Thomas Crapper expands

Salvo code dealer Thomas Crapper has signed an exclusive three year licensing deal covering the UK, USA and other International territories with the brand consultancy company Golden Goose. The brand specialists hope to launch a range of consumer products from toiletries and gifts to bathroom accessories and paper goods using the Thomas Crapper name and logo.

Golden Goose director Adam Bass said: “Thomas Crapper is a world renowned brand name that has very little presence outside of the sanitaryware business where it is sold through a small number of top end suppliers. The brand is ripe for development and we are already talking to a number of potential licensees. The brand name itself will enable us to come up with some great creative concepts that will be fun and firmly tongue in cheek.”


Brand Licensing blog

Convivial in Cumbria

Cartmel, Cumbria UK - THE gathering in Cartmel on Friday 27 November 2009, kindly organised by Clive Wilson of WRS, and hopefully the first of an annual event at the Cavendish Arms, was deemed a very pleasant occasion. It was marred only by the devastation wreaked the previous week by the floods further west at Workington and Cockermouth. Some damage was sustained at properties nearer to hand, including Cartmel itself.

Fifteen people attended the evening meal, mostly dealers, several with partners. Dan Hill of Tiger Enterprises in Brighton called in later in the evening having spent a day in the worse hit flood town Cockermouth encouraging reuse of salvageable items from flooded properties. Steve Tomlin left in the morning for a site in Glasgow owned by a prominent plc who have been keeping him busy of late, having contracted Masco to undertake a reclamation audit for each site they redevelop.

A surfeit of jollity and paucity of hard news ensued. One upcoming event that was mentioned was that 27 January is the annual Thomas Crapper day, with 2010 being the centenary year of the great plumber's death. Simon Kirby hoped to hold a graveside vigil at Elmer's End Cemetery in Beckenham, the location of which, to Simon's delight, is a few yards west of the grave of Samuel Shenton (d1971), founder of The Flat Earth Society who explained gravity by stating that the earth disc was moving upwards through space at the rate of 9.8m/sec2, and whose comment about a photo of planet Earth taken from outer space was, "It is easy to see how a photograph like that could fool the untrained eye."

The construction of a bypass two years ago around nearby Low Newton, the home of Wilson Reclamation Services, eliminated passing traffic completely, so Mr Wilson changed tack. WRS is still a vital local source of reclaimed material and architectural salvage, but also now has an upper gallery showcasing the work of local craftspeople together with a new old cafe which was thriving on the Saturday after Friday's meal. He organises events there, of which a forthcoming Christmas fair of the work of dozens of local craftspeople is one example, and does what he can to drum up publicity to help offset the lack of signage alerting bypass traffic to WRS' existence. The bypass has resulted in some other businesses, especially the erstwhile successful folk pub up the road, closing their doors permanently.




Above: Thornton Kay of Salvo takes a tour around Wilson's architectural salvage yard in Cumbria, guided by owner Clive Wilson. The video explores Mr Wilson's vast selection of architectural salvage and other reclaimed items such as an extensive array of door furniture. Also, see local artisans and craftspeople working on site.


WRS Ltd

Cross channel Crapper bathroom boat comes to Salvo 2008

Above: On dry land [Photo Tyrone Snell Trailers]


Above: Tim Fitzhigham having conquered the channel in a piece of plumbing travelled up the Thames and arrives at Tower Bridge, below that shows Tim and some of his sponsors on his we site including the erudite Thomas Crapper & Co


Salvo Fair, Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK - TIM Fitzhigham, stand-up comedian and long distance rower, is bringing the bathroom boat, in which he traversed the Channel and rowed up the Thames to London, to this years Salvo Fair to be parked outside the stand of Thomas Crapper & Co, one of his Channel-crossing sponsors. As a result of his exploits he has been feted by the media, raised loads of money for Comic Relief and Sports Relief, met the Queen and has now written a book In the Bath subtitled Conquering the Channel in a piece of Plumbing.


