What have we been doing inside The Old Station while we have been setting the caravan to get the Building ready for Renovation. Gained more questions, but here's where we are at The Old Station Renovation.
Thank you very much! It’s really important to us that we keep it as faithful as possible, we want it to function as a family home but also be somewhere we can really lose ourselves in the character! 😊
Keep the windows and doors for now. Wait until the other work is done so that the new windows or doors don't get damaged during renovation. You can use this time to save up for their replacement and do them at a later date. The last project for your project.
Exactly what I was going to suggest. In the grand scheme of things, they're in good shape and don't need replacement. Let them wait until money is there and replace them one or two at a time (or room by room)
Definitely move the floor so the beautiful windows are fully exposed and enjoyed. I would consider a grand staircase either in the middle or off centered up to the second floor. Of course, it all depends what you want that second floor to have... Exciting times for you!!
@@theoldstationrenovation Agree with old windows full exposing but does it let enough liveable space upstairs for bedrooms? You could sandblast the canopy pillars and give them a dark patina...
The canopy area would make a wonderful heated living area, you and your husband have invested in a property with so much potential. Good luck with the project
Yes, you mean the back porch or veranda. (What we Americans call that if it was part of a home) I love to see it as a sunroom/conservatory area with vintage look windows that look that the other windows put there to enclose it into a room.
Canopy is so beautiful, but it will be more beautiful if you can lift it up a little bit. It's looking too low and doesn't give the house that best design as it should
As regards the pointing, if the building is early enough, it is likely to be a lime mortar. Even if a modern Portland cement mortar is to be specified, make sure the mix to be used will be weaker than the bricks. Ultimately, you want your pointing to fail first, not your bricks. Replacing mortar is relatively easy - matching and replacing bricks is not.
Thanks very much for this, I know nothing about this subject (it’s a job we’re leaving to the experts). I’ve just googled these mortars and had a good read up on them.
Absolutely beautiful building!!! Would much rather see it without all the face time & pop up window with a face. Would much rather see that beautiful building the whole time!!! And excellent work on what we were able to see around the head shots👍.
I keep looking at those windows and thinking the same, but it increases the volume to heat in the room below and reduces the available volume above for living space. That is a very tough decision.
Just from left field.. Have you considered an open floorplan for that central area? Move the kitchen dining and a living room into it? The kitchen could look out to the back. The remainder of the 1st floor could be made into bedrooms and bathrooms.. the ceilings could be made to go all the way up exposing the windows. The attic could be abandoned and the arches kept.
We had lots of ideas about how it would all be set out including having a large open plan living/kitchen area in the middle but we really want the bedrooms on the first floor either side of the building with the open height since in the middle section. Thanks very much for the suggestion, we always appreciate them! 😊
For the beams I would replace them with steel. Then I would save the old beams and put them back later as showpieces in different places. The rooms can be better suited for the future and the old beams can be put everywhere because there aren’t structural anymore.
We’re going to have to replace beams in the sections either end as they will just cause too much of an obstruction. Hopefully the ones in the middle section can be mostly left alone and will be a feature in the full height ceiling🤞
I would suggest keeping the windows until renovations are complete so new windows will not get damaged. Vinal windows were a terrible investment from previous renovations, they do not stand the test in time and are usually very poorly made. Love the 3-d drawings.
Laura!!!!!! You are so brave taking on such a huge project like this! Well Done you! Will be following your journey! Can’t wait to see how things progress for you! ❤
Completely agree with this! I’d love to replace those four wooden posts with casts of the ones that we have, or move the originals to the front and have taller ones made for the rear.
Oh yes! A 3-D model is exactly what you needed for this project. I've seen in old commercial buildings here in the U.S., that instead of closing off the entire upstairs for bedrooms, etc., there are stairs to a decorative catwalk with iron railings (rather than an enclosed hallway) that connects to rooms on one side or both ends, so the decorative windows and high ceilings are not completely lost. Someone else noted that if the windows and doors are in decent shape, they could be left for a later project after the exterior work and plumbing/electrical are done, as long as the frames won't need to change in size or location. Due to the work that was done before, you are wise to enlist an architect for help 'undoing' things that should not have been done. The arched tops of the windows are too beautiful to cut off.
