Brunswick Road 14 - Living Room

Penrith, Cumbria. February-2024. Money Pit II, Season 2, Episode 2 - Living Room.

It has been a month of frenetic DIY that had to be crammed in between Money Pit II, Season 2, Episode 1 - Yard Work, and flying off to Italy. We had decided to have the plaster in our living room stripped and replaced for several reasons:

• In winter the room was freezing as the front wall gets most of the weather and the central heating was insufficient. The advice was to put in 50 mm insulating plasterboard and replace the radiator with a new, more efficient one.
• We were hoping there might be a lovely stone chimney breast and fireplace hidden behind the plaster, as there was in Benson Row.
• The plaster on the corridor wall had blown. You could tell by tapping it that the skim plaster was coming away from the backing plaster.

We were able to organise it such that we were away from home when most of the destruction took place. The dust sadly will take longer to clear.

Alas, the chimney breast was a hodgepodge of old bricks and stones with no lovely lintel. So our builder put in a new concrete lintel and covered the wall up with 20 mm insulating plasterboard.

When the plaster was removed the wall against the entrance hall turned out to be a stud wall with a cavity between the two sides of lath and plaster. In the bottom left corner, in the freezing lobby, there wasn't even lath and plaster just a piece of hardboard. As part of the reinstatement, the void was packed with insulation and then covered with 20 mm insulating plasterboard.

I had wanted to recycle the original Victorian skirting boards with their elaborate profile. We found a local, proper old-school sawmill that could re-create this for us as we needed a short section to make up a shortfall. When I came to bash out all the old nails, it did so much damage to the original timber that we decided to abandon that idea and go with all new skirting board.

As soon as the plaster work was complete and dry, I had to emulsion the ceiling (one coat), and all the walls (two coats). As we were putting in a new picture rail I had to be very careful to paint down to the laser guided line that marked where it would go, brilliant white above, white mist below. I also had to prime the picture rail with a couple of coats and prime and paint the section of skirting board that would go behind the new radiator so they were ready for the carpenter to install them. The plumber came the same day as the carpenter and replaced all three downstairs radiators so the house was a bit busy.

After the skirting boards and picture rail were in place, I had to finish off the woodwork painting: top coat on the picture rail, primer times two and topcoat on the skirting boards. It was vital to get those done before the carpet was fitted!

As the fireplace was disappointing, we went for an original Victorian fireplace insert from a large selection at Cumbria Architectural Salvage. 

None of the fireplace / stonemasons in town could quote and supply a hearthstone in time so we cheated. We bought a piece of wood from B&Q, cut it to shape, and painted it matt black. Since we won’t be using the fireplace as a real fire (the chimney is capped off and would need lining) a wooden hearth is not a problem. It does mean that the carpet fitters could do their thing working up to the “hearthstone”. We could replace it at some point but we suspect it’ll be there for at least 10 years!

We had chosen a higher tog underlay and carpet which the carpet fitters installed in under an hour! After they left, we could reinstate the room as it should be. New curtains and sofa to follow...

Looking all very wonderful. We now have insulated walls and floor and a new radiator that is no longer under the window sill so we expect to be very toasty in there from now on. 

Brunswick Road 13 - Yard Work

Penrith, Cumbria. February-2024.

Money Pit II, Season 2, Episode 1.

We had always intended to redo our backyard as the concrete was cracked and anything but level. When we had a picnic out there in warmer weather, the tomatoes would roll off the table and run across the yard.

We were given an extra impetus when we discovered that the previous owner had connected the upstairs bathroom soil pipe into the next door neighbour’s SVP (Soil Vent Pipe) without consultation or permission. He had divided up a bedroom to create a first floor bathroom and rather than dig up the yard to plumb into the existing sewage he ran the soil pipe across the back wall and tee’d into the neighbour’s pipework (the gently sloping pipe in the middle of the picture). The owner next door only discovered this six months after we moved in as he rents the property out. Although it is a very neat and tidy solution, unsurprisingly, he was unhappy about this and keen to have the situation put right.

