My man cave build - UK edition

[Captain Ahab Jr]

David, I've been a racing man all my life, working at doing everything as quickly as possible

Novelty is wearing off so I'm starting to appreciate the enjoyment that can be had from small, slow but fun cars

I'd love to add one these to my collection, an automotive design icon, it's a Fiat Panda 4x4, tiny car by American standards

[javadog]

As narrow as the English roads can get, a small car has a little bit of appeal. Still, I can’t bring myself to ride around in a tin can that wouldn’t survive any sort of wreck. Modern safety standards of spoiled me a little bit.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I ran one of these as my daily, Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6ltr, weighed under 2000lbs, Mrs Ahab referred to it as the 'Bean Tin', hated driving it

Would love to own one again but if I did I'd drive it like I would if I rode a motorbike on the road ie think everyone is an idiot and they're out to kill me

[javadog]

I would drive that long before I would drive a Fiat panda.

I wouldn’t drive either of those in the US, too many 8000 pound pick up trucks on the road now.

[masraum]

I can't believe that I've somehow completely missed this thread for the past 3+ years!

I've spent the last 3 days reading it end to end. Capt, thank you so much for posting! The pics, history, construction details, transformation and the way you tell the story are all fantastic. I've been glued to this post as if it were a good book.

The two of you are an amazing duo!

Thank you for posting.

Oh, I almost forgot, your story about the well reminded me of this story that I read a while back.

https://www.abroadintheyard.com/plymouth-man-discovers-historic-medieval-well-and-hidden-sword-under-his-living-room-floor/

Colin Steer has uncovered a medieval well, with an old sword hidden in it’s walls, under the living room floor of his Victorian home in Plymouth.


Colin was curious about a slight indentation in the floor when he first moved into the property in Mannamead Road, Plymouth, 24 years ago. He told the Plymouth Herald, “I was replacing the joists in the floor when I noticed a slight depression – it appeared to be filled in with the foundations of the house. I dug down about one foot and saw that it was a well, but my wife just wanted to me to cover it back up because we had three children running around at the time. I always wanted to dig it out to see if I could find a pot of gold at the bottom, so when I retired at the end of last year that’s what I did.”
Colin believes the well is 33 feet deep

61 year-old Colin spent 3 days clearing the well using a bucket on a rope to pull up the debris, and 5 feet down he discovered the old sword. He said, “It was hidden at a 45 degree angle and sort of just fell out. It looks like an old peasant’s fighting weapon because it appears to be made up of bits of metal all knocked together.”

He stopped digging the well out at 17 feet, but believes it is at least 33 feet deep.

Drake’s Leat was a 17 mile long watercourse constructed in the late 16th century to supply Plymouth with water from the River Meavy on Dartmoor and was one of the first municipal water supplies in the country. The scheme was promoted by Sir Francis Drake, who was Mayor of Plymouth at the time.

Colin has turned the well into a feature by putting in lighting and installing a trap-door over it. He said, “I love the well and think it’s fascinating. I’d love to find out who was here before us. I’ve got a piece of Plymouth’s history in my front room.”

Colin’s wife, Vanessa, is less impressed. She said, “I hate the well. But I suppose it is quite a feature. When we come to sell the house I just hope it’s not a white elephant in the room!”

[GH85Carrera]

Brittan has such long amazing history. To know the Roman's invaded in the year 43. A two digit year is just mind boggling to us Americans.

There is a fun show called Time Team on Amazon that is interesting. The series dig all over England with real archeology standards. Many times they are examining a house that has current occupants and find Roman ruins as a wall or graves in the back yard.

Capt, I just love your old house and the fantastic work you and your wife have do to it. One of the oldest buildings around here is from 1892. Very few building are older than that in Oklahoma.

My house was built in 1995 so it is a touch newer.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Brittan has such long amazing history. To know the Roman's invaded in the year 43. A two digit year is just mind boggling to us Americans.

There is a fun show called Time Team on Amazon that is interesting. The series dig all over England with real archeology standards. Many times they are examining a house that has current occupants and find Roman ruins as a wall or graves in the back yard.

Thanks, I'll have to check that out!

Capt, I just love your old house and the fantastic work you and your wife have do to it. One of the oldest buildings around here is from 1892. Very few building are older than that in Oklahoma.

My house was built in 1995 so it is a touch newer.

