House interiors

[Brummie a long time ago]

Much better gas/electric fires than bringing in coal or cleaning up ashes.

I agree. We don't have a wood burner, (normally installed over here), and I am resisting (gentle) pressure from Julie to put one in. When the bungalow was built, a chimney was fitted ready but it stops at the ceiling, so it would be easy to retrofit one. The sharp price rise in wood pellets is winning the argument for me.
We have all electric, and techie me has made sure it is controlled down to the last 0.5 degree in every room.
Different in our first house in Malvern. A big reeded glass panel to let light between the front and back room. Fireplaces too, that we 'Barry Bucknalled' up.
Andrew.

 

[mw0njm.]

I think you are being a bit hard on poor old Barry. Lots of people wanted to improve their old homes and make them easier to clean by getting rid of all those Victorian nooks and crannies. We all wanted more light in our homes too so moved to Glass panelled doors. Who wants to be cleaning brass door knobs. All those hearths were drafty too. Much better gas/electric fires than bringing in coal or cleaning up ashes.

true think of the planet

 

[I Am Nico]

One of the things we have noticed since we have been here is an explosion in DIY. Because of constructional differences in property, there are quite a few unusual tools, and also hardware items. One big DIY chain is owned by the owners of B&Q, so some common branding.
A good thing here, that may be spreading to the UK, is doors are sold ready hinged and framed. Same styles of doors as UK, from hardboard through to wooden panelled, but easy to fit. The standard door hinge here is a pin and socket type, pin on the frame, matching socket on the door. Between 2 and 4 are fitted depending on the door style, which means that the door can simply be opened wide and lifted off out of the frame. Useful for decorating.
One thing that is not common here is the 'Yale' type of spring latch. You don't shut yourself out here by pulling the front door shut with the keys on the kitchen table . Doors are locked here by turning a (Yale type) key on exit.
And paint. Arghh. The price over here is far too high for a lower quality. I have brought paint back from UK trips several times. (Thanks Brexit).
Andrew.

true think of the planet

We find friends' houses very dark as they have Barry Bucknalled extra rooms on. With dark dining areas. One friend is considering a light tunnel at £3,000 as the dining room and lounge have no natural light. I think it's a skylight on top of a chimney tube thing with mirrors coming down? I noticed people have sometimes blocked in the skylight over doors in old houses, like in bathrooms and bedrooms which were greatly needed in the past. In my partner's house where we live, there is a glass panelled wooden framed box from the ceiling coming down about 3 feet. Previous owners carried on pannelling down and made it in to a walk in cupboard. I have seen them on old houses, it was where the cooker was housed. In my last job the place was built during the war. The kitchen was never altered I loved i in there.They had a very practical skylight opened by a manual handle like a starting handle which was attached by rods. Building is now a hotel I wonder if they kept the skylight?

 

[Vivienne14]

Today the focal point of many living rooms is the TV, but when I was young the focal point was the fireplace. Probably less so in summer, but certainly during the colder months. Our fireplace was like the first image, but with red tiling surround in the back room and green tiling surround in the front room. The grate was like the second image. Remember how the brass knob on the front of the grate would be roasting hot ? I see there’s a back boiler to this one too, the same as we had.

The heavy brown wood surround was topped with various brass ornaments in the back room. As mentioned before, we had two small brass goblets on there, inevitably they became repositories for small items like paper clips, hair clips, drawing pins and bits that fell off things to be stuck back on but never were !

Viv

 

[Covroad]

Today the focal point of many living rooms is the TV, but when I was young the focal point was the fireplace. Probably less so in summer, but certainly during the colder months. Our fireplace was like the first image, but with red tiling surround in the back room and green tiling surround in the front room. The grate was like the second image. Remember how the brass knob on the front of the grate would be roasting hot ? I see there’s a back boiler to this one too, the same as we had.

The heavy brown wood surround was topped with various brass ornaments in the back room. As mentioned before, we had two small brass goblets on there, inevitably they became repositories for small items like paper clips, hair clips, drawing pins and bits that fell off things to be stuck back on but never were !

Viv

View attachment 173541View attachment 173542

The tiled fireplace was our one , I remember cleaning the ashes out , resetting the fire and then sweeping up the grate area. The top picture reminded me of the fire guard and how hot the fire guard would get many the time my fingers got a reminder from the fire guard (hot)

 

[Radiorails]

We still have open fires, but no back boilers anymore. A retrograde step in my opinion.
A recent report mentions many people opening up there closed fireplaces, in fact my coal merchant, who is also a chimney sweep, is much in demand. At least most people have the sense to have their chimneys swept beforehand.