It took us a while to get round to rectifying the situation as builders are hard to find and we are in Italy half the year - we wanted to be present while the works were being done. Finally we started this year.

First step was to attack the old concrete with a pneumatic drill and break it up. Unfortunately the vibrations shattered next door’s bathroom window. Of course we paid for that to be repaired, fortunately a simple glazing unit replacement. 

Second step was to dig down and find out where the various drains went, and how they all connected up. Having previously lifted the manhole cover in the back alleyway, we knew that the two houses uphill from us all feed in to a communal pipe along the back alleyway, which then turns a corner and runs into our yard, under our house, and out into the street to join up with the mains sewage.

Our builder laid a new pipe from the corner, where you can see the broom handle, under the wheelbarrow in to a new access on the left-hand of the two new small manholes (the raised black tubes), and then turns a corner to join the original Victorian sewer under the right-hand manhole.

Once the new pipework was in place and backfilled, our builder put in a couple of ridges to mark gullys of the intended new surface.

The cement lorry arrived and parked outside our front door but the concrete had to be wheelbarrowed down the alleyway and into our yard by hand.

Next carefully tamped down and smoothed the concrete with a gentle slope towards the drains, as dictated by the gully markers. All looking very smooth and needing a couple of days for the concrete to set.

Once we could access the yard, it gave us an opportunity to jet wash all the green slime off the party wall and give it a fresh coat of paint.

This is the new pipework in place. The illegal T-junction into the neighbour’s pipework has been removed and our soil pipe fed down into the new underground pipe with its own SVP going up the wall.

Finally, we moved all the plant pots and bin store from our neighbours’ gardens back into the yard.

We were then able to let the neighbour know that his concerns have been addressed.

Now we are ready for Series 2, Episode 2 - The Living Room...

Brunswick Road 12 - Kitchen Installation Continued

Penrith, Cumbria. April-2022.

The end is nigh! 

The units are now installed in the kitchen and utility / shower room bar four drawer fronts and the door for the dishwasher that are on back order. That means all the kitchen pots, pans, utensils, cleaning materials, etc. can be moved into the cupboards from various locations. 

The knock on effect through the rest of the house has been enormous as items from the pantry, dresser and shed went into their rightful places in the kitchen and utility room. Boxes were brought down from the top bedrooms and the temporary cooking arrangements went out into the shed. The lock-up has been emptied of its remaining contents and given up, saving us the ongoing rental. 

Luckily our friend Nigel was starting to pack up his house so was a very happy recipient of all our empty boxes, bubble wrap and lock-up storage unit.

The dishwasher is plumbed in so no more washing dishes in the bathroom sink! The utility room is now fully functional with shower and washing machine so more trips to the Coach House Laundry with Ikea bags full of washing.

The dining room is now fully operational. Following last month's plastering I painted the two untouched walls so we could move the dresser back in from the hallway. This month, once the plaster was dry, I painted the two remaining walls and the white above the picture rail. The cook book shelves are up and pictures hung.

The ceiling is still to be fitted but as this was more complicated than first thought, and would clash with the kitchen installation, we have delayed this until later in the year.

There were some bits of paint touch up in the kitchen where socket and switches had to be moved and around the edges in the utility room. Basically it is done apart from some painting of new skirting boards and doors - hurrah!

It will be lovely when it is finished!

Brunswick Road 11 - dining room plastering, kitchen installation

Penrith, Cumbria. March-2022.

Finally some real progress. Between Allen, our kitchen fitter, and Barry the builder, the month of March has seen great leaps forward. 

Allen did what he could in the utility room while we were waiting for delivery of the kitchen units. First he installed the loo and shower base. We have missed having two loos. I joked that we should now call the house “Lautrec”.

Next the shower boards went in and then had to be left for the filler foam to go off.

Once Allen had done what he could Barry’s lads came in to strip and re-plaster the back wall and chimney breast. The back wall was re-plastered using insulated boards to help improve the thermal efficiency a little.

We had hoped that the chimney breast would be lovely stone like in Benson Row but sadly not. Although the top part was stone it would seem that the lintel had been lowered from its original position and the infill was unappealing brickwork so we plastered it back over. 

