Progress on the Little Room Under the Stairs

What we started with a room not in terribly good condition.  Fed up for waiting for help so decided to tackle it ourselves.

Plans have changed slightly on the revamp of the Little Cupboard under the stairs due to the fact that I have not been able to get to start on the reparation work needed.  As the flooring is currently impeding us in the dining room the decision has been made for G to lay the floor to get it out of the way with.

G started the flooring on Thursday 9 October.  He has more or less got it done. (Now done apart the final titivating).

He had to stop because he wore the battery out using the jigsaw. Currently waiting for it to recharge. It will certainly be a lot easier and cleaner with the new flooring than what was there.

The original flooring appears to be made up of Terracotta tiles and is a little uneven.  As it is not a room where you can swing a Rat or go walkabout in at the end of the day that will not pose too much of a problem.  As long as it is neat, clean and tidy that is what I am aiming for. 

G has now finished the flooring and it is not perfect but it is looking so much better than it did do.   Just like the flooring in the Little room and the Pantry.  So much tidier and cleaner.  So well worth the doing.

With regard to the preparation work I will cover the flooring completely to protect it before setting about the plaster work.  I am hopeful that I should be able to get on moving forward from Friday 10 October. Depends on whether G is happy for me to go in and get stuck in.  I have had to keep out of there all of Thursday. Now all being well I am going to start tackling the plaster work.  The plaster work involved is more than I thought it would be but I am determined to do a good job of this.

One of the main reasons for not being able to get to the preparation work done up until now is that I am still sorting out items that were under the stairs.  I have also due to the washing machine issues have a backlog of washing which has also been causing its own issues and I am still wading through that.  Each time a load is done means I am inching that bit more forward and to getting it all sorted and done which will be an achievement in itself.

In any event there are photos above of the before and after photographs of the flooring i.e. the old perished lino that was in the house when we moved in here 38 years ago. Against the new laminate flooring that G has installed.

Now it is down to me.

• Now to get cracking on that plaster work scraping the walls down to get rid of any loose flaky paint, then sand it down, then start filling in the holes, letting it dry and smoothing it down and decorating.  
• Then there is the trim for the shelves so my jars do not fall off the shelf.
• Paint Damp Proof Paint on the walls - 2 coats needed.
• Then painting the Little Cupboard under-the-stairs.  Starting with the shelving and glossing that.
• Then painting the plaster walls.
• Then the skirt will need making and sewing to hide away a few unsightly bits.
• Then installing those items that are going into the revamped Little Cupboard under-the-stairs. This will start with all the Preserves.
• Then I will have to assess the situation to see what will go in there after this. In any event before moving forward with this the Stone shed needs clearing so that those items that are not going under the stairs can be stored in the Stone shed.

Where I am at the moment:

Well I have started which is an achievement in itself.

Scraping down the walls.  Boy is it warm in there scraping the walls down. What have I let myself in for.  G is telling me to do a quick scrape and then paint over.  I am not having any of that as we will be back to square one.  I want it looking reasonable and besides the smoother the surface the easier it will be to clean. 

I have graduated from a tiny footstool to a full size ladder for tackling the ceiling.  Still busy scraping down and will need to buy some more plaster repair paste.  Concentrating on the preparation work first before I start on the filling and patching.  At least the new bulb is a lot brighter in there so I can see what I am actually doing.

I have spent about five hours in there today doing the initial preparation work i.e. all the scraping on the walls and the ceiling for the Cupboard under the stairs.  A lot of paint has flaked off and at one point I was sneezing with the amount of dust in there.  Came away for a while from it.  I have decided that I am going to use a damp proof paint in there to start with (after the patching and filling).  I understand that it can be painted over with an ordinary emulsion afterwards. I already have the emulsion and the gloss.  Would feel happier with the damp proof paint on in any event. I need to buy in the damp proof paint.

After today's efforts all the flaky paint has been taken off and tomorrow I will go over with sandpaper to remove any lurking flakes of paint.  Then will start the patching up. There are a couple of photos here:

Have also made a decision about the shelves.  There is an amount of laminate left over which will only end up going to the tip as it is only a small amount and we have no capacity to store it.  G suggested that we use it on the shelves and at first I discounted the idea, but the more I thought about it the more I thought it was a good way to protect the shelves and be washable as well as hold my jars safely.  We are going to be putting the strip around all the shelves to stop the jars tumbling off the shelves in any event. I need to buy in the wood for making the tipping strip. I was thinking about using architrave surround to do this (like you have around the outside of internal doors) as it can be cut at an angle and provide a decent lip to stop the jars falling off.  Will see how much it will cost before making my decision.

Tomorrow therefore I will be back to the grind dealing with the next part of the preparation.  Wish me luck.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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