OT:Rant about old buildings

[Jethro_uk]

Having just returned from a "challenging" weekend with SWMBO at an "exclusive" hotel which involved bumping her wheelchair up and down any number of stupid little 3" little steps between various ares of the building (to be fair I suspect it's late Victorian) ...

Why on earth do these old buildings have such stupid little levels ? My only theory is that the house was built by different teams, and they all started at different levels and only realised when they butted up.

Or was it some sort of conspiracy between a shadowy cabal of architects and carpet manufacturers so a 50' room needs just that tiny bit more carpet ?

Either way it's a PITA :(

[bert]

In message , Jethro_uk writes

Conspiracy of ramp builders and handrail makers?

[John Williamson]

A lot of these hotels started off as a number of houses, and there was thus no need to ensure that all the floor levels were the same. Now add a listing status that prevents you changing the structure.....

[Jethro_uk]

Ah, but the original designs didn't have grab rails ...

[The Natural Philosopher]

actually I worked ths one out. The hotels are in fact lots of houses knocked together over the years all of different vintages and so on.

[sm_jamieson]

Also a lot of those houses would have had a step down into the washroom / s cullery etc., so the floors could be sluiced down.

What I always wondered about that era, and I'm sure we discussed this befor e on the group, but what was all that scrubbing of floors ? Incessant scrub bing of door steps was seen in old films of working class areas, and domest ic staff were always scrubbing hallways in posher houses too. Floors simply do not need that much scrubbing. I'm sure there was a special soap to do t his with, cannot remember the name though. Maybe that soap company used exc ellent subliminal techniques !

Simon.

[The Natural Philosopher]

thet did not have vaccum cleaners. A mop and bucket was the way to clean bare floors and beating carpets was how you cleaned them

[charles]

nor did they have detergents

[Andrew May]

And they had open fires - probably in every room and lit every day (at least during the winter)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Was the house all built at the same time? Many may look Victorian, but can have been extended several times, and have been much earlier. Even one house moved to butt up to another. When labour was cheap.

[John Williamson]

In the days when every chimney was burning coal, then it didn't take long to gather a fine collection of tarry soot on any flat surface, even indoors. If you doubt this,

There was also the fashion that you had to be *seen* to care. Terry Pratchett takes the mickey out of this with his "Too poor for paint, too proud for whitewash" jokette. It also gave the servants (Another fashion of the time) something to do all day. (Idle hands....)

[fred]

/ scullery etc., so the floors could be sluiced down.

efore on the group, but what was all that scrubbing of floors ? Incessant s crubbing of door steps was seen in old films of working class areas, and do mestic staff were always scrubbing hallways in posher houses too. Floors si mply do not need that much scrubbing. I'm sure there was a special soap to do this with, cannot remember the name though. Maybe that soap company used excellent subliminal techniques !

An old law required householders to keep the footpath in front of their hou se clean, and clear of snow.

We stay regularly in a hotel in the old quarter of Pontevedra and every mor ning a maid comes out and scrubs the lower walls of the house. I understand the owner has an interest in the Zara chain of shops

[harryagain]

Also a lot of those houses would have had a step down into the washroom / scullery etc., so the floors could be sluiced down.

What I always wondered about that era, and I'm sure we discussed this before on the group, but what was all that scrubbing of floors ? Incessant scrubbing of door steps was seen in old films of working class areas, and domestic staff were always scrubbing hallways in posher houses too. Floors simply do not need that much scrubbing. I'm sure there was a special soap to do this with, cannot remember the name though. Maybe that soap company used excellent subliminal techniques !

I remeber when I was a kid living in an industrial town, every woman scrubbed the (stone) doorstep daily and put a white line on the edge with a "scouring stone". Not ot do so was considered sluttish. Window sill, the same. All the sills/steps were highly smooth, this obviously had been going on for years/was a tradition.

All the windows were cleaned daily, they used to sit outside on the windowsill to do it. All wearing a turban. Another tradition.

[harryagain]

There were no "fitted carpets". They had carpet square which had to be lifted, taken outside and beaten. I remember it well. The perimeter of the room had either wood or linoelium.

[Vir Campestris]

.... all generating nice black coal dust.

[John Williamson]

Not forgetting the ash.....