Salvo Fair
Tim Fitzhigham

First flushing rim thunderbox WC for sale at Salvo Fair 2008

Above: Optimus patent thunderbox loo by Dent & Hellyer of Red Lion Square, London, c1870, the first toilet with a flushing rim, on sale at this year's Salvo Fair for £595 from Antique Baths of Ivybridge

Salvo Fair 2008, Fri 27 Jun - Sun 29 Jun, Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK - ANTIQUE Baths of Ivybridge will be bringing an original patent Optimus thunderbox to the Salvo Fair this year, the first loo with under-the-rim flushing. This WC, consisting of a valve closet surrounded by a fine Cuban mahogany enclosure, dates from 1870, when Dent & Hellyer invented and patented the first flushing rim bowls of their Optimus and Artisan models.

Before the Optimus the flush came from a spout placed under the lid which swirled the water around the conical bowl but did not always clean it. The flushing rim, seen as a vast improvement, was patented by Dent & Hellyer and made for them by Thomas Twyford of Stoke on Trent. Twyfords were potters and sanitaryware makers who rose to prominence after the cholera outbreaks of the 1840s and 1860s, the death of Prince Albert, and the near death of the Prince of Wales, the future Kind Edward VII, from water-borne cholera and typhus.

Thunderbox is the name given to the whole assembly, which was plumbed into the new-fangled mains water supply providing the flush, and the equally new-fangled sewers which got rid of the effuent. The thunderbox contained the Optimus' innards in an elegant mahogany enclosure. The D handle was lifted to open the water supply to flush the pan (seen on the right in the closed position in the photo above) either from the mains or from a concealed cistern. The thunderbox was the epitome of posh Victorian toiletry from 1870 up to the late 1880s when the all-in-one wash-out, and then syphonic flush, pottery toilet pans were introduced.


Above: Nick Cowan of Antique Baths of Ivybridge in the cast iron bath open air pre-restoration yard

Above: Fabulous old hand carved 5ft 9ins Spanish marble bath from Barcelona. Price £3,750

Above: Japkap lead lined pine high-level cistern, restored and coated to comply with modern water regulations. Price £350 including antique brackets

Above: Old wooden stepped commode. Price £175

Salvo Fair
Antique Baths of Ivybridge

Drummond Shaw interviewed in 2008

Hindhead, Surrey UK - DRUMMOND Shaw of Drummonds Architectural is interviewed by Thornton Kay of Salvo in the back yard of his Hindhead, Surrey UK premises in May 2008.

The business is having a big trade clear-out and the video shows some of the deeply discounted items available including 300 Victorian ropetwist edgers for £500. These will be among many items Drummonds is bringing to Salvo Fair in June where they will be having a very large stand.

The interview includes Drummond's thoughts about where the salvage trade is now, how the new business is going, including the flooring made from reclaimed oak and stone, and a move away from less profitable architectural antique fittings such as doors and Belfast sinks.

Finally we get to hear a surprise new announcement about the future of Hindhead.

Drummonds Architectural

Acqua, sapone e creativita

Casantica, Novembre/Dicembre 2007

L'antico incontra l'hitech
La soluzione piu bizzarra della nostra passerella e sicuramente rappresenta-ta da questo curioso (e, a nostro parere, efficacissimo) matrimonio fravecchio e nuovo, fra legno di recupero e materiali hi-tech (il vetro e le rubinetterie iper-contemporanee).




Un lavabo da antiquari
Siete in cerca di un lavabo elegante e classico? Questo vecchio tavolino rinvenuto in un mercantino antiquario e adattato allo scopo puo facilmente fare al caso vostro. Un consiglio: quanto piu e bello il mobile scelto come supporto tanto piu risultera ricercato ed esclusivo il risultato finale.

Flagstone record at Gaze's

Above: Carved sandstone grave relief of a skull, 17th/18thC, £277

Above: 20sqyds of coursed York flags sold for a record £2,905

Above: 70ins Victorian marble bath, top lot at £5,040

Above: Lenin sells for £1065

Diss, Norfolk UK - 'THERE was light drizzle all day,' Carl Willows said, referring to the architectural salvage sale of T W Gaze on 18 August 2007, 'but stock market jitters seemed to be having a discernible impact, even though garden benches which had been struggling at other Gaze sales this year went very well, one lot of York stone flagstones sold for £145 which broke our auction flagstone record, and a Victorian marble bath used by young Japanese ladies doubled its estimate to become the sale's top lot at £5,400 inc premiums and vat selling to the UK trade with a US underbidder.'