The left hand alcove, where the boiler had been, was opened out then boxed in to hide all the pipe work to the new boiler and make it symmetrical with the other side.

Once the plastering was done we could move the dresser back into the dining room from the hallway where it had been constricting the passageway. It meant we could now move freely and also unbox the glasses, etc which had been in storage crates cluttering up the rest of the house.

The kitchen fitter returned with the carcasses for the units and positioned them in the correct places.

Because of the wiring still needed for the hob and oven he made a start on the utility room - the first units are now fitted. They will eventually have the same work top as the kitchen with a countertop sink above the washing machine.

The flying sink has gone so we are back to washing up in the bathroom sink but not for long; next month should see the work complete.

"It will be lovely when it's finished!"

Brunswick Road 10 - painting, shelving, pipework

Penrith, Cumbria. February-2022.

Once the plastering was done (see January update) I had to bring the paint roller out of retirement and slap two coats of Dulux kitchen and bathroom paint all over in order not to delay the kitchen fitting (or even worse let Mary do the painting). Slip on shoe cover make excellent, improvised light protectors.

The kitchen fitter then informed us that the lead time on the units was such that it would not be happening as soon as hoped. A strategic rethink was called for. We brought forward the dining room re-plastering to get that done in the meantime. Unfortunately the weekend before he was due to start the plasterer slipped on some ice, jolted his back and was out of action for at least a week.

In the meantime we had a parallel, DIY work stream fitting the TARDIS circuit in the shed. We decided the Belfast sink had to go  It took up room, had no water tap and the drain didn’t drain. No before picture, alas. I took a hammer to the supporting bricks and, lo, it was gone. It may become a planter or a boot cleaning trough.

Next step was to replace the temporary plastic shelves from B&Q with wall to wall brackets and adjustable shelving to hold all our storage crates.

I had to borrow Nigel’s SDS hammer drill as my battery powered drills weren’t up to brick and stone. 

Order restored, shelves stacked. It may not be the closing scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark but it’ll do for me.

Back in the house when the old bath was taken out from the downstairs bathroom it left a pair of pipes running across the floor that fed the kitchen sink. When we re-sited the boiler we missed a trick. We should have got the plumbers to take those pipes out and take a fresh feed from the new boiler. So while we were in Italy the plumbers came back to retrofit the routing and add a spur for the new shower. 

Next month we hope for full installation of kitchen and utility / shower room.

Repeat after me “ It’ll be lovely once it’s finished”.

Brunswick Road 09 - Plastering, Plumbing, Garden Design

Penrith, Cumbria. January-2022.

Another month of two steps forward, one step back.

We were due to have the kitchen and utility rooms plastered the second week of January but the plasterer tested positive for Covid. Instead of pushing all his other jobs back he dropped us. We suspect that he thought it better to disappoint one customer than his entire pipeline of works.

We made an emergency call to the builder we used on Benson Row who came to the rescue with some weekend working! To speed up the process I had to do some prep on the back wall, prising off the old plaster. That wall backs on to our shed and is pretty cold. 

The walls part plastered. As part of the re-plastering they put in insulated plaster board on the back and left hand walls of the utility room. To ensure adhesion of the plaster the walls are first painted with blue grit plaster bonding agent as you can see on the window wall.

Once the blue grit was dry, the builder came back to do the skim coat.

Next the plumber has to remove the grey pipes running across the floor and join up new and old pipes to feed the new sink and dishwasher plus install upright pipes to feed the shower. We are kicking ourselves that we didn't get those done when the boiler was re-sited. Our fitter's high-tech specification schematic for the shower supply:

After that some minor electrical works are planned which means I have to paint the walls before they reinstate all the sockets and put the underfloor heating controller in place. And finally the kitchen fitter can fit the kitchen!

In the front garden Mary has been a real Trojan. The before - a sort of very weedy rockery:

She weeded and dug it over. Luckily one of our neighbours could make use of the spare white stones and took them away that same evening making it easier to work around the small space. Together we moved the extremely heavy sundial (a 50th birthday present from my parents) up from the front path to the corner where I had dug out some most stubborn shrub roots.