@@theoldstationrenovationThat pokey stair hall has got to go! New York is famous for 1800s commercial buildings with converted lofts with interior exposed brick. I've seen many with black iron stairs (either spiral, against a wall, or central, dividing the room). The open feeling of the high ceiling is maintained. :)
I'm sure there will be plenty of ummimg & aaahing along the way with lots of laughs & tears and in a nice way so envious you've got your hands on such a fantastic project glad you've let us come on the journey with you best of luck 👍
IHMO for the open room, if you are going to make so the the celing is the roof or close to it leave the beams as decortive or structual components ... clean them up, stain and clear coat them and they will fantastic! As for the 3D rendering I wish Billy on the Pethericks did this for the convent....It would have saved alot of problems they had and also show us spectators a better idea of the size and layout.
Thank you! The 3-D really brought the project to life, it’s so much more helpful than a set of plans on paper. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the exposed beams look, as you can imagine they are quite rough but I think that’ll be part of the charm once they’ve been cleaned and stained!
It’s heartbreaking when you see what it used to be like, cast iron canopy running the full length of the building! I think to recreate that now might just be the entire budget!
A few suggestions. How many bedrooms do you need ? Decide and then decide if you need extra space. Now is the time ti decide what you want that you cannot see a space being used for. I think that a part of the roof space where you could consider replacing part of the roof with glass...maybe have a roof deck for the occasional sunny day !! Where is the station in Wales ( I am an ex Brit living in N. America.) ? Decide what you wish not to visually change. The opposite side could be expanded for an open kitchen. British buildings seem to be 'pokey' so consider what you can do to expand your spaces. Hope these ideas help.
Thank you very much for this comment, we love getting suggestions! We only need three bedrooms in the main house so two on the right for the girls and a master on the left for us. We decided that since we’re putting all this work in we should just have what works for us as a family rather than trying to fit five bedrooms in and having them look pokey (I know exactly what you mean by that). Great comment on putting glass in the roof and I’ll say okay more until we do the video of the plans… Location wise we’re about two miles west of Cardiff in a little village called Wenvoe. You’re right about occasional sunny days, we get at least three or four per summer, if you left for better weather I can totally understand 😆
Decide which part of the station you want to feature then you know where to expand on the opposite side. I watch a LOT of British programming on people looking for homes. The common denominator seems to be MORE SPACE which I understand completely. Now decide which walls can be removed and where you can expand. You will still retain the STATION side for show.
Looking at the ground floor, the kitchen has no direct path to the central room, a bit impractical if it becomes the living room. If you convert the awning area to an enclosed heated space, this would change that a lot. But of course this doesnt come cheap. I would have a toilet on both levels, you are four persons, and having visitor going upstairs to use the loo is also impractical. You can see that this layout was meant to create waiting rooms. The space under the stairs would make a nice storage, or you can house a Harry in there (these are bespectacled boys who wave a wooden stick around and say strange things, but they also clean the house😄, beware they have really strange friends🐕) The bedrooms in the upper level seem to be quite small, and there is that big unused area to the left. That space would make two nice sized bedrooms for your daughters. They are growing up, and for them a bedroom is much more than a space to store your bed. And if they leave the nest, this space can be repurposed. The three tiny bedrooms would make one nice master bedroom. A full bathroom should be upstairs. This way you have two toilets in the house, thats quite convenient for four persons. The space above the stairs(aka above the central room) in the plan could be a good location, and there seems to be a chimney to the top right of the stairs, there might be room for pipes downwards. As for the windows, if they are good, keep them. It is a sizeable expense to replace them, and there are enough money eating things to do anyway. With what would you replace them? PVC windows are maintenance free. Wooden windows, surely more fitting to the station, need regular maintenance. About 20 years ago i converted my attic into a living room. Due to circimstances it is now my bedroom/homeoffice/living room and it has a bathroom with shower. However, there are literally no vertical walls, which makes placing furniture difficult. It is also the hottest, coldest and loudest room in the house. Despite the insulation, during summer it needs an AC. It goes up to 40°C. Luckily we build a sizable solar system last year, so AC during the hot days is for free. The roof is a wooden construction, and if it is stormy you hear that loud and clear. Heavy rain on skylights is also noisy. Something to consider when having bedrooms under the roof.
