It's later than you think

Both Mum and Uncle Jeff died this year. I miss them both.

Connected

The old sink is finally connected. I wanted a little something to do this week that would finish something off rather than start a-new and Julia proposed the kitchen sink. Not that we are without a sink, in that we use the sink in the laundry for all the washing up. That said having a sink next to the cooker is mighty handy as it turns out; filling the kettle and pans of water. Now connecting the kitchen sink would normally be simple right? Unfortunately not if the sink is around 2 hundred years old and stone with a none standard and irregular shaped drain hole. And to boot the drain hole is 10 cm long (circa 1800 - 1850 maybe). In this case there are no plumbing fittings to fit and you have to improvise. So improvise I have. A plastic drain pipe fitting nearest the drain hole size has been cut-and-shut with a bath waste to get a reasonably close fit. Judicious use of silicone and neoprene washers complete the job. After that came the challenge of a trap. Standard traps have a screw fitting and washer I have a 40 mm pipe!. Luckily I found a u-bend siphon fitting with 40 mm entry and exit...Job done. The taps are connected to the plastic pipe laid in the floor nearly 10 years ago so that was a simple matter of cutting to length and termination with a compression fitting.

So here it is complete with the beech drainer I made. The drainer somewhat obscures the fact that the sink is indeed big enough for ritual sacrifice.

Sans drainer, ready for the sacrifice. Note to self: Need to do something about the splash back.

Close up of the sink waste. Looks like any other sink waste doesn't it? That's the genius! 

Note the "patina" or "staining" in the stone (if only inanimate objects could talk?).

The general kitchen ambiance with a hint of 19th century chic

And the plumbing. While it looks simple it was a bugger to get right, i.e. It looked right, didn't leak and didn't use 3 gallons of silicone. 

The final bit was to paint under the sink so its looks a bite more finished off and brighter (no matter how you slice it bare concrete blocks as used for the supports look shite unless you do something to dress them up a bit.

TOP TIP....when you have a house in France its tempting to buy your plumbing fittings in the UK and ship them over. My advice would be DONT. While the French fitting may seem different and a little expensive compared to UK ones, in the long run its a false economy. Bite the bullet, learn about the way the French do things, there is method in the madness. Usually in the end its more logical than you might think and you will save time and money if you stick with it. Plus the fact that a mish-mash of French and English fittings is a complete swine for any that follow you!

All stoves are not made equal

For a while now I've been struggling to get the stove in the salon running well. I've tried messing about with the grate and the Air flow and even rung the manufacturers, but I just couldn't seem to get it right. So eventually I've thrown in the towel and bought a replacement.

Enter the Invicta Mandor 12kw wood burning stove. So far I'm very impressed! It lights easily, and draws well. The stove is big enough to fit 60 cm logs which means that Julia doesn't have to cut the logs we have delivered. And it get real hot quickly. Perfect.

The best thing was that I set out to Bricomarche at three o'clock last Saturday to buy the stove. We chose to stove, picked it up with the trailer, transported it home, dismantled the old stove, fitted the new one and had it fired up all by 7pm. Mostly these jobs take a least twice as long as I think but for once the install went like a dream.....double perfect.

Almost like a real house!

The house project is making progress and starting to look like a real house. There is still plenty to do but for now it's worth taking a look at what we have achieved. So here is the almost finished salon:

The thing I'm most pleased about I think is how light it is. Amazing when I think back to how dark and dingy the room used to be. Even the white lime pointing makes a huge difference to the space.

Below is my new window seat finished in my spare time this weekend. The white pine cladding on the front is great stuff: pre-finished, dead easy to install with a air finish nailer and cheap.

The stairs I made still need a hand rail but this is in-progress. I think i'm going to make iron baluster rail to add to the contemporary neo-monastic look.

And in the kitchen (shown below) is the cupboard Julia saved from the fire.

