Heritage Centre Refurbishment...
During the Winter and whilst closed to the public we are refurbishing the heritage centre. The hope is to complete the work by the time we re-open. We are trying to create a much more welcoming and interesting environment for our visitors.
Work started in the toilet area.
This has been completely redecorated and smartened up.
The room was emptied out and dust sheets put down. All walls, ceiling and paintwork was sanded and filled. This was then sanded smooth prior to painting. The ceiling then had two coats of brilliant white vinyl silk emulsion. The exposed water pipes and the shelves received a coat of primer and the walls had two coats of magnolia vinyl silk emulsion. The next step was to undercoat all the window frames, door frame, door, shelves and pipes. This was followed by a second coat. This was then rubbed down with fine wet-and-dry paper and a gloss coat applied.
The next item to be refurbished was the floor. This was cleaned and then covered with new hardboard, this being tacked down to prevent any bubbling etc. Masking tape was applied over all the joins. The hardboard was then sanded to give it a "key" for the vinyl floor tiles. These were then laid, cutting around items as required. The tiles were then cleaned and silicone sealer run around all the edges including the toilet base and pipes.
The finishing touches were to run white silicone along the rear of the shelves and hand basin, and then put all the fixtures and fittings back, including new photos. A new light was installed and the light switch moved from outside to a ceiling (pull) switch inside the room.
I hope the end result of all this work is that the toilet is now a much more pleasant place to be (not that I think anyone would want to spend too much time in there).
My one wish is that people will look after it and that it will remain looking good for several years to come.
Almost all exhibits have been removed prior to the refurbishment.
Peter has put in a lot of work on sanding everything down and applying lots of filler in many places. The preparation is the most important part of this sort of job and pays dividends if carried out properly.
I have disconnected and removed the two fluorescent lights and installed two pendants. These will eventually have authentic green shades on them (after being lowered probably). The idea is to create a more subtle general light which then can be supplemented with specific lighting in set areas.
Highlighting exhibits in this way should make them more appealing and interesting.
When all the sanding and filling is complete the ceiling will be painted, followed by the walls. The window and door frames will be finished in white gloss and the shelves, dado and floor battens finished in green gloss.
Well, must crack on otherwise it will never get finished!
Dave