🤣 a Harry…. I’m ashamed to say it took me a minute to get that reference. Thank you so much for this comment, we love suggestions. You’re right about the space for the three bedrooms having space for one master but we’ll put it at the other end. This side of the house is going to be for the girls, two good sized bedrooms and an en-suite will fit comfortably. And yes, as we know they spend all their time in their bedrooms so they need to be comfortable (and have about a dozen plug sockets). 😆 Thankfully there will be enough vertical space to avoid the problem you had with placing furniture, we had that problem in a previous attic room we had, just lots of dead space.
Honestly as scary as it sounds, I would move the stairs rather than the beams, that way you can rearrange the upstairs walls to make the existing rooms bigger, maybe convert that middle bedroom into a bathroom, and add additional bedrooms on the other side
Might I suggest that you look long and hard at the attic portion that is unfinished as a starting point to determine if a floor van be placed low enough to allow the window tops to be exposed. One possibility if you want the roof underside exposed, create a bridge walkway for the upper hallway from side to side and bisecting the two ends into two rooms each. Bedroom and bath on one side, bedroom and mechanical room for the other. Wishing you and your family a blessed week filled with gentle seasonally appropriate weather and restful evenings in your new caravan. Peace
Thanks very much for this comment. Having spoken to the architect we’re confident we can lower the floor to the bottom of the window tops so they will be a feature, this will also give us extra foot or so of usable headroom which is a big help with those sloping rooms. I can confirm we have finally had some good seasonal weather. Take care 😊
I would say leave the windows for now, but definitely switch out the exterior doors with period style ones. It will be well worth doing the doors as you interact with them multiple times per day. The front door also does ALOT for curb appeal. This is what i did in my 1925 bungalow and i was glad i did. That was 8 years ago and i still have windows i haven't switched out yet.
Agree completely on the doors. There are two solid wooden doors upstairs which look original (not sure if they’ve featured in a video). With a bit of tidying up I’m sure we can do something with them.
On holiday on the Isle of Man we visited an old house that had a cafe in a veranda. It had been renovated according to the regulations that applied. Unfortunately when it rained, leaks made it necessary to close some of the tables. I think a modern PVC roof would have worked better than a bodged Victorian wood and single pane glass one. Better for customers in a wet time too
Oops, the 3D is missing one support for the front door overhang. Wouldn't have mentioned it except you asked :-) My grandfather worked for the RR and he and his & family lived next door to the depot in a small town in eastern Washington state. Sadly, that depot is long gone but I have two animals carved by a local resident who got hold of some wood from the beams. Look forward to seeing your plans develop!!!!
That's lovely! We've got lots of the old railway sleepers lying around the garden, I have thought we should have something made from them, bench's and tables maybe.
The canopy at the back. Turn it into a sunroom with bifold doors that you can open in better weather. It would be additional living space off your main large room.
Keep the windows they may be plastic but because the are brown, they suit the buildings aesthetics. Also if they aren't leaking leave them till last. You have the advantage of those outbuildings you can use to try out ideas before you decide on major work on the main building and therefore avoid expensive mistakes
Let me think: why should you be able to easily walk from one side of the top floor to the other? What I think this building lends itself well to is to indeed open up and raise the ground floor for all communal areas, whereby you see the bedrooms on the first floor more as cozy hiding places. How much space do you need upstairs? Your bedroom can be on one side, the girls can share the other side, with separate stairs on both sides. You can provide a toilet on both sides. There is enough space downstairs for a large bathroom. Enough space downstairs for all common areas and small retreat areas upstairs. That would be my view. Then you can also leave the beams as they are now.
As I’ve been taking walls down I have uncovered where beams have been removed to make way for doors on the kitchen side and I have to say it does look a bit jarring, so I’d agree that not removing them where possible would be better. That said we do want the two upstairs sides joined by an open walkway with one staircase rather than two, we’ll see how it looks on the design.
