Cheer of the Day!

[malcolm]

Opened up a tin of linseed oil paint 2 years after last using it. It was completely fine and had no skin at all. I decided it must be a miracle and found it very uplifting.

I'm guessing what happened is I stored it upside after I last used it and that sealed the top.

[Zebra]

I have repainted my bathroom cabinets from gloss white to Farrow and Ball eggshell.
It's a modern part of the house therefore no necessity, I felt, to create a period look. Nonetheless, they just fit in better, they look like they were always meant to be this way.

[Feltwell]

Today we finished repointing the rear wall of the house. If anyone can find a dustier, noisier job than grinding out cement pointing then please keep it far, far away from me. We set the smoke alarms off inside the house only twice today with the dust

So, chimneys and rear wall done - now just the side and front walls to do. Only saving grace is there are very few windows on the side elevation to let dust in, and the front elevation is either still in lime pointing or seems to be very thin cement pointing that should come out with hand tools. Lots of work, might just get it done this year.

[steveb]

> If anyone can find a dustier, noisier job than grinding out cement pointing then please keep it far, far away from me

I see your removing pointing and raise you cutting granite worktops, in the garden, with an angle grinder. The dust from that is so fine it has to be seen to be believed - and it gets everywhere.

[Feltwell]

You can keep that one then! I've been round factories cutting granite worktops, but they do it with wet cutting - still a messy process, but no dust at least.

[paulc]

Yay. Doors are back from the strippers after a three week delay. One still has a few little bits of paint stuck on it, but that should come off when it gets sanded. Even after taking in to consideration the delays, having the doors dip'n'stripped is a lot less hassle than using a hot air gun & chemical stripper. The one door I did, took a whole day to do, and it still needed a second hit with the chemicals.

Now for a question:
These are four panel doors from the 1920s recovered from neighbouring houses that were being "renovated". Some were hung long panel at the bottom, others long panel at the top. Which way up is correct for the period ?

[MatthewC]

Yay. Doors are back from the strippers after a three week delay. One still has a few little bits of paint stuck on it, but that should come off when it gets sanded. Even after taking in to consideration the delays, having the doors dip'n'stripped is a lot less hassle than using a hot air gun & chemical stripper. The one door I did, took a whole day to do, and it still needed a second hit with the chemicals.

Now for a question:
These are four panel doors from the 1920s recovered from neighbouring houses that were being "renovated". Some were hung long panel at the bottom, others long panel at the top. Which way up is correct for the period ?

Dunno about the 1920s but my 1860s house has all the original 4-panel doors hung with the longer panel at the top.

I hope you don't have issues with the chemicals used to strip your doors - I have heard (on here) about there being residual chemical absorbed in the wood. For that reason I used a hot air gun and scraper on my doors, even where there was some ghastly lacquer which gummed up sand paper in 3 seconds and modern nitromoors had no effect. It required a lot of patience and the ability to hold a Stanley knife and hot air gun in one hand at the same time!

[malcolm]

1920s here - consistantly the long panels are at the top.

[paulc]

Found a random post on the web earlier.... "The top rail & stiles should be of similar widths whilst the bottom rail should be substantially taller. Obviously, the wider rail should be at the bottom."
Looking at my doors, hanging with the wider rail at the bottom gives me long panels at the top. The four doors I had scrounged from round the corner had clearly been hung upside down...

[Flyfisher]

Who actually decides these things anyway?

[Gothichome]

Our doors are large panels up as well. With the doors original mounted small panels up wouldn’t the doors swing in the wrong direction if mounted large panels up now, or they would need to be mounted on the opposite side and that would make the swing correct. I wonder if the salvage doors were made with the wrong swing when the recesses for the hinge plates were made, rather than waste the door they adapted.

[Zebra]

It required a lot of patience and the ability to hold a Stanley knife and hot air gun in one hand at the same time!

What was in the other hand? The tea, or the kit-kat?

[a twig]

Turns out a DOFFS machine is fantastic at killing patio weeds as well

Probably difficult to justify as a purchase for solely that reason though

[Feltwell]

This is the kind of surprise you want to have:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-s ... e-52703818

[Craig89]

This is the kind of surprise you want to have:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-s ... e-52703818

Nice, at least they covered them instead of just digging them up