June 2002

By June all the internal walls had been re-plastered and the study walls & ceiling replaced.  Most of the rewiring had been done with the installation of new consumer units and three additional ring mains.

The Front Elevation: At last, after awaiting the arrival of decent weather, the external walls are pinned off to remove the loose decoration; that being largely the reason for the penetrating damp problems that the old house didn't enjoy.  Clearly the original circa 1870 house comprised only two front windows; what is now the bay window (that which is a brick extension to the original) and the window to the immediate left.  The far left window and section is also a cavity-wall brick extension.  Dating the fire-surround suggests this was built at the turn of the 19th Century even though cavity walls didn't generally appear until much later.

The Kitchen: Having removed the majority of the cabinets we found a false wall in the far corner hiding, in part, almost another two feet of space.  There were problems here due to penetrating damp and the false wall was not ventilated - but all is now getting better.  The new brick pillars provide decorative supports for an open archway entrance. The original entrance was through what could be described as a cupboard left of the first visible pillar. The new kitchen will have a tiled floor, lowered false ceiling with tracking lighting and separated ring-mains.

The Front Bay-Windowed Bedroom: After removing cupboards we found another cupboard blanked off which was partly in this room and the one next door. This has now been reclaimed as the arched section to the rear.  This room is destined to become a music room.

The Other Front Bedroom: To the right at the back you can see doors on the wall. These were covered up with a wallpapered panel behind which is a large cupboard that is over the WC on the half landing. Since we will be installing an en-suite shower facility to the sink-end of this room we will excavate the cupboard from the landing and use it as storage space. 

The Far Back Bedroom: The ceiling had to be taken down as  part of it had already fallen down due to a roof leak that remains to be fixed.  However, this later helped with the plumbing as we easily removed the old tanks through this space.  Alike the kitchen below, we found a false wall in the far corner hiding extra space.  Again there were problems here due to penetrating damp and, of course, the false wall was not ventilated. 

The Outbuildings: Now demolished to make way for the central-heating oil tank and a patio area.  Previously there was little natural light in the kitchen as the buildings were so close.