Right, my house was built in 1920 or 1924. Most of the stuff around here is made from wood, so you're probably not terribly likely (even if we had the history) to find many 200-300 year old houses, between bugs, weather, etc...

I would say more about how impressed and impressive Capt and Mrs Capt and their home and the work that they've done is, but over the last 3 years, much more eloquent folks than me have pretty much said it all.

If this were a book written by the Capt and full of photos, I'd buy it.

I think Jack O and his 12 gauge garage are pretty darn impressive, but this is even more so, to me which is saying something!

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Steve, really pleased you've enjoyed the updates, don't worry this project is a long way off from being finished, comparing our project to Jack's 12 Gauge Garage is one hell of a compliment, thank you so much!

Glen, I have a t-shirt I still wear as old as your house Another vote for the Time Team series, it's a great series if you enjoy history

Our house was quite rundown when we bought it back in 1999, hadn't been lived in for a couple of years, in desperate need of fixing up

We had no vision back then of what we wanted to do with it as it was bit over whelming that we actually owned our first home.

Not sure if I mentioned this but after one viewing and a quick inspection with a local builder just to check we weren't buying something that needed knocking down we bought it at an auction in the back room of a local pub. Most expensive evening out we've ever had out, by far

This is a picture from the sales literature.....with the original front door position

[Racerbvd]

When I was there in the 80s, racing BMX, actually seeing the history was great, I have always been into history, and seeing the real history in England and a great experience.

[911 Rod]

One of the cool things I saw in England when I was there 40 years ago was how low the doors were going into the old pubs. (and I visited many) People were much shorter 500 years ago!

[astrochex]

Funny pub story Captain. Buy home, then drink? Vice-versa could be dangerous.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Yearly chimney cleaning time, after the crows nested again

Must get around to putting some steel mesh as it's a proper Victorian child's job

[group911@aol.co]

Wow. Better get a proper Victorian kid quickly.

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Yearly chimney cleaning time, after the crows nested again

Must get around to putting some steel mesh as it's a proper Victorian child's job

[Sooner or later]

That much crap was in the chimney?

[astrochex]

I want know how he got that crap out.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by astrochex

I want know how he got that crap out.

Blanket across the chimney, with Mrs Ahab making sure nothing dirty escapes from the chimney ie me

I removed a couple of sheets of steel either side of the canopy, just out of sight above the oak beam which give me enough room to poke my head and shoulders up into the chimney opening

Chimney void is as wide as the fireplace but tapers up to a ft square at the top

Then I stood on stool, all alone in the dark, and raked, raked again,rake some more until I pulled all the crap down on top of me

It burns well, burning through it now in between typing this live update

[Scott Douglas]

I take it you didn't think the chimney could take burning all that stuff 'in situ'?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I take it you didn't think the chimney could take burning all that stuff 'in situ'?

Scott, thought never crossed my mind, this inferno is just a few large handfuls, it's tinder dry so makes a quite a roar



While enjoying a cosy, winters fire a few years ago, the roar coming from the fire place didn't match the size of fire Had a look up the chimney which can best be described 'staring up the wrong end of a fighter jet'

We were lucky, the nest was nowhere near the size we've pulled out to today, Mrs Ahab and I put the fire out before the fire brigade arrived, no harm done, lesson learnt, we don't have any fires until the chimney has been cleaned out

[oldE]

Geez! I don't think I'll ever complain about stupid starlings dropping down our chimney into the stove ever again. When I want to clean out our chimney, I just have to shove a nylon brush down the stainless steel liner from the roof of our split level. I didn't realize I had it so good. Glad I didn't offer to clean yours.

Best
Les

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

One of the cool things I saw in England when I was there 40 years ago was how low the doors were going into the old pubs. (and I visited many) People were much shorter 500 years ago!

The Pineapple, near the Atomic Weapons Establishment west of Reading is allegedly in the domesday book - and has a sign stating "duck or grouse" at the door. I'm 5'8" and my hair brushes the beams overhead while I wait for a pint. Charming place, even if they seem hard to keep open over the 20 or so years I've visited.

I loved that things just go on over there. In Oxford, on some unmemorable street, was one of those blue "Some guy lived here" plaques. In this case it was Sir Edmund Halley, there was an empty keg and two ratty bikes leaned up on the wall. Just a normal college flop in other words...