Electrical metal conduit and switches and downstairs lighting idea

All the cabling downstairs will be surface mounted so we are going to run all the cables in metal conduit with old industrial light switches and sockets

We are going to replicate the existing lights upstairs downstairs, 1watt LEDs which will also be run from the 24v system.

The wheelhouse/annex

One of the main reasons I bought Tino and started this project was to get mortgage free and to Create a three bedroom family home, all be it a floating one, a more than spacious front room, fair sized open planned kitchen, two bedrooms interlinked for a small one and a seperate self contained annex for a big one.

Final plans for the wheelhouse/self contained annex

It has been decided finally, we are going to put the original Oak floor from the main bedroom below and use old mahogany parquet tiles to clad the step and engine control surround.

There will be three cast iron radiators fed by the diesel boiler which will be situated in the engine room below, short runs, before we lay the Oak floor the pipework for the rads needs to be plumbed in.

The rest of the dodgy paint work by the previous owners will be stripped.

Finley Yardley's desk

Some months ago we stumbled on a desk for Fin in a friend Michael's vintage/second hand shop in Crystal Palace, +44 7931 778 152,  on the one way system, original, the outside had been sanded back but still with it's previous pupil's early thoughts and desires inside.....

Parquet upstand/cladding

The floors are laid leaving the step and upstand's from varying levels need to be clad, we still have the mahogany strips that were originally laid in the original hallway, plan being, as with the bed, we are going to rip down the lengths into thinner strips and use that to clad the step and upstand's.

Kitchen Cupboards, knobs, handles and antique bronze screws

We have started dressing the kitchen, you may remember earlier in the blog we bought all the knobs handles catches covers, everything finishing detail to compliment the worktop and Teak cupboards, we opted for an antique bronze finish, some of the handles we bought in the UK some in China.

Reclaimed Cast Iron Spiral staircase

Now we have the floors in both upstairs and down it is time to look at getting the spiral staircase in and secure, Daisy is going on holiday to Brighton for a week so perfect timing.

We bought the staircase at an agricultural farmers auction in Paddock wood in a field for £200 ten treads and the main pole, we bought the balusters seperately from a little reclamation yard in Rochester, we just have to marry it all together, we still have to tap and dye a few more of the balasters, you may remember our metal work lesson, with the right tools and a demonstration is tricky but not as hard as it first sounds.

The subfloor in the hallway below has been strengthened to take the weight. The bilge hatch has still to be cut and a foot plate made to give the right angle for the first tread, as per previous make a template of the treads with a screw in the middle to work out the exact positions of the staircase, we tried using the staircase becomes too heavy after three or four treads and nye on impossible to move.

Old staircase, pretty steep, short treads, accident waiting to happen. You can also see the former dividing wall that was used to make the kitchen table and benches.

Our new staircase, it has now had a good clean and treated for rust, will flow nicely, took a while to get the right angle with the template, be patient, once in all your efforts will be rewarded.

Moving on......