Try old spiral stairs. Do open up main room. Research old stations interiors with the old woodwork can bring replicated. How's are the utilities hookups 1st thing to do. Love watching your endeavors. Be calm.
Thank you! We’re going to open that room up, it just doesn’t make sense to have stairs and a wall there! Utilities hopefully sorted by the end of the week! 🤞🤞🤞
I still think you should raise the canopy to a shallower pitch which would let more light into the central room. It does mean longer front pillars too though. When considering where to locate stairs, keep in mind egress in the event of a fire as well as fire safety/spread to the upstairs. Personally it boggles my mind that stairs into a living room or open plan ground floor pass building control.
The drawing look great and it is great to have things done where you get a better idea of what things can look like, I am still out on the large porch I do thing it takes away a lot of light and wonder what it would look like back in its original state. But yes loads of ideas and the amount of things you have done so far is great. Love the videos as always, Have a great weekend. Hugs Dede xxx
I’m a member of a FB group called ‘Railway Clocks and Watches’. People are quite often selling on there so I’m keeping a lookout for the perfect clock.
Love the 3D plans, they really open it up and show you what's what! Have a gander around scrap metal merchants and the like for the cast iron post toppers; you might find some from an old house that would suit.
This is overwhelming, I’ll bet. I have too many suggestions, but take what you want and leave the rest. My first concern is where the best place to put your hot water heater, furnace / air conditioning, electrical boxes, and other utilities. I do not want hot water heaters on the top floor, for the simple reason: leaks, and I want the practical stuff easily accessible in case of emergency. I’d like to see them on the ground floor, perhaps in some sort of utility room. Pointing the bricks and reconstructing them where necessary is a must. I really like the skylights that the architect put in. I want to make sure that the roof is leakproof and that the foundation is good. I am going to post the rest in stages because it’s a lot of information to take in.
We think the utilities are going to end up in the outbuildings, they'll just take up too much space otherwise. We're really looking forward to seeing the results of the pointing, we hope it'll make the brickwork really stand out. Thanks for watching! 😊
I woud place the stairs so that they fit under those upper strais beans as then they would use the space that cannot otherwise be used I probably would make thebefinnig of the stairs runnnig up same way of the beams on top and then branch to both sides of the beam to land on the new second story floor. lifting the floor over the windows will smaller significantly the second story from current size but it will make the first floor so beautiful...
The pillars under the canopy aren't on the 3D plan. Knowing that you want to retain as much as possible of the original building, that will have to be changed if the attic space is converted to a bedroom as there is no natural light. If the ceiling of the central room is opened up to roof height it would benefit from having a roof light, really accentuate the height and space.
If you added a glass link to the out buildings this might create a couple of bigger bedrooms than what you could get upstairs. For the polls on the veranda I vote for the fancy doodads that stick out from them.
I noticed the side outer door does not show the stairs. But that's really the only thing I noticed. I did note that you could see the stairs through the front window. Which i found odd because of the front room.
I've been meaning to make a suggestion about that back canopy plexiglass or like roofing material that would allow light in there but still allow you the protection from the rain Etc
The canopy does keep out an awful lot of light, we're planning to put in plenty of skylights or something similar to make sure it doesn't look all dark and grim.
It seems that the building is not really high enough to have a 1st floor ceiling above the windows and a full-height 2nd floor. I’ll be curious to see what plan you come up with. I suggest you open up the full height ceiling for at least part of the first level, and raise the roof on part to create a proper 2nd floor there. Either way a full gutting is probably needed. Good luck!
You’re right, it’s not high enough to raise the ceilings, it would just take up too much headspace. Plan is to drop the floor to the level of the bottom of the top windows which will give an extra foot or so of headspace and expose those windows. And it will be a full gutting!
I know you plan to live there but it would be great as a wedding or other events venue. People would pay big for all that charm. with the attic the upstairs looks large enough for a sizable apartment. Have you thought of living upstairs and using the downstairs as a venue for income? which you could still use yourself for hosting your own extended family gatherings?