 

[Astoness]

We still have open fires, but no back boilers anymore. A retrograde step in my opinion.
A recent report mentions many people opening up there closed fireplaces, in fact my coal merchant, who is also a chimney sweep, is much in demand. At least most people have the sense to have their chimneys swept beforehand.

i would love an open fire again alan...dad always made sure our chimney in villa st was swept once a year..handy that one of his mates was a chimney sweep who lived just a few doors up...the only thing that caught fire was the news of world or sports argus papers which caught fire from the middle of the paper and spread out due to holding it in place too long to draw the fire our fireplace was like the one in pic 2 but the tiles were all the same beige colour

lyn

 

[Covroad]

i would love an open fire again alan...dad always made sure our chimney in villa st was swept once a year..handy that one of his mates was a chimney sweep who lived just a few doors up...the only thing that caught fire was the news of world or sports argus papers which caught fire from the middle of the paper and spread out due to holding it in place too long to draw the fire our fireplace was like the one in pic 2 but the tiles were all the same beige colour

lyn

I remember the chimney sweep, the way he set up putting is canvas type sheet over the fire front with the access point to put the brush and rods up . He would always show you the brush pok out of the chimney as proof of the work competed. I seem to recall soot being used by the gardeners on the allotments or have I got it wrong ?

 

[I Am Nico]

I remember the chimney sweep, the way he set up putting is canvas type sheet over the fire front with the access point to put the brush and rods up . He would always show you the brush poke out of the chimney as proof of the work competed. I seem to recall soot being used by the gardeners on the allotments or have I got it wrong ?

I used to run outside as a toddler to see the brush come out, and he put white dust sheets all around but there was still soot.He put tubes in to tubes in to a thing like a big soft rubbery hoover bag which shrouded the fireplace and he pumped and pumped. I burned my hand on the grate knob and I remember mum raking the coals in the morning, I can't describe the noise but it was very loud. And grating.

 

[Vivienne14]

All our internal doors were like the one below: three of them downstairs and four upstairs. In one bedroom we had pictures of nursery rhymes pasted to the inside vertical lower panels. There was one large sticker per nursery rhyme. The door used to open against my headboard, so when it was left open at night I could see the nursery rhymes. The ones that stick in my mind were Olde King Cole and Humpty Dumpty.

The back door leading from the kitchen to the outside side entry was different. It had two glass panels above (in that glass that looks like today’s bubble wrap) and the two bottom panels were wood. There were a number of latches on the back door because the lock didn’t work properly and it was never fixed.

The internal door handles were the same, I think, as the round, plastic ones in the middle of the drawing. Ours were a yellowish white. The kitchen one in particular used to come loose from the mechanism so it was a risk if you got locked in the kitchen- someone had to come and break you out.

We also had French doors leading from the back room to the garden. Rarely were they used, I think the doors were wooden, but all the windows in the house were Crittal windows. In time the windows rusted and rotted but they were never replaced in the time I lived there.

Viv.

 

[Eric Gibson]

We had a black grate when we were kids, it was replaced after I left home with a tiled fireplace like the one in Viv's second picture then later with a gas fire.
Later on when mom was widowed and living alone a gas board inspector condemned both the fire and her gas cooker and locked them off, the council said if she wanted them replaced she would have to buy new herself despite the fact she had been paying rent for fifty years on the house.
My brother sorted that out and after a huge telling off they relented and replaced them.

 

[Covroad]

We had a black grate when we were kids, it was replaced after I left home with a tiled fireplace like the one in Viv's second picture then later with a gas fire.
Later on when mom was widowed and living alone a gas board inspector condemned both the fire and her gas cooker and locked them off, the council said if she wanted them replaced she would have to buy new herself despite the fact she had been paying rent for fifty years on the house.
My brother sorted that out and after a huge telling off they relented and replaced them.

You reminded then of the rentman when we were on Hobmoor Road he called fortnightly , I am sure the rent for two weeks was £5 - 2 shillings and sixpence . I can remember the rent book being on the sideboard with the cash on top, the rentman had a wallet for the notes and a satchel for the coins and he would sign the rent book, he must have walked some miles in those days.

 

[I Am Nico]

The rent man was afraid of Gran. she always paid but she demanded he do something about her house which never got done. The front door stuck, there was no in side loo or hot water. The Baby belling took an age to heat. And they dared to put the rent up.When Great great, Nan's mum died, Gran had her commode which looked like an arm chair. Very elegant. The only place she could put it was in the kitchen but she said it was heaven not to have to go outside in the snow.

 

[mw0njm.]

horrible wood paneling on the walls when we moved to aston ........Our rentman was from the bham estates so no hiding behind the settee when he called.

 

[Vivienne14]

Keeping warm in winter was a priority. Eiderdowns must have been one of the best inventions in this respect. (Ask a youngster what an eiderdown is today and you’re likely to get one of those “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about” looks). Covered in a heavy satin-like material (which was cold to the touch) they felt luxurious when new, but the feathers compacted over time. I don’t ever r3member getting our washed or dry cleaned.

Underneath our eiderdowns we had pink, satin ribbon-edged woollen blankets. We also had candy-striped flannelette sheets. Flannelette was a great breathable material, but many moved over to nylon sheets when they became available in the 1960s. Nylon sheets were easier to wash and dry but they made you sweat more in summer and were horrible against dry skin on the feet ! We used to take our washing to the laundrette and when the nylon sheets were taken out of the dryer, the sparks used to fly off them.

