Clearing Tonnes of Rubble To Reveal The Original Floor

A little reading / sitting area above the new bathroom accessible from the landing would take advantage of the light from the small window onto the stairs. Would be amazing if you found an old root cellar under the stairs. That is going to be a great area to host small events.

Go on Billy restore it to how it was ❤ you're the owner but it would be amazing - crack on with your awesome work 💯

The word you were groping for is going up the staircase are Balusters (spindles tend to be thinner and turned on a lathe rather than carved), the solid posts at the top and bottom of a flight are Newels and the top connecting line used as a hand rail is the Bannister., a straight line on the turn of the staircase which you don't have is a Balustrade.
Can you tell I used live in a shared 3 floor Victorian monstrosity back before the 80's housing boom kicked in :)

They were unlikely to have put a window in the middle of a landing of a staircase, its just awkward to do and looks terrible, so what we are looking at is not the very original staircase for the convent.
Where Billy found that slight incline under the stairs could well have been something to do with the 1st staircase not steps down into a cellar.

Please leave the scars…there is a story there…

I vote for opening the widows up for the exterior and echo the idea of a stained glass interior window on the lower floor. Maybe blocking it off on the upper floor in the interior with a shutter. The idea of replicating the panels under the stairs above is great double sided in front of the bathroom wall but also a single face over the bathroom wall so the stairs are uniformly paneled at the landing.

Got to wonder what was originally there for that high window to have ever existed. Was this not always a stairwell? And some local concrete contractor must have made their fortune when this building was renovated in the 20th century!

open the bottom half of the window!

Drill through the bottom corners so you can see where it would be. measure the outside so you could know the dimensions inside. Even a smaller window would give natural light to the dark staircase. the 2nd reason would be to remove the red block and blend with natural stone so it looks period correct.

Looks like the stairs were put in after the window was put in. Yet another mystery. Perhaps there was an earlier set of stairs less grand.

Is Ryan from 'Life of Ryan' OK? He hasn't posted anything for 12 days. Hoping he didn't fall.

Yanis wielding Thor's hammer like a boss!

The window suggests that the balustrade was originally on both sides of the staircase and the floor on the first landing did not abut the wall as it does now. Windows behind a staircase bannister are common in grand houses etc.

wonderful please consider the window soo beautiful staircase flooring natural light wow make it pop

I would get some blue tape out and trace out that hidden window. That section is pretty dark. The idea of having a window that transitions between floors is not too bad. You would want to put up some sort of bar so nobody falls thru if they are not paying attention. I think you should go ahead and open it back up again. I would be interested to see you bring back one of the original convent residents if one can be found so they can see all the changes...

wow it looks so much better

I am amazed by the buckets you use. How do they last so long with all that heavy debris you load them up with?

I agree, a lovely big, ornate mirror on the landing would be beautiful and it would reflect the light from the existing windows. May I also suggest, that with all your "out of the box" thinking why not rig-up a winch with a platform or harness to the back of the truck and use wheelbarrows to remove the rubble - it would cut down on the number of trips back and forth but more importantly back strain.

Love the open staircase, it probably sighed in relief with the tons of concrete and such removed.

About the missing piece of stair railing; I would take that piece from a less significant place upstairs somewhere and then replace the upstairs railing with a new one... May already been suggested though, I did not read all the thousands of comment you have got... 🙂

I just love to see how you bring back this convent and its rooms. It just gets better and better. Carry on and Crack On! Sounds like a T-shirt!

Opens it completely- is going to be a ✨Fabulous Entry Point✨

The uprights on the balustrade can be called baluster, spindle or newel.

It's sort of stunning, just how much ugly, heavy and completely unnecessary concrete was placed into the convent over the centuries. So glad that you are removing it, Billy. And I'm sure the building is thankful to you as well, in its own way.

I’d suggest that the window stay blocked up. To bring more light into the stairwell and in partic the landing I would suggest wall sconces, two large mirrors and a chandelier. During the day the sunlight would reflect off the mirrors and at night the wall lights and chandelier will more than adequately illuminate the landing.

Just to vote... I would open it up the window!

No, this window will be fantastic, of course not between the floors. Expensive, probably but will looks great. You should consider again...in my opinion. I love window's view during the climbing on stairs

Open the window! Definitely.

I believe the staircase was not constructed in situ. It might have been a gift from a local family to the convent. The staircase is grand, and notably, it is not situated near the main entrance.

Yanis should be called Thor!

I love watching all the surface mounted pipes being removed!👍🏻👏🏻

Loving your videos of your work of fantastic project . It is a far better conservation, practical and aesthetic solution to reinstatement the landing stair window. It is not an issue that it may transverse through a landing,, as this is quite a standard treatment. Final, if it was their historically there was a reason was it is placed there. Strongly recommend you return the window.

Maybe y'all could look at some wood lattice design so you could still let in light an have that area be safe for ppl. It would have been awesome if you could open that window but I understand it being between 2 floors.

What a beautiful staircase indeed. It will be stunning to see it fully restored! Today is a victorious day on so many levels, this being one of them 👍 thank you for sharing as always and everyone take care and be safe! You're always in our prayers🙏🇺🇸🕊

Stained glass lighting the landing...?

Look how much that has opened it up! It looks so inviting and less box-y

it would be awesome if you could use the lattice from the shelves as the side wall of the staircase

Hey Billy
I think your Dad and yenis put a beating on you and your helper.😂😂😂
Love your videos, keep them coming.

It might be well worth it to place a window there!

Wow like a wonderful treasure hunt.

Open the window, it will be very dramatic

Couldn't you do a longer window give great natural light on staircase without turning on lights

Just a thought what about a faux window with a light box. You could have it look like wisteria growing on it with that cling film for windows they make. Like a stage set window it could solve the esthetic look indoors and provide lighting at night with a timer. I did it in my tiny galley kitchen when I built an addition off my kitchen. I didn’t what it to feel claustrophobic and I have a wisteria growing in my tiny yard.

that house is old as my family came to Australia back in the 17's

I've been wanting to comment on the stairs. Watching as you all go up and down them, they look like there is such a nice tread to rise ratio. It seem like such an easy walk up the stairs. Just think of how many footsteps that have been on them in the padt 250 years. Please try to keep as much of the "character" of the stairs as possible. Thank you for taking us along on the Convent journey.

Yanis, I hope you are wearing steel-toed boots. You wouldn’t want a sledge hammer or cement block hit your feet. Very painful! And you would be out of commission… Stay safe!

Hello Billy, what about the finials? They appear to be in situ on the upper part of the staircase, but have been sawn off on the lower part.

As brother Michael if he would like to clean and Osmo the staircase, he did a grand job with the ones at the Chateau.

Wonderful achievements lads! The staircase is more beautiful without the ugly concrete - well done!

Of course it’s between two floors Billy, it was to let light on too both floors when candles were used to light the way.. great workmanship men superb interesting channel . 👍

I’m amazed by the change in the appearance of the stairwell. It’s lovely.