Kitchen Refurb

[Stanley]

Now why didn't it surprise me that Col was on top of the wiring trick! Good man.... Try sawing the end off the lintels, you might find you have some useful aged oak with no worm. A godsend to anyone who is into wood turning. Are you sending old units off or having a fire?

[Wendyf]

The woodworm is right through them Stanley, and we aren't sure that they are oak. A trip to the waste recycling centre is planned, I don't like the idea of burning chipboard & laminates.

[Stanley]

Fair enough Wendy, they do contain carcinogens.... Can you remember when Armoride used to burn waste plastic in the quarry on Stoneybank?
A friend of mine died, riddled with cancer caused by burning the insulation off old cables to get at the copper.....

[Wendyf]

Work has spread into the hallway and downstairs loo to get access to the offending water pipe. Might as well get it all done at one go...they needed decorating anyway.
Two trips to the Recycling place in Barlick to dump the remains of the kitchen units....what a pleasure to throw it into the skip!

[Marilyn]

Ah...now I know what is going on...how exciting!

[Stanley]

Don't slack off with the pictures Wendy.... they are fascinating.

[Wendyf]

Some white knuckle plumbing going on today...

[Stanley]

Iron pipe?

[Wendyf]

No, old copper pipe that has been corroded by our acidic water supply. Col has renewed it on both sides of the kitchen, but left this section as it has been plastered into the wall. It was the bit going through a three foot thick stone wall that was tricky, especially as the connection was in a corner behind the toilet in the bathroom. Water was restored at 6.30pm last night.

[Stanley]

Tell Col I commiserate with him. I was never a big fan of plumbing especially when it was replacement like he is doing where he has to negotiate existing fittings and structures. The funniest thing I ever saw in the field of DIY plumbing was in a house where the husband installed CH in the days before microbore. He ran the riser and return up the stairs in 3/4" copper pipe, surface mounted following the contour of the treads on the staircase. He was nicking the fittings from work. When he'd finished his wife had the job of polishing the pipe run...... You've never seen as many short lengths and elbows in your life!
The other big problem that I came across was the dearth of unions in the range. Every time you cut into a run you needed two of them!

[Marilyn]

Has Colin downed tools, Wendy?

[Stanley]

I doubt it. This fine weather will be drawing Wendy outdoors....

[Wendyf]

It's slow progress at the moment but here are a few photos. New hot and cold pipework through the kitchen and out the other side to our utility room and en-suite bathroom above. A new feed from the boiler to the hot water cylinder in the en-suite as this has been "temporarily" heated via the central heating since it was intstalled a few years back, and finally provision for a radiator in the kitchen.
All the pipework will disappear behind the dry lining that will soon cover that chilly north facing wall.



You can see the internal slope on the outside wall in this photo...is that called a batter? This was the original house, and the wall is at least two feet thick at ceiling height, probably three feet at floor level. The drying lining will hide it unfortunately, but we know it's there!



Into the hallway, where dry lining we put up 15 years ago has been removed to get the plumbing done. The door is another issue...to be dealt with at a later date!



The last couple of days have been spent making a hole through the wall to take an extractor fan. Col has been shocked by the strength of the rubble wall!

[Marilyn]

Wow! The changes are visible.
( a radiator in the kitchen...dead posh!)
Living amongst it all it may seem slow progress, but the photos show headway.

Can I make some cardboard furniture for you?

[Wendyf]

Yes please!

[Wendyf]

I was wrong about the pipes for the radiator...not done yet.
Today I had the pleasure of hacking off the tiles....great fun, then I went out to do some very urgent gardening while Col removed the plaster from the wall. Not too difficult a job, it was half dropping off anyway. An old doorway revealed...we knew it was there but it's still interesting to see the stonework framing it. At one time it led into a coal place under the stairs.
The old electric wiring went all over the place under the plaster...not a straight line anywhere!

[Stanley]

Yup Wendy, it's called batter. Not surprised about the strength of the wall. Good lime sand mortar gets harder the older it gets. It finishes up like glass. Give the old lad a day off and rub his ribs with used sump oil......



It's an adventure when you strip the plaster off the walls in an old house. Here's what we found in the corner of the front room at Hey Farm in one corner. The masonry was what made me sure that this part was once the chimney pile in a much older house.

[Wendyf]

A bit of a panic this morning. The kitchen units were delivered over 2 years ago on the day Colin got home after his bladder operation. They got stacked on pallets in a dry place in the barn and we have had no alternative but to leave them there till Col felt up to the job. This morning we opened one of the cupboard door packs and found that the framing around the door has swollen ever so slightly.
Space has been found to re-stack them inside the house so they get chance to dry out....Col is confident they will be OK but we still haven't checked on the cupboards.

[PanBiker]

Oh dear Wendy, as you know we had to have some of ours replaced but that was due to direct rain ingress. They were proper wet though with water running through the cupboards. The shelves and cabinet carcasses swelled. Laminated composite board does not like moisture. I think you mentioned that they were a similar range to ours. Have you any redress on your insurance if needed?

[Wendyf]

As if by magic an NHS van arrives up the track with a hand delivered letter telling Col he has an appointment for his 6 month check cystoscopy on Thursday morning in Burnley. Two big worries arriving on the same day....here's hoping there isn't a third.
All the units are now inside, that was a job and a half! Still got to stow them away under the stairs though.

[Wendyf]

Just seen your post Ian. I don't think they are that bad, we haven't looked at the carcasses yet.

[Wendyf]

All the packages safely indoors...



....and stacked carefully under the stairs with the doors removed from their cardboard boxes and exposed to the air. (Tinky2 the three legged cat found them very interesting)



The doors have a wood frame around an MDF panel and the wood has swollen a miniscule amount causing a small problem at the joints. I would probably never have noticed, or put it down to poor manufacturing, but Colin's eagle eyes homed straight in. He usually brings any wood he is going to use into the house for a couple of months at least to acclimatize before a joinery task so he is annoyed with himself about this. The doors will probably have a few months before they are needed anyway.....

[Stanley]

I don't think you need worry too much about the swelling. Just atmospheric humidity which will be much higher in the barn. If that moved them as they sat in there, they will move back as they dry to ambient humidity in the house.
Tell Col I shall be crossing my fingers on Thursday. How are his ribs?

[Wendyf]

His ribs are easing thank you Stanley.

[Stanley]

Good, I shall have my fingers crossed for both of you today. Hospitals and modern medicine are great but they don't half interfere with Life!