Mary decided that the front garden should be a herb bed so it is now planted up with bay, rosemary, hyssop, oregano, thyme plus some trailing plants to cover the ugly gas meter box. Still waiting for other herbs to be available including sage and lavenders.

Like the kitchen "It will be lovely when it is finished".

Brunswick Road 08 - New flooring

Penrith, Cumbria. December-2021.

The kitchen needs a new floor. Not just any old floor but one that might have been designed by Bertie Bassett.

The before. Several of the cupboards had already been stripped and carted away to the tip and replaced by temporary units. Behind the door was a bathroom which will be turned into a shower / utility room.

First step was to clear the kitchen of everything except a flying sink!

We suspected the old kitchen floor had no damp proof course and so it proved to be. Regardless, we had to dig up the old concrete floor to make room for underfloor heating. Digging it up was a noisy business all the way to the underlying soil and then a bit more to get the depth we needed for the layers.

Rebuilding: the four layers: sand, waterproof membrane, foam insulation slabs, cement.

At this point we got the builders to move the door so the utility room had enough space on the right hand side to fit the washing machine and the underfloor heating could be laid in the correct place.

With the door moved a new door frame could be fitted to accommodate a new door.

More layers: another, thinner layer of insulation followed by electric, underfloor heating (the orange cable) held in place by a mesh.

Yet more layers of cement, this time runny, self-levelling screed.

Several more thin layers of the self-levelling screed were need to get the required smoothness for the linoleum which will be fitted next year after plastering and decorating is complete.

Repeat after me, "It will be lovely when it's finished".

Brunswick Road 07 - Loft, fireplace, kitchen clearing

Penrith, Cumbria. October/November-2021

A mixture of construction and destruction tackling the loft, fireplace and kitchen. We gained space in the loft and lost some in the kitchen. 

Boarding the Loft. 

I’m getting the hang of this loft boarding malarkey. Much easier when you don’t have to wrestle existing insulation. Note the sarking boards supporting the tiles - typically Scottish but also found elsewhere.

The other end shows the light well above the stairs (currently used for access) and the space where we will have a hatch and ladder installed when we can get hold of a joiner.

I wasn’t even half done when the suitcases, hifi boxes and Christmas tree were up there. It’s even fuller now.

Restoring the fireplace. 

The next big piece of work is restoring the fireplace, Opening the hearth and installing new uprights. We used the same stonemason as for Benson Row. The stonemason discovered unsupported brickwork inside the chimney (!) so there is a now a second concrete lintel supported on brick pillars hidden behind the stone one. We now have our own mini Stonehenge. 

Still to do: cleaning and superficial distressing to get a better colour match.

Acro props to hold up the lintel (and probably the rest of the chimney!)

The middle section that used to be a back boiler now gone.

Cutting the new uprights in the back alley.

New hearth stone in place ready for the uprights.

New uprights in place.

The stone dries lighter as the cement dries out. The lintel has been given a light chiselling to remove the old cement and plaster.

Now we have to decide what we do with the fireplace. We could line the flue and have a real fire grate or log burning stove. For now we will put in a decorative fake stove.

Clearing the Kitchen.

Next up is redoing the kitchen floor. The door opening into the utility room will be moved and expanded ready for the floor works. The concrete floor will be dug down so that a multi-layer sandwich can be laid: waterproof membrane, insulation, electric underfloor heating mat, self-levelling screed and finally lino. Hopefully the latter will be down just as we leave for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.

The kitchen has to be cleared for this. All the old units are gone as are all our temporary work surfaces. We want to keep the sink as long as possible so are doing a cutaway unit to make the floor accessible. Nothing like a power jigsaw for cabinet destruction.

A flying sink so the workmen can dig up the concrete floor beneath.

All kitchen units have now been ripped out. The bridge table will go shortly.

Dining room now with the kitchen corner. With the delayed timetable from our kitchen fitter we have treated ourselves to an Ikea induction hob and a combination oven and microwave.

The next couple of months are going to be challenging in terms of eating and dishwashing. 

The mantra is “It'll be lovely when it’s finished”.