Plastered

 Our kitchen is getting plastered as I type!  Four years ago, to the month, hubby took down our false ceiling in the kitchen which was put up in the 80's (false ceilings were all the rage then).  Our kitchen has a sloping ceiling as it was built to look like an extension to the house.  Why the builder thought this was a good idea I don't know.  It's caused several problems for us since we bought the house - back in the 80's.  The house was built in the 30's and originally the kitchen was very small with two cupboards at the end of it. One for storing coal and one a pantry.  Quite why you would have your coal in the house when you have a bungalow I don't know!  Anyway, by the time we got the house the pantries had been removed and a long narrow window installed at the low end of the kitchen.   Also, for some strange reason there was also a step down into the kitchen from what is our dining room.  Most people have managed to take it away, we made it a smaller step by putting in a wooden floor - previously it was concrete.  By putting in a wooden top over it, it allowed us to put pipes etc below the floor and made the floor a bit warmer too.  Another problem with the 'extension' is that the slope of the roof is too shallow.  It means that most of these houses have problems with water getting in when its very windy from the south.  Because of the shallow pitch, the rain drives up and under the slates and causes problems.   To this end over the years we have done various things to improve our lot.  

Four years ago,  we had water coming in through the roof and as is the way with water, it doesn't necessarily come in where you can see the mark.  Our ceiling was a mess of little patches cut out of the plaster board and I'd decided we should go back to the higher sloping ceiling as it would feel more roomy.  Because of this hubby decided to remove the ceiling altogether, and in doing so he found the leak.  Meanwhile inside the house, the kitchen was cold in winter as there was only a layer of wood and felt (he'd also removed most of the slates too) between us and the elements.  The slates remained lying on the ground for two years!  Hubby felt there must be a better solution to our roof troubles but he hadn't yet come up with it.  Meanwhile we froze in the kitchen and the rain noise was spectactular!  Eventually last year he came up with the solution.  He put a corrugated iron roof on the kitchen and it's worked a treat.  He also eventually put up a plaster board ceiling with lots of insulation and boy is it cosy now.

The reason we now have a plasterer in is because the area that had been above the false ceiling had had green plastic tiles on.  Those tiles were in the whole kitchen when we got the house and we only took off the ones below the new ceiling height as no-one would see the others.  Of course now that the false ceiling has gone and the tiles have been removed, the walls are a disaster.  So in came the plasterer today to tidy it all up for us and boy will it make a difference.  I've had a peek and it looks amazing already!  We don't do things in a hurry in this house!!  The kitchen will now get painted before we put everything back in.  We need to let the plaster dry for a few days first but I'm determined to get it painted before Christmas.  Not that anyone but me will see it at Christmas but it's good to have a target to aim for!   We plan to get new kitchen units one of these days!  Our current ones are the ones we put in in the 80's and they are done.  However, as I said, we don't do things in a hurry, so don't hold your breathe waiting for it to happen.  I sure won't!