Now got the keys to Park Road and had a chance to have a really good nose around. Some original features but no hidden treasure as yet. Let’s check the bedrooms.
Interesting little mantle pieces? I wonder? Friends were with us at the time, and Mrs R dared me to prise off one of the covers beneath the mantles. One crowbar, 17 stones of operator and ten minutes later and wow, definitely hidden treasures in all three bedrooms.
Some cleaning and blacking are needed, but these little gems deserve to be on show.
The latest project was bought yesterday at auction, an exhilarating experience! I wish I could say that the pictures were after and before, but sadly the first was taken in 2008, and the latter was taken two weeks ago. A lovely 140ft garden to tackle. Watch this space!
When purchased, Sackville Street had 2 bedrooms which included a large one at the front. From the beginning, the plan was to create/reinstate a third bedroom/study. This we did with a stud wall at one end of the main bedroom. This still left a decent size bedroom, as shown in most of the following pictures.
The bed came from an advert on Facebook marketplace costing £21. Please note the missing crystal knob bottom right leg. Apparently, the grandchildren were recreating Bedknobs & Broomsticks and broke it!! Readers of an age will know what I mean.
The Sackville Street garden was a project in its own right. A mix of 3 different paving surfaces, a knackered fence and a rotten decking area. As can be seen from the picture, there were two other huge problems. Tall trees at the end of the garden block the sun from the neighbours’ garden and damage the beautiful original Victorian factory wall. They had to go. It turned out that they were a couple of out of control leylandii
Before
After
The leylandii had to be disposed of through the neighbours garden at the rear. They were very pleased to have light in their house after 1 pm.
The second before and after, the Sackville Street Lounge. This room is one of the best in the property, bay fronted with open fireplace. However, with 2 coats of paint, 3 layers of wallpaper, damp under the bay window, a cracked concrete floor and a thick coating of nicotine on the ceiling, there was a lot of work involved.
Sorry for the delay in posting. COVID-19 certainly got in the way of progress in all sorts of ways. Anyway, the house is now complete and has been sold. I will post over the next few weeks detailing certain areas of the refurbishment. First off the Sackville Street Kitchen & Diner
After fighting our way through lockdown, shortage of materials, restricted working schedules, we are nearing completion of Sackville Street. Our interior designer (Mrs CT), spent most of last night dressing the property in readiness for marketing pictures this morning. More to follow
These really are unprecedented times. COVID-19 stops work and play for that matter. No one could have predicted this total change, hopefully temporary, in the way we live. As developers, we not only have a duty to look after ourselves and family but also those involved in our current developments.
Personal well-being is paramount but then comes economic well-being and the ability to survive through these troubled times.
Naturally, all of our contractors are self-employed and if they stop work they get nothing. Ah-ha, I hear some of you say. Boris et al have promised to pay 80% of their declared earnings averaged over the past 3 years up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
The major problem with this is the phrase “declared earnings”. Any good accountant would be keeping this figure to a minimum to keep tax payment down and then only if they are fully aware of their client’s true earnings. I feel that the chances of most of these people claiming anywhere near the proposed figure are zero.
And so here is the crunch. I have 2 trades working at Sackville Street at the moment, a decorator and a kitchen/bathroom/door fitter. Both of them have asked to continue working because they need to earn money. And they came up with their own solution. Rather than shutting the site down, they would only work 50% of the time i.e. only one person in the house on any one day and that includes me as the developer.
Seems reasonable. At least the work continues albeit at half pace. What difference does this make? – it cannot go on the market at the moment as there are no buyers.
So there we go. With a “one person at any one time” rule, I am locked out of my own development for at least the next 3 weeks!
What are your feelings on this matter? Comment below.
Grey & White appears to be on-trend for decorating these days. the challenge we have is – which way round? White walls and grey woodwork or grey walls and white woodwork.
The next few photographs show the stages achieved so far at our current project. The was taken after the carpet and fitted wardrobes had already been removed. The second was taken after hours of steamy wallpaper stripping which included the nicotine being melted from the ceiling into one’s hair! Lastly, plastering, it looks like we are finally getting somewhere. Not long for the paint
Bedroom 1 – First fix electricsBedroom 1 – Wallpaper stripped. Boarded ceilingLovely new plaster!
A couple of views taken from the other end of the bedroom before plastering started showing the transformation from one large room to having the third bedroom reinstated.
Bedroom 1 with new radiatorsThe creation of bedroom 3/nursery/study
