SO WHERE WERE WE?

OK I'll admit it:  I've been a lazy blogger and I didn't post at all in September.  So where were we?

Well to recap, July & August the whole place except the kitchen was re-plastered.  We are still in the process of painting, and a great deal of time has been spent finishing off the new front door.

The Office proved more problematic as some of the old plaster had blown and needed to be removed completely - causing even more dust and mess!

THE NEW FRONT DOOR
As you can see the original front door was quite shabby looking.  It was very drafty too in the winter, with the letterbox flapping in strong winds.

Before

I'd never really liked the painted brickwork surround, so a simple solution seemed to be to have the surround rendered in concrete from the canopy down.

The new front door is a steel security door with a 12 point locking system, and is something akin to a vault door but with a useful spyhole and letterbox.  You can never have enough security in London!

A PIR sensor courtesy light is always a useful fixture to install as it ends the need to be fumbling around on those dark winter nights trying to match the key to the lock.

And finally, a video intercom doorbell is an essential,  especially if you live on the first floor, as it saves you schlepping down those stairs to only find it's a nuisance caller or an Avon lady!  Yes, convenience always wins out in the end.

There is still work to be completed as a black slate door step or tiles, need to be sourced and fitted. 

After

Two big urn style planters at either side should complete the finishing touch.

I'd still like to fill the courtyard with shrubbery in planters so it becomes a sort of secret garden behind the gate.   It's also a great place for the Pepper kitty to run around and she loves to go out there to explore.  Being predominantly a house cat, she's very intrigued by the other house kitty called Lucky that appears in the window adjacent to our Front door.  Cats in windows.

Lucky is a great looking cat with a little zen like beard and tuxedo jacket, he belongs to our lovely neighbour, Marilyn who kitty sits Pepper when we are away for long periods.

A LIVING ROOM FOR COUCH POTATOES

The Living Room was plastered last weekend and is now looking very sculptural and very much like a modern shrine to television viewing.   We modified the built-out recessed TV surround at the last minute to include two alcoves at either side for CD or DVD storage.  This makes better use of the dead space.  The inside edges of the recess were slightly bevelled as well, as this looked more visually pleasing.  Bookcases and cabinets will be built at either side of the chimney breast which should lessen the impact, and balance the overall effect.

It should look amazing once the plaster has dried and the paint starts going on.  The light colour (Dulux Natural Calico) should bring out the beauty of the angles.  The plasterers also did an excellent job on levelling out the ceiling.

In case you are wondering, the black thing wrapped in cling film at the centre is the bracket for the 42 inch TV.  It's going to be like have our own personal cinema!

 

OLYMPIC PLASTERING

While there is no medal to be won, July has been a month of Olympic effort to progress the house.   With the exception of the kitchen, every wall and ceiling has now been plastered.  Our plasterers, Dave and Rick were poached locally from a nearby construction site and have proved their weight in gold.  Over the course of a few evenings and a couple of weekends, they have left every surface that they’ve worked on flawless and levelled.   It really does make a difference with a 76 year old building giving it a total facelift.     

I’m immensely relieve this stage of the works are over. Plastering is extremely messy and I’m fed up with finding everything repeatedly coated in fine dust.  A big clean should hopefully take care of it.

Our next event will be running the roller ragged in an feat of painting everything. 

Living Room prep work

 

Staircase main wall: Plastered!

 

Office

 

Bathroom Door - prep work

The bathroom door was converted into a sliding door to save space as it will no longer open out in the hallway.  Above the door will be a narrow window with glass blocks inset.

BATHROOM PROGRESS #7: THE STARS AT NIGHT

The bathroom ceiling was plastered this morning and is now drying.  I'm very happy with the results as it is now as flat as a sheet of glass, although it is impossible to tell from this patchy photograph. The darker areas are where the plaster is still wet. 

Cristian, the Eastern European plasterer, gave a very good price of £60 (the quotes I'd had ranged up to £135) and worked diligently on it until it was perfect.  I was suprised that the mess was minimum, as I'd heard that plastering can be very messy.  I'll be using him again at a later date, when it comes to re-plastering the walls and ceilings thoughout.  He's also given a very reasonable quote for the entire flat.

Note the square shaped down lighters, in keeping with the square bathroom theme.  These are IP65 rated for use in zone 1 of the bathroom, and are further protected by the lamps being encased in a glass bubble.