At a time when Christie's has shunted its buyer's premium to 25 per cent, and many provincial UK auction houses have pushed theirs up to 15 per cent, Gaze has this year held its buyer's premium at 10 per cent. It's seller's premium is 10 per cent on lots up to £500, and 5 per cent above that.

The next Gaze sale is the Rural and Domestic Bygones on Saturday 8th September at which Mr Willows says, 'There will be the usual old mix . . . and this time some nice handcarts consigned by Mr. Peter Watson of Cox's Yard in Gloucestershire.'


Full results

Evan Blum's competitors - dumpsters, ignorance and stupidity

New York USA - ON a CBS interview Evan Blum of New York's Demolition Depot said that his biggest competitors are the dumpster, ignorance and stupidity. A tour around the depot follows showing a load of bathroom bits, including a Mott fireclay tub, a $40k fireplace owned by Rockefeller, and a lot of doors.

CBS video
CBS story
Demolition Depot

Salvo Fair guide (pdf download)

Knebworth, Hertfordshire UK - The Salvo Fair 2007 guide (inc SalvoNEWS 265 Friday 22 June 2007) is now out.

Contents: Salvo Fair exhibitor list (so far), 300 handy hints for buying and using salvage, talks and workshops sponsored by Period Living magazine, and the text and illustrations of the talk by Julian Radcliffe, chairman of the Art Loss Register, about the role of the ALR, garden statuary architectural salvage and good title.

The other talks scheduled for the afternoon of the trade day at Salvo Fair on Friday 29 June are Nicole Lazarus of BioRegional Reclaimed on carbon footprints and reclaimed materials, a round table discussion on fair trade led by Peter Weldon and Karen Glen - and should it be a part of the new trade association, an update on BigREc Survey and standards of supply by Thornton Kay, a report on Deco07, the USA Building Materials Reuse Association's conference by Steve Tomlin. There may be a discussion about a roadmap for the launch of the UK architectural salvage trade association.

Download the colour version in Acrobat pdf format (link below).

The print version will be mailed to SalvoNEWS paper subscribers on Fri 22 Jun 2007.

A UK SalvoNEWS subscription is GBP50 (free to Salvo Code dealers) and includes access to SalvoWEB Trade Ads, SalvoEMAILS and a complimentary entry on the online Salvo Directory. Subscribers can receive just the print edition, or the pdf edition, or both. Overseas print copies are sent by surface mail to save energy.

PLEASE NOTE: Update on Red Card training day, Thursday 28th Jun at Knebworth, followed by testing and accreditation on Friday 29th Jun at Knebworth:
So far four people have booked to go on the inaugural 'Red Card' certificate of competence for reclamation and salvage operatives course set up by Martin Morrell of CITB and Howard Button of NFDC. Please book now by phone (020 8400 6222 or 01225 422300) or email thornton at salvoweb dot com if you or your staff would like to participate.

Salvo Fair guide (2MB pdf download)

Homebuilding & Renovating Show NEC

NEC Birmingham UK 22-25 March 2007 - THIS year's Homebuilding & Renovation Show at the NEC in Birmingham, usually visited by 50,000 ardent DIY builders, reflects the move away from reclaimed, the hijacking of the word for marketing, and more imports of new materials from, especially from China and India.

Baggeridge Brick had a set of display panels of its new bricks, one of which was called 'Reclaimed Shire Sovereign Stock'. "Are these reclaimed bricks," I asked. "Oh no, they are lookalike reclaimed bricks," was the reply. "Then shouldn't they be called 'Reclaimed lookalike Shire Sovereign Stock'," I said. "Everyone knows they are not reclaimed," was the reply. Baggeridge, fourth largest UK brick company, and the largest still in UK ownership, had difficult trading in the past few years. Its brick stocks are up, profits from bricks are down, but profits from landfill are up. A German company now wants to buy it.

Penny Bricks, who still offer reclaimed bricks on their trade literature and business cards, now sell a range of new handmade lookalike bricks. "Do you still sell reclaimed bricks," I asked. "Not really. It's too difficult to get hold of them. These days if we are offered a batch of 2,000 to buy, we just turn them down." Penny Bricks started out as a salvage business but now sells mainly new oak beams, new wood flooring, new bricks, new doors and new 'railway sleepers'. They did at least have a few heavily smoothed and polished reclaimed beam pieces on show.