Hi, thanks for the comment 😊. Its not something we’ve thought as far as the building itself goes. We have had ideas about putting a holiday home on the grounds (a train carriage between the platforms maybe) but that’s something well into the future!
Love looking at the progress going on. Especially from the other side of the world. I know it would be a huge expense, but have you considered just gutting the entire internals and creating a new layout? If the ceiling is too low and you would need to raise it, does that present having to rip all the ceiling and floor out? It would change the layout of the building but may make it more practical of a space. You could keep some of the existing room layouts but in my opinion, it's the outside of the station that is the focal point and what needs to be kept period correct. Keep up the good and hard work, it's really interesting to follow along.
Thank you! 😊 The main downstairs layout is staying much the same with the biggest change being the removal of the stairs and bathroom to make the central room that much bigger. Upstairs we’ll lower the floors and have a whole new layout with bedrooms on either end.
I’m really enjoying your slow and considered approach to the renovation. It seems that you’re getting great advice as well. Those beams are special. I realise you’ll have to replace the reinforcement they offer. So I wonder if it’s possible to cut (one?) and reveal half over the great room where you plan to vault the ceiling. That would look amazing. Have you considered a split level approach to your beam problem? I hope you’ve settled into the caravan. Looking forward to the next installment. I think the error was an extra door at the end of the building.
That you very much, we’re so pleased you’re enjoying! 😊 The beans in the middle section can, I hope, be mostly untouched and will make a beautiful feature when looking up at the full height ceiling, especially after a bit of sanding and staining! The beans either end of the house wi be far more difficult and I suspect a good few will have to be removed. By split level do you mean adjusting the height of floors and things to incorporate the beams?
@@theoldstationrenovation good morning from Australia. Yes, thats what I meant by split level. It’s a tricky space, but I can see you love it. Thank you for your reply 😃.
We won't raise the ceilings, in fact after speaking to the architect we thing we can lower the upstairs floor and gain about a foot keeping the ground floor ceilings at the same height. Then we'll be able to have the top windows exposed on the first floor which is what we really wanted. Thanks for the comment 😊
Excellet idea to have a 3D plan of the Old Station. It gives me a clear picture of the whole building and makes things easy for the follow up. I'm loving your vlog, no background music, no addition of artificial effects through editing. You just talk naturally as if you are standing infront of us... 😊 Keep it Up & bon courage!
Thank you so much for watching! 😊 The music was just one of those things that seemed a good idea at the time but as we sent on it was clear that it was not popular and didn't add anything.
Very excited to see what becomes of this! You've been very thorough and seem to have a good direction planned. I'd think about taking the pitch of the covered area back to it's original. Need more light. That may be resolved with removing the partition walls and stairs in the front, however. About the windows; Here in the Southern US there's an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Spend that money elsewhere and come back to the windows in the future.
Thank you! I think that with the partition wall and stairs out of the way the room will be quite bright, I hope so anyway as you are right, the covered area does block light out…. And in this part of the world we need all the light we can get 🌧️ 🌧️ 🌧️
Windows should be replaced. Sure it is expensive and if possible I would go triple glazed but you will love the result. The canopy area should be glazed in so that it becomes part of the house but with big sliding doors so you can open it out when summer finally arrives. As for the floor, if possible that definitely needs to be moved up so it does not cut across part of the ground floor windows. The big issue is going to be what does that leave you in terms of liveable area on the first floor given the pitch of the roof. My guess is that the floor was lowered because the useable area of some of the room was too restricted.
You are right about liveable space, easing the floor level will take too much headspace away but we think we can put the floor between the the top windows and next ones down so that’s the plan at the moment. Those windows are such a lovely feature we have to incorporate them. One of our earliest ideas was turning the sheltered area into a conservatory with full length bi-folds. At the moment though we’re just going to keep the shelter and put the bbq under there so I can put on one even when it’s raining… which is most days 🌧️
False ceilings = lower cost on heating. Takes the charm out of the building but obviously their decision. Ive checked the upstairs area and thought its quite like mine ! The area at the top of my stairs like yours is a "snug/ Tv room" which has a bathroom to one side and storage. I also have a wood burner up there too ! The double room to the left we have for our room .
