Love Lane, B.R. (E) c.1956-59

[Eastsidepilot]

Weren’t they picture rails rather than dado rails?

Nigel

Yes, they had a different profile designed so a brass sheet metal hanger could be hung on it to hold said pictures.



And who can recall plinth blocks ? fitted at the base of door frame architraves where it meets the skirting. I retro fitted these in our previous premises originally built in 1900 where it had all been ripped out in the 60-70's.

 

[hrmspaul]

Plinth blocks, never considered or heard of them before. Our 1996 facsimile house has them throughout. Offered the choice of Dado or picture rail we went with the latter, but next door the dado does look nice in their hall. As that document says we tend not to hang pictures from the picture rail but from individual hooks, but they are useful for Xmas decorations.

Paul

 

[Oz7mm]

No @S-Club-7 this week. A lot of time spent on electrical gremlins (very unexciting stuff and hardly photogenic) but Rhod continues with the cottages. The pictures shows the parts put together temporarily with the stone slabs outside the back door, Suffolk latches on the privy and coal hole doorsand the post holding up the corner of the roof. All to be finished off yet and those roof tiles look like they need some attention. Photography is cruel.

John

 

[S-Club-7]

Well you did let this mechanical engineer design and install the electrical system so you must expect a few (dozen) gremlins to surface.

Many thanks to Robin @Boyblunder for investigating and resolving the issue. I'm sure there was a team of onlookers and hecklers helping him along.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

.............. I'm sure there was a team of onlookers and hecklers helping him along.

 

[Simon H]

Thanks all for the various info on picture and dado rails, etc; it's timely for me, as we're currently getting some redecorating done on our Edwardian house that's had all sorts ripped out, altered, partially (badly) reinstated, etc. and it's handy to know why various features were there.
I also remember picture rails, on the interwar council house I grew up in St. Leonards, as I was fascinated by the brassed picture hooks which were used for some of the larger pictures.
One of the alterations to the downstairs reception rooms in our current house is that the doors, which are in corners, have been re-hung (rather badly) so the hinges are in the corners rather than the knobs/latches...our decorator, who is Polish, said he was surprised when he first came to Britain that corner doors in older houses often opened in what seemed an awkward way, and was told that it was to give the occupants of the room warning that someone was coming in so they would not be seen doing, well...whatever it was they were up to!
Don't know whether this explanation is true or not, but it sort of fits, I suppose!
Simon.

 

[RichardG]

I was told, the traditional method let you sit in the room with the door open e.g. to bring in fresh air or daylight, whilst preserving privacy. My first house (1930s build) was like this. The arrangement needs extra floor space to let you move into and inside the room, so modern housebuilders hang doors the other way round.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

This is a section from one of my collection of architect's drawings, dated 1915, of a cottage typical of the era.
It shows all the internal doors hung with the latches towards the corners of the rooms.

 

[magmouse]

It shows all the internal doors hung with the latches towards the corners of the rooms.

It's the same in my 1930 outer London terrace house. Also, the ceiling pendant lights in the bedrooms are offset towards the window, rather than central in the room. I was told this was to prevent the light casting a lady's silhouette onto the curtains, while in a state of undress...

Nick.

 

[Heather Kay]

Also, the ceiling pendant lights in the bedrooms are offset towards the window, rather than central in the room. I was told this was to prevent the light casting a lady's silhouette onto the curtains, while in a state of undress...

My semi-detached bungalow was built in 1962, and has the same feature. It annoys me, but I rarely use the main lights in the bedrooms. Likewise, my doors were all hinged to be awkward. Put the other way round, they’d have blocked light switches!

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Yes, seen many houses with the doors wrong hand and blocking the light switch, as an aside I've also seen folks diy attempts with panelled doors hung upside down !

 

[AllenM]

The door on my third (8ft square) bedroom was rehung to open outwards for a very important reason.
The fiddle yard for my layout, Mitton Mill, is hinged up and the door closed and down & out onto the landing with the door open.
Regards
Allen

 

[simond]

Yes, seen many houses with the doors wrong hand and blocking the light switch, as an aside I've also seen folks diy attempts with panelled doors hung upside down !

At least you can get cordless light switches now. They’re a boon.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

My house was built in 1840 so most of the light switches when installed much later are outside the rooms.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Bring back candles I say ..........mind you with the way we're ripped off in this country for electricity it might come to that

 

[daifly]

with the way we're ripped off in this country for electricity it might come to that

Take a look at other European electricity prices. You only get ripped off if you allow it to happen. If you’re paying over 21p+VAT/unit you’re not paying attention. You won’t pay as little as that in Germany, France etc.

Dave

 

[jonte]

A stone’s throw from the sea, I often gaze out at the forest of windmills or pylons offshore and wonder how much it costs in electricity to power each one of them.

Still, I’m sure Red Ed knows what he’s doing.

jonte

 

[simond]

That nice Mr Cameron promised to pay me 45p per unit that my solar panels generate for 25 years.

I don’t think he quite understood the transparency of the air over France, for there is absolutely nothing else between the sun and the roof on which our panels are mounted. It has proven a most rewarding investment.

 

[40057]

We also have a generous guaranteed FIT. Funny, I never thought of Mr Cameron as ‘nice’ when he was PM. However, looking round current world leaders, may be, relatively speaking …

 

[Osgood]

And I worry that if we put up too many windmills the earth's rotation will slow down - do you convert all the clocks to 25 hrs or make an hour go further.....