To explain: we had a dresser we were going to paint. I / We did this only to find that Crown undercoat (water based) and crown top coat (oil based) do not mix. On the tin they say that they are compatible with "all undercoats" etc but they are not. Well, if you ring the help line, they say that technically they are, as long as you flat the undercoat down with 400 grit paper between coats and for that reason they legitimately claim total compatibility on the tin. Having painted the cupboard only to find the paint falling off in strips, I was ready to cut it up for firewood in a fit if peak! Julia, on the other hand, calm as ever, refused to admit defeat and made me scrape off all the paint I had just put on, sand it down, and then re-paint it with (none Crown) white wash. In the end I'm glad she did, as I think it now looks stunning. This somewhat round about technique has at least left the cupboard with a genuinely aged patina, although I wouldn't recommend trying to replicate this process.  

The other thing I did with the cupboard is to replace the drawer fronts. The original ones has a machine routed pattern all the way round the front (like some kitchen units have) and they looked wrong. For me it made an otherwise nice cupboard look too modern in a not very appealing 1980's kind of way. The replacements are plain and to my mind at least more in-keeping with the intended style. Its also very solid (being oak) and great for keeping the crockery in; but such a lot nicer now its not dark brown varnish

And just as a reminder, the big picture.

And the shed in bloom

Bike Shed 2014

The new wave of custom motorcycles is one that interests me greatly. The BSMC III 2014 was a feast. My only apology is my my photography of the event might be construed as automotive porn. Close up, shots of the intricate detail!

If I ever win the lottery this would be the bike I would buy!

Oh yes!

Art Vs Craft

Today I went to get a new passport from the office in Liverpool. By happy coincidence this afforded me a few hours in the Tate to view the new exhibition of work by Mondrian, called Mondrian and his studios

It's a great exhibition particularly because it has a life size replica of his studio in Paris. Walking around his studio I think really gives you an insight into the Man and his art that you would not otherwise get. Go see it. 

I also had chance to look around the rest of the Tate. Some work I liked and some I did not but all of the work made me think. And as the mark of a good exhibition I'm still thinking about it. With the Tate more than any other gallery I have been to, I'm left with the question of: What is Art?

For me (ignorant in the field of art) I consider some things art and some not. Its a gut feeling that in hindsight I find difficult to rationalize. When I studied at the Birmingham school of jewellery, my tutor said "You need to decide whether you are an artist or a craftsman. If your an artist then you make one of something, and to make a living you need patronage. If your a craftsman then you make a run of your designs and you start to make a little money". Interestingly the definition in France is very similar. Art is: "one of something and each piece unique" craft is: "more than one the same". For me though there is something more important than uniqueness and that is the element of skill. I struggle to find the "Art" in a nicely folded pile of linen. I also struggle to find the "worth" in social comment on Art that involves tattooing the backs of drug addicted prostitutes with a 160cm line for the price of a shot of heroin?? Sorry.

So what of Mondrian? If you look at his paintings (the later ones we recognize anyway) and we have a series of paintings that are in-fact substantially the same, or at least perfections of a theme. Their creation is not terribly difficult. But do I think its Art?.....well yes. And why? Because what Mondrian did was unique (back to the definition above). Any child / adult who has any interest in Art will recognize his work. And for me that is supremely difficult and requires absolute skill. After several thousands of years of painting, to produce a style that is so distinctive and so unique is truly remarkable.

For myself I have for a long time been content with being a lowly craftsman. 

The Oak Room

As I'm tempted to call it given the quantity of the stuff in there,  is nearly finished!

As you can see I've used a wooden framed sub floor off the concrete. Boards a 165mm x 22mm French Oak in random lengths. These are from trees grown locally and have been stacked upstairs for the past 2 years

Floor boards laid through to the kitchen above. You get the general idea, below. The board are all traditionally face nailed by hand with cut floor brads. These I had to import as they don't sell them in France any more as far as I can tell? 

I need to finish off the bottom of the stairs with the last step from the landing.

And the beams. They look nice now but they were a swine to do.

Needless to say i'm tired now!