@@theoldstationrenovation Yes its great it works well considering Im in Sweden and the temp drops to -20c . I light it at 5pm and let it burn down before bed time, and it works like a sauna ! Due to insulation the heat is still good in the morning. I do of course have rads which are on low. Using wood is obviously far cheaper than electricity and oil. Good Luck . Pjm
We’ve found quite a few pictures, it’s fascinating to see training running through our garden! I’ve also been in touch with someone who took pictures in the 50’s, he gave me lots of really interesting information about the place.
The original slope of the roof over the platform was better, it allows light to get into the station and if you were to go back to it you would get better outdoor views from the interior of the station. If you can scavenge time period doors and window from other buildings that are being demolished that would be the most economical and authentic.
Be sure you know where and what your load-bearing walls are. IMHO The ground-level interior has too many walls and doors and they start right at the front entrance. If you can open up the ground-level floor plan with the beautiful old wood floors it would "wow" any visitor. Save the beams on the upstairs (I'd strip them back to natural wood) and those are probably load-bearing. You are correct with the tuck pointing and chimney flashing. Press on and good luck!
All the room separating walls are not load bearing, only the walls that are partly outside are (if this makes sense), which is great for restructuring.
Why would anyone board up the lovely windows? Working out the level of the floor is going to be interestign to watch. You may want add another supporting pillar to entrance canopy - it may end up being a little wonkey. 🤣Thanks for sharing.
😆well spotted! The windows are beautiful, I can only imagine they were covered out of necessity. We've had a chat with the architect and are pretty confident we can lower the floor to expose them as a feature 🤞
You can get UPVC windows any color you want and you will definitely get them to look in keeping with the building. Why bother going for something that will cost a fortune when the cheaper alternative not only looks exactly the same but will most probably last longer.
Hmmm, seems like the 3 bedrooms are on the wrong end of the corridor - am I wrong - should be at the other end of house? This adventure is so exciting. Opinion - get rid of the newer doors and get doors in keeping with era of station. I bet you're thinking the same haha.
It would be interesting to see if you could find some photos of some of the other stations on this line, maybe there will be some internal photos to be found online somewhere. As often is not, many of these old lines would often have identical buildings or at least have a variation and or have common features that are transferable to another building and this might give you some visualisation of the building as it was and help you to chose how you want your home to look.
There were two identical stations built further up the line, Efail Isaf and Craigiau. According to the records we've found all three were opened on the same date and closed on the same date. Its uncanny when you look at the photos! unfortunately they are both long gone and we're all on our own 😢
@@theoldstationrenovation Oh what a shame that they have gone, still, at least you are being life back into this station and you want to keep the station restoration in keeping with its original character. It’s a great job you are doing. Hey what about rebuilding the signal box one day but have it as a sort of summer house or even a posh greenhouse 😂😂😂 .. Choo Choo !!!! 😂😂
These old stations are very difficult buildings to get right. I love that you guys want to keep the feel of the old Station. But sometimes you have to do what’s right for you. After all you are the one’s living there. What ever you guys decide I’m sure it will look fantastic.
Drop the floor upstairs down to the first wooden horizontal separation. Where the camera looks down. The other thing you can do is block around the window and light the box. Like a window. Use a marine finish on wood when done! Is there a woodworking school or group that might take on the colums as a teaching tool. Have you checked with permiting or historical societies? They may have plans...
We’re going to drop the floor, there is so much space between the ceiling and floor at the moment which is just dead space. Laura thought about boxing the windows but after speaking to the architect we’re pretty sure can get away having the floor between the top and second windows. I’ve got a few places I’m going to try to see if there are plans anywhere, first the GWR museum in Swindon. I’m planning on taking a woodworking course myself, see if I can make myself useful!
Keep in mind comfortable living conditions. If a modern version of what was original is available, go with that( budget friendly of course) You are doing the right thing , by the station. Thankyou for sharing your journey with us.