Viv

 

[Covroad]

Keeping warm in winter was a priority. Eiderdowns must have been one of the best inventions in this respect. (Ask a youngster what an eiderdown is today and you’re likely to get one of those “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about” looks). Covered in a heavy satin-like material (which was cold to the touch) they felt luxurious when new, but the feathers compacted over time. I don’t ever r3member getting our washed or dry cleaned.

Underneath our eiderdowns we had pink, satin ribbon-edged woollen blankets. We also had candy-striped flannelette sheets. Flannelette was a great breathable material, but many moved over to nylon sheets when they became available in the 1960s. Nylon sheets were easier to wash and dry but they made you sweat more in summer and were horrible against dry skin on the feet ! We used to take our washing to the laundrette and when the nylon sheets were taken out of the dryer, the sparks used to fly off them.

Viv

The eiderdown I had on my bed had dual use, it doubled up as a winter coat in the day for my father as it had buttons and sleeves on.

 

[mw0njm.]

eiderdown were ok but the feathers poked through and stuck in you by the way there is a thread for keeping warm.

Keeping Warm

With gas and electricity prices escalating, like everyone else, we've been economising. The central heating goes on for an hour or two in the evening, heating two rooms only. We have a wall mounted tv in the bedroom so we tend to go to bed earlier now with the electric blanket on to watch...

birminghamhistory.co.uk

 

[Eric Gibson]

I just bought this set of brushed cotton flannelette sheets and pillow cases online through Ebay. Kept getting my toe stuck in a hole in the old ones.

 

[mw0njm.]

we still have a huge working grandfather clock in the front room and a big 6 seater dining table in the middle and a big china cabinet

 

[Vivienne14]

Anyone have a heating system like this from Parker, Winder & Achurch ? IWhat a luxury to have heat without the smoke. Our coal fire regularly smoked. Over time there was a scorch mark in the mantle piece wood above the fire grate. Vv

 

[I Am Nico]

Anyone have a heating system like this from Parker, Winder & Achurch ? IWhat a luxury to have heat without the smoke. Our coal fire regularly smoked. Over time there was a scorch mark in the mantle piece wood above the fire grate. Vv

View attachment 173636

My partner did in France but I don't know the make. She grew up with central heating unlike me. Her mum's house had what I call school radiators, which held the desired temperature. Her mum always sat on the radiator. She also had electric ones on castors with oil in which looked like mini school radiators. Saying that she lived mostly with her aunt, and uncle who had to pedal a bicycle to generate electricity and the house had it's own water tank which came out of the taps in a dribble. My relative in Canada has a wooden electric box which is lined with copper and looks like a solid coffee table with grills all around it and is on wheels. This is old. She swears by it wishing she had one on each room.

 

[I Am Nico]

we still have a huge working grandfather clock in the front room and a big 6 seater dining table in the middle and a big china cabinet

My partners mum had a 10 seater dining table and chairs. It extended. She had the chairs in rows of two like at the cinema. And a Moorish buffet, not a sideboard as it is higher, a heavy glass cabinet I forgot what they call them, one very upright a bonnetiere I think and semainiere a chest of 7 drawers one for every day of the week, lots of marble topped furniture with like little metal kerbs around the top to stop things roling off. Lots of gothic light fittings. You were not allowed to move anything either. I knew a few people like that. we managed to find a photo of my partner as a toddler in her high chair in the kitchen I just loved looking at the old cooker. Her mum in tight curls and a big booufant skirt, high heels and apron like on the adverts we keep seeing on here.. You could tell you were not in England if you know what I mean. Now on the extra mod box houses, it's harder.

 

[Vivienne14]

Did you have any of these in your homes ? I only remember radiators being in public buildings like libraries and schools etc. but maybe they were installed in homes too. Lovely and toasty if you were able to sit next to one. I doubt any of the Clamps gas fires exist today on health and safety grounds. Viv.

 

[Covroad]

The gas fires I rember them being a standard fix in the offices of the company I started my electrical apprenticeship with In Sparkhill . I do recall the one in the drawing and estimators office would be on in the summer ( on a low heat)

 

[I Am Nico]

The eiderdown I had on my bed had dual use, it doubled up as a winter coat in the day for my father as it had buttons and sleeves on.

We brought my parents a leather pouffe which we pronounced pouffé (poo fay) in our family, my partner says in France they are called pooofs, anyway we gave them this pouffe shell if you like from Morroco. We stuffed it with two old eiderdowns and several cushions and it still collapsed sideways if you sat on it. So a good use for old eiderdowns.

 

[Covroad]

Attached, details of a house to rent in Monica Road Small Heath, the called a town planning road near the tram @ 8s and 6d per week

 

[Covroad]

A picture of a house interior 1960 ish ?

 

[mw0njm.]

A picture of a house interior 1960 ish ?

50 yrs ago .....in return for six Golden Wonder crisp packets and a postal order for 19/6d to receive the 'run-resistant, seamless, wrinkle free tights.'

 

[mikejee]

I hope you found them comfortable Pete

 

[devonjim]

I realise that it is probably a result of the soaring cost of gas and electricity but has anyone else noticed the smell of wood/coalfire smoke, not sure which, around housing estates these days. Is it legal? It almost certainly not "green"