Sunday 20 July 2008

Toy shop update..........

A brief flurry of activity has produced several new 'to do' lists, to add to previous volumes.

The main task is to weather and age the exterior of the building, which currently looks too 'new'. I envisaged the shop as being late Victorian/early Edwardian, but set in a Tudor building, hence the herringbone brickwork and exposed timbers. The brickwork, timbers, and roof tiles, need to have damp patches, cracks, algae/moss growing under the eaves etc.

I'm still debating the guttering, which is not a straightforward job, as the front opens in two sections. I had in mind some fairly dodgy guttering, perhaps a bit rusty, with rust trails staining the brickwork down the front. It would definitely have to have a bird's nest blocking one of the downpipes.

Internally, there are still some tricky lighting problems to solve, but I've been tackling the internal window frames, skirting boards and exposed ceiling beams in the attic, which are all simple and straightforward stain, cut and glue jobs. They have the added bonus of being extremely satisfying, as I can see what I've achieved. Unlike tweaking the lighting which can take hours and achieve very little.

Except blown bulbs.

And solder burns.

So, all in all, despite my initial panic........I'm fairly confident that it will be done and dusted well before the deadline in September.

Famous last words...........

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