I would like to suggest a central staircase leading to a bridge hanging from the beams. The bridge would act as a walkway and connect the left and right side parts of the building where you can place some bedrooms under the roof. In the middle section, all the floors should be removed and you just see the walkway bridge from below. I would go for a modern or even industrial metal based design for the staircase and the bridge, but if you add ornaments, some big rivets and some wood, it could also match the vintage style of the station.
I would open the main floor up as you said, but keep just a small portion of the bathroom to make a powder room/ half bath, with just a toilet and sink so that you have a place where guests can use the loo.
It’s wonderful to see your plans evolve. On another note, I recommend you get a chipper and begin producing your own wood chips to cover the soil during construction. It is proven to improve soil health and will keep you from mucking through the mud back and forth from the caravan to the station. When you are ready to landscape, it is easy to cover as needed. I adore that you and the family are engaged in this endeavor.
Thank you so much and thank you for watching! 😊 I have been looking at chippers, nothing huge but something that can cope with maintaining a garden this size, hopefully by the summer the budget will allow it!
Am I right thinking that the architect missed the supports round the edge of the covered area at the back? Personally I'd replace the top of the columns with something nicer rather than cut them and weld them. Also I'd put windows around that area to make a conservatory out of it.
We’re going to do something with the top of the columns, my thought was to move them to the front of the covered area and put wooden posts where the columns are now. One of our very first ideas was to turn that area into a conservatory but in the end I decided to have it as my bbq area!
Wow - tons of decisions, frustrating but fun at the same time. I like the 3-D plans, it really does help for a better vision of the building along with the architect drawings. You mentioned taking out the bathroom, I would think, you'd want at least a 1/2 bath downstairs. I like the plan of keeping as many of the original beams as possible. You asked if we noticed what the architect added; I think it's the extra exterior door to the one side, I don't remember it from previous videos.
It is great fun but sometimes it feels like we're trying to put a jigsaw together and cant quite make it all fit! We do want a downstairs bathroom but we've found somewhere else for it (jigsawing again), we really want to keep the big central room as an unbroken room with four corners and a grand staircase (budget permitting). The incorrect detail is the beams on the canopy are missing, not sure how they got left out, they are quite important😂
Thank you for this video! it's great to hear you share your ideas on what you are and would like to do. I love that you are opening the main room up downstairs too. In regards to replacing the windows and doors, if you have the money do it 🥰 and raise the floor to show off those beautiful windows.
Sorry second comment. I love the idea of showing those wonderful windows but understand you may not be able to save them all. It makes me think of what it must be for people who buy old unused churches or chapels,all those wonderful windows to work round. X
I just want to bring to your attention - OS benchmarks. If you are planning on rendering or obscuring the brickwork please check if there is an OS benchmark on the building. They are of historical importance. They were used for levelling from 1828 to 1993. I would happily email you links to maps to see if you’ve got any on the building.
Thanks very much for this comment, I hadn't heard of OS benchmarks before, I'll look out for them. We're not going to be rendering, just re-pointing. Anything else will just take away from the character.
@@theoldstationrenovationThat’s good. Too many benchmarks are being thrown in the skip because people are ignorant to their existence. Hopefully, if there is one on your building, you preserve it. 🙂
❤yes keep your windows and doors for now where will the stairs go? That's a good question but you will find the answer ❤ it's really a wonderful project you have saving this building so relax think it all through answers will come have a good week yes the rain these days is impossible to do anything out of doors praying for blue skies now ❤
Bring the upstairs floor back around 1.5 metres, away from the windows - make it a mezzanine with a glass dwarf wall. I'm sure you could do that without pillars.
Fantastic job Laura and Gil. I really look forward to every video!! You folks are doing a tremendous job. It looks like the question is, do you raise the floor and make less headroom upstairs, or do you drop the floor and only see the windows upstairs? I’m sure an architect will figure that out for you rather quickly. With the weather in Wales I would think cast iron or perhaps aluminum decorations on the posts would be better than wood. Wood is cheaper but how long would they last? The 3D rendering is perfect for making plans and working out all the issues. Looks great!! Jerry from Los Angeles
Thanks Gerry! We’ve spoke to the architect and we thing we can drop the floors to the bottom of the top windows so they would be a feature, albeit on the floor level (so no practicing my putting upstairs). Weather wise you’re right, it seems to have rained continually since Christmas!