Midlands Slate & Tile is another formerly salvage company which has moved heavily into new materials, especially new clay tiles (from Turkey?) and at the NEC was showing a new range of natural limestone roof tiles. Rick Doody was in selling mode so I did not get a chance for a chat.

Indigenous is a new imported stone flooring and tile business in Oxfordshire. It had a panel of small stone tiles called 'Reclaimed Jerusalem flagstones'. "Are these tumbled new stone," I asked. "Oh no. These are antique stones dating back to biblical times . . . they could have been walked on by someone biblical," came the reply.

Machell is another ex-salvage business who were selling all new products at the show.

Period Living magazine had an enclave within the show, featuring period craftspeople and products, among which was Peter Weldon offering replica Vietnamese gates with his new built-in underground automatic electric gate closers. They also included a last minute stand by Antique Baths of Ivybridge, with Nick Cowen displaying old baths re-enamelled using their in-house epoxy process. Chris Baylis was there with Castrads, replica Chinese cast iron decorative and column radiators, valves and towel rails. Chris started the salvage business RBS in the early 1990's which he then sold and dabbled in Carribean real estate for a while gave that up and started Castrads last year. "Business has been going very well," he said. Emma Farrington of Period Living has arranged for the magazine to sponsor the talks at this year's Salvo Fair.

Oak frame stands included T J Crump Oakwrights and Border Oak both of whom had erected two storey frames made from French, German and Polish oak, and Carpenter Oak with single storey stand.

Ben Latham of Red Rhino Crushers was showing a mini concrete, stone and brick crusher capable of crushing 2,000 bricks an hour.

Debbie Buggins of the new Self-Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon explained the virtues of having a £2,000 permanent display of reclaimed products at their new centre.

Homebuilding & Renovating Show

Drummonds dry frit bath enamelling

Eastern Europe - UK BATHROOM manufacturer, antique bathroom dealer and restorers, Drummonds of Surrey, has set up a bath re-enamelling facility which will restore the vitreous enamel on old baths in the traditional way, first developed by the Victorians, but using modern technology.

The method is a technical tour de force which has taken Drummonds ten years to develop to a highly reliable and consistent process which finally came on stream in 2006. It uses sophisticated equipment and relies on the manual skill of a number of Drummonds uniquely trained workforce.

First the old vitreous enamel is carefully cleaned off by hours of shotblasting, after which the bath is kept meticulously clean and moved to the enamelling shop. Here the tiniest speck of dust can ruin the process so cleaniness is vital. The bath is evenly heated to a tangerine red in a purpose made oven. When the correct temperature has been reached it is removed from the oven with the aid of a long-reach hand-operated mobile crane fitted with a cradle, and placed on to a steel shoe in the heat-proof enamelling booth. The shoe tilts, twists and turns, controlled by a foot pedal operated by the enameller at the back (in the video).

The two enamellers have air-operated sieves containing the frit powder which is evenly released as they move the sieves above the bath, depositing a fine layer which melts into a viscous liquid glass. The bath gradually cools and has to be put back into the oven for a reheat. This is done several times until a thick even coat of tough enamel is deposited on the bath. Around 20kg of frit is used giving a coat in the region of 1.2mm thick on the finished bath.

The process was made to look effortless by the men carrying it out, which is testament to their skill. One of Drummond's competitors told SalvoNEWS that their enamel is 'really quite superb, especially on the roll'.

NOTE:
1. Drummonds gives their bath enamel a 25 year guarantee. They recommend the use of standard liquid cream bath cleaner rather than Ajax-type scouring powder. (Chlorinating scouring powders are in any case no longer considered acceptable to the environment or human health.)
2. The life of an enamelled cast iron bath should be in excess of 100 years if treated carefully, well-maintained and cleaned regularly.
3. Drummonds charges £600 to re-enamel a six foot bath.

