto it after stripping the wallpaper and cleaning up a little? We've had to practically re-skim every wall in our house
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I got a notification re your reply Bon so it is working for any posts I write.
The walls stripped so far are plaster and lath and are fairly sound - most rooms have gaps in one or two corners due to old settlement. There is at least one small area that needs to be repaired and I'll look into using a lime plaster for this assuming existing plaster is lime. The finish in room one looks really good except that there are many small holes - don't want to fill these with something that will be noticeable when painted.
I've used a standard trade emulsion on room one but a lime paint might be more in keeping with the building although I'm not sure what the range of colours will be in lime.
The first fireplace is almost stripped but looks like it was made from marble of different colours. The pic below shows a base piece that is creamy compared to the grey upright. Stripping the window is taking longer than I would like but the grain looks good (I think it's pine).
The walls stripped so far are plaster and lath and are fairly sound - most rooms have gaps in one or two corners due to old settlement. There is at least one small area that needs to be repaired and I'll look into using a lime plaster for this assuming existing plaster is lime. The finish in room one looks really good except that there are many small holes - don't want to fill these with something that will be noticeable when painted.
I've used a standard trade emulsion on room one but a lime paint might be more in keeping with the building although I'm not sure what the range of colours will be in lime.
The first fireplace is almost stripped but looks like it was made from marble of different colours. The pic below shows a base piece that is creamy compared to the grey upright. Stripping the window is taking longer than I would like but the grain looks good (I think it's pine).
It will be worth the graft if you can get it all back to bare wood!
After a long break due to many things getting in the way we're back to doing some work on the flat. I thought I'd start off with a nice easy job - to clear and paint one of the cupboards to use for much-needed storage but I didn't reckon on existing shelves being as built-in-as-you-can-get-without-going-in-with-the-brick-work.
I had to clear enough plaster to get the tongue-and-groove shelving out as they were fitted on battens before the original plastering. Not a huge job of course but not the quick job I expected once patching is complete and dry enough to paint (more plaster came out than is shown in the pic!).
I had to clear enough plaster to get the tongue-and-groove shelving out as they were fitted on battens before the original plastering. Not a huge job of course but not the quick job I expected once patching is complete and dry enough to paint (more plaster came out than is shown in the pic!).
No such thing with stuff like this I'm afraid
. Every wall we touched crumbled and needed re-plastering.The thing that got me through it was thinking that the next time we decorate, it will be much easier!!
It's best to complete one room before moving on to another - in an ideal world - but that won't be happening here.
This needs to make way for a wood burning stove (might need it sooner than we think).
Thirty bags of rubble gone - ten more will do it (if we were more than one floor up I would not be writing this).
This needs to make way for a wood burning stove (might need it sooner than we think).
Thirty bags of rubble gone - ten more will do it (if we were more than one floor up I would not be writing this).
If it is a cast iron bath the enamel will have worn away in that acidic water, I don't rate in situ re-enamelling at all, it always looks bad. Sledgehammer and a fibreglass replacement.
Shame! There are some stunning fibreglass replacements that are so much better at heat conservation, but it might open up the bathroom for a shower, who really uses baths nowadays?
we do! Maybe we're old school but we are looking forward to making it a nice bathroom with a decent bath to relax in. I guess some people find them relaxing whilst others don't.
The challenge here is to get a decent-size shower bath between the wall and the window but leave enough room for the toilet. It seems it's a big job to move the toilet, especially if it's more than a couple of inches, but we have considered a corner toilet to maximise the space although I'm not sure that it would really - this might mean making a new opening in two and a half feet of stone wall.
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- 14 Feb 2011
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How you getting with this project?
That fuse board will be off peak for the storage heaters,then 24hr for panel heaters,convector heater, then off peak for the immersion.
Did you get it rewired?
That fuse board will be off peak for the storage heaters,then 24hr for panel heaters,convector heater, then off peak for the immersion.
Did you get it rewired?
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