I’d incorporate a kitchen at one end of the big open central room. Open plan living. Would be beautiful and definitely is big enough for that. Galley kitchen cabinetry and then one big island bench between kitchen galley and living space. Amazing.
Thank you! 😊 and agree on open plan areas. We’re going to keep the kitchen and knock through to the dining room so we have the open space there. I much prefer it when people can sit around the island or dining table socialising whilst there is cooking going on! 🥂
@@theoldstationrenovation originally from Pietermaritzburg SA now in Helena USA My old town were I spent 62 years Most amazing British architecture Absolutely ruined Fortunately some blgs in good nick Check out my old school Maritzburg College 161 years old Blgs very special
@@theoldstationrenovation during the Boer war Victoria hall was used as a hospital Numerous buildings are national treasures My grandson goes there next year,5th generation
My questions would be, 1. if you raised the floor above the windows, how much head space would you lose, and is it doable. 2. If you took out the roof beams, what would be the safest way to fix them. (And seriously, why fix what's not broken?) Personally I would keep them, but if you raise that floor you'll need to find a new doorway to that one behind you in the shot. 3. Just advise. PLEASE for God's sake don't remove that entry bathroom. Use it with the room behind it and the ladies waiting room as a master suite. Bedroom bathroom and huge walk-in closet. But you will have to add a toilet and sink for company (1/2bath we call it in the USA, which will fit under the staircase.) Although I just noticed the tub is along that wall. So if you move the door to the bedroom to the right (towards the ladies waiting room (closet) you can add in a little hallway to about half the bathroom and open across from the sink/toilet) and close off the opening to the front hallway. Also close off the 2 doorways to the walk-in closet (ladies waiting room) and open one leading to the bedroom. 4. The doorway to the back room (behind the front hallway) should be opened into a beautiful arched entrance into your new living room. Leave the stairs as is and add a 1/2 bath (toilet and sink) under it opening from the front hallway (NOT LIVING ROOM, because if someone poops you do want the smell going into the living room. 5. I ABSOLUTELY love your kitchen, but if you must change it up remove the wall between "new" living room" and the other room "new dining room " and make it open concept. More than likely they might be load bearing walls meaning you can't remove them without doing other structural stuff to hold up the second floor and roof. But you could do whatever arch you do from front hallway to the "new living room " 6. Upstairs. I might be a little confused about the two sides, does the floor run all the way across to both big areas? (I know one side is attic space) and do you really need that much attic space? If not make both sides 2 bedrooms with a bathroom between them, with an entrance from the hallway and in the center maybe use a portion of that as the attic storage space. Something to think about. ESPECIALLY AS THE OTHER STUFF YOU'RE HAVING DONE WILL BE SO COSTLY.
1, having spoken to the architect we're completely confident we can drop the floor to the bottom of the top window which would give us an extra foot or so of usable headroom. 2, we're not planning on taking out any beams unless we absolutely have to, we've had an engineer in who has told us that if there are any that need to come out there will be other ways to support the roof. 3, sorry... but its coming out! We've got somewhere else for the downstairs bathroom to go and the room behind it is going to be a living room, albeit a living room decorated in period detail (I don't even want a TV in there but I think I'm going to be overruled!) 5, that's the plan, knock the wall out and make it an open plan kitchen diner. 6, we'll have bedrooms on either side with the middle ceiling taken out so its full height from the ground floor to the roof. Thanks very much for the comment, we love getting suggestions 😊
❤ Loving watching and listening to your plans. I am certain that you will have checked that any structure you plan to remove won’t compromise the integrity of the building. I love the idea of extending the pillars to roof level. Well done to both of you .❤
After you open up the main room by removing the washroom and hallway, what about a butterfly staircase to the upper level that still allows for the use of the newly made larger space? If the top of the staircase landed on a hallway that joins both wings of the building, it could be like a bridge between the wings while being able to enjoy the view of the lower rooms from that landing (bridge)?