Vitrolite needed for deco theater refurb

Part of the front elevation in 2003

The front elevation in the 1930's or 40's

Inside

Detail of Art Deco Egyptian style

Augusta, Kansas USA - THE Augusta Historical Theatre was built in 1935 to designs by Carl and Robert Boller (aka Boller Bros) in the Art Deco Egyptian style. It pioneered the use of neon both inside and out, installed by Lite Craft Neon Co.

The web site of the Augusta Historic Theatre (spelt the English way) says:
The Theatre is a two-story art deco, brick and glass building in the center of downtown Augusta. It was one of the first theatres in the world to use neon illumination entirely throughout the interior. The neon lighting and fixtures were designed and built by the Lite Craft-Neon Company of Joplin, Missouri, the first company to introduce neon theatre illumination and neon decorations for theatre facades. The exterior of the building is covered with individual tiles of opaque Vitrolite glass. Above the decorative neon marquee, the tiles are pale green with an ornamental design in black and silver. The ornamental design was sandblasted and painted on the exterior of the glass. The glass on the upper section of the building was removed in the 1950s or 1960s and covered with a corrugated metal facade. The interior walls are covered throughout with hand-made ornamental plaster designs in black, silver, salmon and green. The entire ceiling of the 633-seat auditorium is covered with individual hand-painted fiberboard panels. Elaborately painted murals cover the north and south walls of the theatre. Doors, grills, switch plates and other details give the theatre an Egyptian appearance. The theatre's opulent interior treatments are hallmarks of the movie palaces that were built across America in the 1920s and 1930s.

The theater is undergoing a $300k renovation, part of which will be spent finding original green vitrolite tiles for restoration of the external facade. Director of Augusta Arts Council, DeAnn Triboulet, said, "We are replacing cracked and broken black and green Vitrolite panels on the facade which we are sourcing from architectural salvage companies."

Vitrolite is a structural pigmented glass, invented in the USA in 1900 and famously used in the 1913 Woolworth Building, New York, by architect Cass Gilbert. Although the glass was originally produced only in white, the range of colors from which architects could choose soon included black, beige, and ivory. By the 1930s, more exotic colors such as tropic green, forest green, robin blue, suntan, and jade were offered by the principal manufacturers in addition to the stock colors of gray, yellow, and tan. Tim Dunn, a Vitrolite specialist, says, "Even though the architectural glass industry has continued to expand its production of different types of glazing, the imaginative innovations of Carrara Glass, Sani Oxyx, and Vitrolite in the early part of this century have not been surpassed. New technology, combined with human artistry, produced exteriors and interiors alive with color and dimension. Glittering movie palaces, sparkling restaurants, and streamlined storefronts as well as the more mundane kitchens, restrooms, and laboratories exemplified the extensive variety and potential of pigmented structural glass."

Vitrolite is commonly rescued in the UK from bathrooms, usually in green, black and yellow. Tim says, "Removal of Vitrolite is an exacting operation. The mastic used may have become hard and difficult to separate from the ribbed backing of the glass. Solvents which are capable of softening the hardened mastic are methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and acetone. They can be worked into the cavity behind the glass with a crook-necked polyethylene laboratory squeeze bottle or a large syringe without a needle. After the mastic has softened, two people using a taut piano wire sawing down from the top can safely and efficiently separate the glass from the wall.

Augusta Arts: Tel (USA) 316.775.2900 Email augustaarts@sbcglobal.net Augusta Historic Theatre

Tim Dunn: Tel (USA) (314) 645-4317. Email vitrolite@earthlink.net Vitrolite Specialist

Decorex draws more antique and repro

Chelsea, London UK - DECOREX has just finished, with 280 exhibitors, amongst whom this time were not only long term regular, Victorian Wood Works, but also the likes of Drummonds, Architectural Heritage and Tina Pasco's Esprit du Jardin, looking for UK and international design professionals and buyers. Decorex is the show where most serious design magazines pitch up, and this year there are stands from the following magazines - English Home, Homes & Gardens, House & Garden, La Maison, Sleeper and World of Interiors, to name a few. Shows like this normally appear on the printed Salvo Wallplanner and online on SalvoWEB's Auctions & Fairs Calendar. Contact Salvo if you would like a printed 2007 wallplanner.

