A little uplifting post!

[Jamieharnett]

Cut along story short.... bought a old stone cottage and thought that’ll be alrighttt I can knock that out in a few months maybe a year..... how much longer do these old properties take to do one job leads to another and so on... :lol: . some days I can spend a whole day cleaning something! Painting timber framed windows, filling and sanding 100+ years woodwork and refurbish fireplaces!

Im still rather young (under 30 just!) my mates can’t understand why I would take on such a task.


But the overriding factor of it all is the finish, makes it all worth while. Who would want a nice new warm well insulated problem free new build!?! Not me


Please see pictures attached and give me some feedback Good or bad.

 

[Jamieharnett]

Sorry having some trouble uploading pictures for some reason?

 

[Jamieharnett]

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[Jamieharnett]

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[Jamieharnett]

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[88v8]

Jolly good. You're certainly on the way to rescuing that cottage.

Like the brass valves and bleed cocks.
Iron rads just look 'right' in an old house.

Ivor

 

[Jamieharnett]

Thanks Ivor another little thing I like about the house is the door handles! See picture attached!

 

[TheSpid]

Wow - a fantastic job - that pipework was really something - guess you've hidden it under the floor, so much better. Loving your rads too - I've been looking at getting a new one for the living room and was undecided until I saw yours. I think it's must.

 

[Craig89]

Im in the same positions as you....under 30 just, currently 2 years deep into a project that was supposed to take 12 months and still no where near finished. My freinds wonder why its taking so long.

Love what you have done with yours, great job. About the radiators, are they new or reclaimed?

Craig

 

[Gothichome]

Very nicely done.

 

[Jamieharnett]

Wow - a fantastic job - that pipework was really something - guess you've hidden it under the floor, so much better. Loving your rads too - I've been looking at getting a new one for the living room and was undecided until I saw yours. I think it's must.

The joists here are only 4” square so didn’t think it willl be good practice to notch any joist for pipes. The house previously had a extension added to the side which meant you had a gain access to a bedroom through a bedroom we created a walkway to separate bedrooms which allowed us to build a stud wall meaning pipes and cables could run within wall and then in between joists rather than across them. Made some long and Intresting runs for wiring but saved any weaken of the joists.

 

[Feltwell]

Looks good Jamie - love the shaped window, and the monkey tail hardware you've put on it looks great.

I see our old friend the furniture beetle have had a fair old munch of the floorboard below your radiator. If your joists are a bit on the small side, have they have much of a go at them as well?

A little tip - if you've got a bit of a gap around where the radiator pipe comes up through the floorboard - you need to have as otherwise they can squeak like hell! - then stuffing a little bit of old-fashioned felt pipe lagging in there blocks it up without causing squeaks, and it blends in nicely with the copper pipe and pine floorboards.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hair-Fel...h=item2826afb4bd:g:VxMAAOSwft9axnUE:rk:6:pf:0

New builds aren't that problem free is what I hear from friends who have them - and you get so little for your money. Much better off with that lovely old place I say!

Door catch - yes, it's little details like that that I love. A friend had a 17c cottage with really lovely cupboards either side of a fireplace, with nice worn turn catches - sounds odd but it had clearly taken many, many years for them to wear to like that, all adds to the character.

 

[88v8]

I put in all iron rads, in 1982. It was blooming hard then as there were no new ones, finding decent uncorroded rads the right size.

A tip about joists: If you drill through the middle, within reason it doesn't significantly weaken them. I'd be happy to put 15mm pipe through a 4" joist. Not so sure about 22mm, depends on the joist.
An angle drill helps when drilling in the confined space between joists.

There is also an angle version of the carpenters' brace, designed for drilling between joists,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NICE-CORNER-JOICE-RATCHET-BRACE-STANLEY-No-02-716-CARPENTER/132928782993?hash=item1ef32c4291:gn8AAOSwLNxcScdU
Not sure they're made any more, I'd grab this quick if I were you.

I have an angle drill, but I still use my brace.

Nice doorknob. eBay is our friend when it comes to period fittings. Why people buy new stuff for old houses, beats me.

Ivor

 

[Easrow]

Hi. Looks good to me. We are doing the same sort of thing and also get asked why it's taking so long. I guess as we are perfectionists and want to do things decently and not just hide bodges under layers of cement as the previous generations had builders doing. Also we have to live on this building site and work full time to pay for it. We buy bits and bobs from eBay and market place etc. but also I've had some good finds at reclamation yards. I've also spoken to neighbours and locals and have found they are a great source of parts that match perfectly. Keep up the good work and keep posting to give us a kick up the bum to do finish ours.

 

[Cubist]

Doing well there Jamie, nice work, keep it up.

You and Craig should both understand though that when the Restoration Bug bites, you stay bit for life :twisted: . You have a long and interesting future ahead.

Cheers,
Cubist

 

[Gothichome]

We’ve been restoring Gothichome for nine years, if your not looking you would think nothing has been done when in reality lots has been accomplished. Others just bon’t see it.

 

[Jamieharnett]

Im in the same positions as you....under 30 just, currently 2 years deep into a project that was supposed to take 12 months and still no where near finished. My freinds wonder why its taking so long.

Love what you have done with yours, great job. About the radiators, are they new or reclaimed?

Craig

Maybe were a different kind of generation who don’t take too much interest in gaming!

New radiators from screwfix forget the brand...not cheap mind I think I bought a total of 5x which came to around £1700.

 

[Jamieharnett]

Doing well there Jamie, nice work, keep it up.

You and Craig should both understand though that when the Restoration Bug bites, you stay bit for life :twisted: . You have a long and interesting future ahead.

Cheers,
Cubist

Funny you should say that when initially buying our current home I just liked ‘it’ and could see the potential. It’s a semi In a very secluded area on a dead end road leading to farm, huge driveway and gardens and in a desirable village in Milton Keynes. I must add previous to buying this I had bought and sold two houses and made a little money. Hands up I bought this house for almost the same reasons get it done and flog it but at the same time enjoy it. Plus we could never afford a house like this finished to a decent standard.

Normally I just bash the work in a pragmatic fashion with the work ethic of I need to get this done and up for sale, no cutting corners but a goal in sight. Always having a feeling of not getting enough done in a day.

But my gosh this house has brought out a inner sole I never knew I had! I never feel the need to rush like before because I want to do justice to the house?!? Very hard to explain, I want to do right by the house. Leave as much in tact as it was when built even keeping blatant repairs on show, aslong as they’re honest repairs. Probably the reason I found the forum from wanting to do right, seeing all you guys helping one another is very humbling.