Replacing the Bathrooms in the 1960s
We were shaking in case they dropped them ...
Sutton Local Studies and Archives
"Ten householders in Waltham Road are to receive a special Christmas present from the Greater London Council. For in the near future workmen will be installing in each house a prefabricated bathroom unit, improved kitchen facilities, gas fired space heating, plus the renewal of electrical installations...
The ladies of the houses to be modernised are thrilled with the prospect of a new bathroom. Many of them feel that with young children growing up, a bathroom is essential for the future. And it appears that they are prepared to 'rough it' for short time while work is carried out.
Mother of four, Mrs. Shirley Blacker, said: 'It has not been too difficult yet without a bath but it will be needed when the children get older.'
A spokesman for the GLC said ... the first bathroom would be installed before Christmas and would be a house at the end of a terraced block. This means that the first will not be installed by a crane which will raise the unit over the roof tops. But the spokesman thinks the work which involves the use of the large crane will begin in January. 'We will probably do a few at a time' he said. ....'We will see how we go with these ten, and if it is successful, it will be extended to other estates.'*"
Replacing the new bathrooms - Less disruption this time round
Last year I've had a new bathroom put over being as I was in the steering group to go to Newbury to watch them being made etc. I was one of the first to get the new bathrooms so I've now got a new bathroom which is really, really lovely and I was so pleased with it. It's a lot bigger than the old one. They put three of them over - three of these box bathrooms in one day. The extra bits - I suppose they were here roughly about two weeks all in all. But the first time they were here they had to dig holes, trenches in the back garden which were six foot deep to allow for the water, the sewers and everything, and at that time my children, one of them was five and the other one was about two and a half, and they were walking over these big six foot holes on planks and it was just one big upheaval. We had no kitchen. We had a little Baby Belling two-ring cooker on there to cook in here and we were sort of like six weeks without proper facilities. (Jean Betts)