refurbishing or re-enamelling a range cooker

thetope

OH has a range cooker (rayburn) in his house (well he hasn't moved in yet, but is about to) which dates back to the ark and is a delightful colour of beige/magnolia. whilst I'm not a huge fan (maybe because i'm a townie and don't understand "range culture!") i can appreciate that he wants to keep it and it is a "feature" of a farmhouse kitchen.

He's soon going to be getting a new kitchen in (the old one's about the same age as the rayburn) and i was wondering if it is possible (read: affordable) to re-enamel the rayburn to a more up-to-date colour. i was thinking bright red but i think black might be more timeless.

i don't have an input really as we don't live together (but might one day, hopefully!) but if it's affordable i think it might be a good idea and it would really "make" the kitchen.

has anyone had this done? what kind of money is involved?

oh and just as an aside, he tells me that the range is "drip fed" by heating oil and therefore uses an inconsequential amount even though it's on all the time. i just can't help feeling that it might be very uneconomical due to its age (1960s i think). (my real fear is that he will not use the central heating because of the price of oil and will rely on the rayburn to heat the kitchen and a stove to heat the living room, which will mean a freezing bedroom and bathroom in the winter!!)

cheers for any help

Canucklehead

Hi

As far as I know Rayburn are a one piece item in that they are delivered and installed in one complete piece, as opposed to an Aga which is assembled on site and can therefore be stripped and as many items as needed can be refurbished.
We had an Aga done and it cost nearly £1000 to do all the cast bits.(sides and back are sheet steel.)

I would think the Rayburn would be quite expensive due to the stripping down aspect.
I have no idea where you could have this done in Ireland, there are only two or three place on this side of the water.Have a Google!
Corgi Guy.

thetope

hmm that doesn't sound good at all! i guess i may have to just get the jif out, give it a clean and live with it!