The dining room is easily the most horrible room in the house and the one that needs the most work. It had an ugly fireplace, fake low ceiling, fake wooden beams and a dirty (but original) flagged floor. All of this is going, except the floor for now.
I've already mentioned that we have brought down the fake ceiling and beams which has made the room seem twice as big. Now we need to figure out what we're doing with the chimney breast and fireplace. I would have liked to have kept the open fire but the chimney needs lining and apparently the flue isn't wide enough to fit the size of liner that is required for an open fire. That causes a bit of a conundrum because we don't want to spend much money on the fire in a room where we realistically won't use it very much, but at the same time we need some sort of a plan so that we know how to have it plastered after the electrics have been done.
So to find out exactly what we are dealing with, down came everything that isn't structural. This has left us with a HUGE amount more space, a very narrow and wonky chimney breast that is literally just the flue, the surround for the fire, and no idea what to do next!
We also have the small matter of the leaking shower. The plumbers had a look and said that the whole shower unit needed replacing. But that isn't happening so we're seeing if some sealant will do the job for now (it really isn't clear at all which bit exactly is leaking).
I can't wait to see how this room will end up. It already looks so much better with the higher ceiling and without all of the oppressive beams and woodwork, and the removal of most of the chimney breast has made the room seem even bigger. Once we have lights in there (spots, a pendant and a lightstrip - not taking any chances) and get it all plastered we're hoping it'll be completely transformed from it's current cave-like appearance!
I've already mentioned that we have brought down the fake ceiling and beams which has made the room seem twice as big. Now we need to figure out what we're doing with the chimney breast and fireplace. I would have liked to have kept the open fire but the chimney needs lining and apparently the flue isn't wide enough to fit the size of liner that is required for an open fire. That causes a bit of a conundrum because we don't want to spend much money on the fire in a room where we realistically won't use it very much, but at the same time we need some sort of a plan so that we know how to have it plastered after the electrics have been done.
So to find out exactly what we are dealing with, down came everything that isn't structural. This has left us with a HUGE amount more space, a very narrow and wonky chimney breast that is literally just the flue, the surround for the fire, and no idea what to do next!
We also have the small matter of the leaking shower. The plumbers had a look and said that the whole shower unit needed replacing. But that isn't happening so we're seeing if some sealant will do the job for now (it really isn't clear at all which bit exactly is leaking).
I can't wait to see how this room will end up. It already looks so much better with the higher ceiling and without all of the oppressive beams and woodwork, and the removal of most of the chimney breast has made the room seem even bigger. Once we have lights in there (spots, a pendant and a lightstrip - not taking any chances) and get it all plastered we're hoping it'll be completely transformed from it's current cave-like appearance!
