templar
passionate about the new and the old, but only if it is any good
Papering over the cracks
Two hundred years on and any wall that may has had several coats of traditional paint, and many more coats of less traditional plastic paint and perhaps a variety of wall coverings is ready for a new coat of plaster. Or a paper covering. Right? Well it depends on the desired finish. Want you old [...]
The case for Cast Iron Radiators
Wet systems have gone all compact and microbore over the years. This must have lowered the costs and speeded up installation considerably. It will probably have increased the number of leaky radiators – have you ever noticed how easy it is to bash the flimsy pipes with a hoover? Microbore is great for compact living [...]
Restore old floorboards
There is a lot of advice on practical treatments for repairing and restoring old pine floorboards, but only a few don’t involve a lot of cost or arcane techniques, or drastic and inappropriate treatments. Some of the low cost measures are the most effective though. My favourites are distressed painted floor finishes treated with nothing [...]
Today I’ve been draughtproofing floors with Draughtex
It goes without saying that old houses are a bit draughty, but that’s why you bought one isn’t it? You don’t like the suffocating dry heat of a modern centrally heated home? Even so, the natural draughts of old houses can get unruly when you get the wrong sort of wind blowing super chilled air [...]