Kitchen Refurb

[Wendyf]

Now the old wall is hidden its a like a whole new world Liz! We got most of the plasterboard up yesterday apart from around the window. There were lots of fiddly bits to cut out, so it took a while.

[PanBiker]

Looking good Wendy.

[Tizer]

A great job, Wendy! That's what our rooms looked like when we'd had them insulated. And we've never regretted doing it - they are sooo much more comfortable and warm, and it's much easier to hang pictures too compared with the old limestone walls.

[Wendyf]

Wish us luck...this afternoon we attempt to move the Stanley cooker. Water, oil and chimney to be disconnected first though. Col wants to level the concrete plinth it sits on.

[Wendyf]

Stanley the stove waiting to be disconnected and moved out from the chimney breast. A bit of tlc needed for the brickwork too! (It is lined.)

[Marilyn]

That looks like a big job.
How on earth can you cook on that? I imagine your face up against brickwork as you reach in to stir pots...or hunched double...

[PanBiker]

Maz, an earlier photo shows that the range stands proud of the front of the chimney breast. That last photo is taken directly from the front of the range and it's difficult to see.

[Marilyn]

Ah...that makes sense
Are you keeping your floor, Wendy?

[Stanley]

Lovely to see such good progress Wendy.....

[Wendyf]

Maz, it's not an ideal place to cook, but one of the reasons Col wants to take out the plinth is to make more room above the hob. I love cooking on it!
We will be tiling the floor.
It is out now, but it was a long job. Col inched it forward by levering under one corner then the other till we got it off the plinth and onto rollers. 850lbs of solid steel.

[Wendyf]

Look away now Maz, there is a lot of muck in these pictures! There has been no way of cleaning down the sides of the cooker for 16 years....and there was some unpleasant stuff collected on the register plate when that came down. The warm stones of the chimney must be a haven for small furry creatures!!






Provision for speakers, Col likes loud music when he is cooking...

[Marilyn]

I say let the man have his loud music if it gets him cooking. ( music/wine/whatever)
I could stick pictures of naked women on the tiles behind my cooktop, and it still wouldn't get hubby cooking!

That certainly was a big job for you both...

[Stanley]

Exciting stuff, I'll bet the days fly by!

[Wendyf]

A hard day for Colin yesterday breaking up the concrete plinth, which went deeper than expected and underneath the brickwork of the chimney breast on one side. I was hiding away from the noise and the dust and got very irritable.

[Stanley]

Old concrete properly mixed and laid can be a bugger! Granite dust was very cheap and popular around the time that plinth went in and it can be hard as the hobs of hell.

[Wendyf]

The chimney liner was OK but probably only had a few years life left in it so that has gone and a new one ordered.

[chinatyke]

There's a view you don't see often, Wendy.

[Stanley]

Reminds me of the Hey Farm flues.... You've certainly bottomed that one !
Suggestion, fill space around the cooker with insulating board and cap at the top. That way nothing can fall down the sides where it is inaccessible.

[Wendyf]

That's the plan Stanley.

[Stanley]

Good, nothing quite as annoying as the artefact lost behind the immovable object! Two of Jack's balls qualify for that category. One is under the sideboard that carries the 1927 lathe in the front room and the other is behind the fridge-freezer! Worst case is losing a kipper of course.....

[Wendyf]

The chimney breast corner all tidied up and plastered, with a nice piece of wood to rest my weary head against when I'm cooking.



The next major problem is the concrete floor which is nowhere near as level as we thought and is going to require some effort. The kitchen is the centre of the house...people, dogs & cats need to pass through it to get anywhere so how on earth do we manage if leveling compound is needed? How long does it take to dry? Any suggestions gratefully received.
This also means the stove has to be moved out of the room somehow, we thought we could tile where it is going to be first then move it back in place and tile the rest, but Col doesn't think that's going to work now.

[Stanley]

Wendy. I can see a single towel rail on that wood pad for your tea towels....
Old floors are difficult but there are some good modern solutions. I'll mail you and Susan so that she can tell you who cured theirs recently. They got an excellent floor at reasonable cost.

[Wendyf]

I rescued an original brass towel rail from the terrace house in Colne that we bought for our son. I've been saving it specially but haven't convinced Col that it's a good idea yet!

[Marilyn]

I think Col should also put a little ledge up to hold "the cook's nips"???
Where are you supposed to put your glass, my dear?

[Tizer]

Wendy, judging from the threshold below that door it looks like you have a small step there. If so, could you lay a floating floor of chipboard in the kitchen then finish it with the covering of your choice? Of course it depends on what you mean by the floor not being level - do you mean it slopes or that it's a bit lumpy-bumpy? If the problem is small-scale fluctuations you might be able to use the chipboard approach but not if you need to iron out big fluctuations in level.