SalvoFAIR: Events and workshops

Photo: At Salvo 2005 Simon Kirby of Thomas Crapper & Co gave penny farthing rides, Michael Brown of Lock Restoration Co made antique keys while-u-wait, and Ronnie Wootton of MDS Ltd looked implacable as the world reflex champion. This year there will be more talks, and both Simon and Ronnie are prepared to take on all-comers [Photo 2005 © Salvo



Hertfordshire, UK - This year's Salvo Fair at Knebworth will include workshops, demonstrations and talks by the trade. Here are some examples:

Sanitaryware by Norman Cockroft of Alscot Bathrooms on the stand of Thomas Crapper & Co - How to clean stained baths bogs and basins, and when to call in the professionals.

Old cast iron radiators by Andy Triplow of the Old Radiator Company, Kent - How to clean them, test them and adapt them to modern heating systems.

Old English Rose & Paul kitchens by Tom Donaldson of Source, Somerset - Making 1950's aluminium kitchens fit for the modern home.

Antique keys and locks by Michael Brown of Lock Restoration Co, Strathclyde - How locks work, maintaining your old locks, repairs and keymaking.

Stained glass and leaded lights by Edgar Phillips of the Stained Glass Group, West Midlands - How to seal leaky windows, painting and firing, making hangers 'while-u-wait'.

Penny Farthing racing by Simon Kirby of Thomas Crapper & Co, Warwickshire - Mr. Kirby will take on all-comers. Probably late afternoon when the field is quieter. Contenders must bring their own penny farthing.

Traditional beam hewing by Wocko The Woodman of Knebworth - Slow but steady oak and chestnut beam hewing workshops, lasting all day between well-earned rests.

Reflex Reaction Challenge by Ronnie Wootton of MDS Ltd, West Midlands - Mr. Wootton, World Champion, who beat the Parachute Regiment at Malvern Show, will take on all-comers.

The Square Mile Project by James Rylands of Sotheby's on the stand of Extreme Architecture from Kent - The successful sale of the Baltic Exchange and other buildings like it is vital if more is to be saved. Dennis Buggins of Extreme Architecture will be there and is bringing parts of these buildings. Overseas and top-end dealers are welcome to the talk on Friday morning, and all construction professionals to the talk on Friday afternoon.

If you are planning to have a stand at the fair and have an idea for an event please contact Thornton Kay of Salvo. Tel 020 8400 6222. See the Salvo Fair web site.

Salvage at Grand Designs

Excel, London, UK - The second Grand Designs exhibition is on from Friday 1 June to Sunday 3 June, this time with a smaller salvage representation, some cutting edge stuff and a lot more home show normality. Kevin McCloud's TV programme spawned firstly a glossy magazine, then a glossier bigger home show.

Last year the home show concept, format and exhibitors were new and in the main fairly innovative with a large salvage area created by Steve Tomlin of Masco with Robert Mills and other trade colleagues. Masco's Ascot Bandstand was auctioned live at the event which, had it sold, would have made the salvage project a breakeven, but unfortunately it stalled at the last minute. After some deliberation Masco decided against making that effort again this year, although they will be at Salvo Fair.

Media luvvie gardener Diarmuid Gavin is there again, coupled with a load of chefs cooking up a surreal meal, and the outside village is expanded to include more rapid build systems mainly from Germany. A new feature this year is Question Taste 'an innovative exhibition; designed to provoke debate and consideration around the meaning of taste. Can taste be defined? Is it possible to pin hard and fast rules to the lapel of tastefulness? Or is it all just too subjective? Incorporating a portfolio of exceptionally tasteful drinks, ‘Question Taste’ invites viewers to wander around a series of interactive exhibits, whilst sampling the unique tastes of Tanqueray® gin, Johnnie Walker® Black Label® Scotch whisky, Talisker® single malt whisky and Smirnoff® No. 55 (Black) vodka.' This orgy of resource consumption is being backed by WWF who are committed to promoting the use of sustainable materials and to reducing pollution and unnecessary consumption of the Earth's natural resources. So that's alright then.

It is good that Antique Baths of Ivybridge, RBS Oak and Ashwell Recycled Timber will be flying the reclaimed flag at the event, and even better that they are all Salvo Code supporters. Hopefully they will find the show worthwhile.

[Grand Designs Live]