Advise for my new property

[MatthewC]

Lisa

Like the others above, I think your house looks wonderful and I echo their suggestion (often made here) that you shouldn't do anything in a hurry.

I have one question: is the lime plaster internally OK, or are you going to to do a lot of re-plastering? The reason I ask is that my house (which was VERY damp and cold) needed considerable re-plastering but this had the benefit that I found lots of information about the house underneath both the old wallpaper and under the plaster. See my blog (click on "Contact" on the right, and select the blue blob) for details.

Matthew

 

[Lisasutton]

More plans

 

[Lisasutton]

Hi Matthew

I am not too sure that there is lime plaster, it looks as though all of the ground floor rooms have been replastered and it is almost smooth with the occasional rough bit, almost trying to make it look old.

Upstairs, I am not sure what it is, either a rough plaster effect or some kind of wood chip wallpaper (very large chips). Thankfully we don't have a damp issue other than a little in the cellar.

Lisa

 

[xanthe]

Welcome!

You've had lots of good advice so far and I will join in with the chorus of 'live with it for a bit'. Unless you need to make a place watertight, then doing a full 12 months is very useful - how hot/cold does it get, where are the draughts, what doors stick etc.

That doesn't mean to say that you can't poke about a bit - your property looks very nice as it is though, so you may not want to play my favourite game - 'oooooh, I wonder what's under this' followed by making holes in things. My husband doesn't much care for the sagging bits of old lime plaster over pockmarked daub that we have been living with since I decided to see what was under the wallpaper in the living-room last June .

You may also find that things that bug you like mad at the beginning don't bother you after a while.

Getting the CO out is lots of fun - mine arrived with a thick file, hadn't bought the house at that point but am going to try and get my paws on it next time round. Pray for one who really knows old buildings - it makes life much easier!

 

[MikeG]

Hi Lisa.

Thanks for posting the drawings. You can see pretty clearly from them that the chimneys were on the gables of the original house, and aren't very deep, being seemingly not much more than double the thickness of the other walls. What that tells you is that there isn't going to be a massive ancient inglenook hidden behind the fire surround that you don't like (I like it, rather a lot). Inglenooks are generally at least 4 feet deep, and often very much bigger than that. Personally, I wouldn't be rushing to pull the new one off (with all the caveats of permission from your LBO) in the hope that the old one, or what's left of it, is more to your taste.

There is something sooooo English about your plans. I don't know of any other nation which so readily blocks up the main entrance to a house and asks visitors to go around the side or back to get in! There is also a curious thickening of the wall in the hall, by the dining room wall/ under the stairs. Do you know what is going on there?

 

[Lisasutton]

There is also a curious thickening of the wall in the hall, by the dining room wall/ under the stairs. Do you know what is going on there?

Hi Mike

I recall seeing some other plans that show a porch like structure at around that point. Having said this, this is where the property joins to the property behind and there is a new(ish) partition wall at that point.

I have provided a full explanation in relation to the property behind and the history of when the cottage was built, however it does not appear to have been published and I am not aware of anyway that I can get back to it.


Thank you for looking a the plans, I would have been very surprised if there were any signs of an Inglenook, but was hoping for something similar to the fireplace in the sitting room (see previous post). Anyway I think I shall embrace the deco surround for now and hopefully it will grow on me....I really don't want to be destroying authentic traces of the history and that is of course part of the history of the cottage.

I also published some photos of the windows and doors for you, but again they don't appear to have been published.

You will see the lovely 'swallow' shaped catches I am also intrigued about the metal door, would this have been Oak originally?

Thank you again.

Lisa

 

[MikeG]

I know someone said your fireplace was art deco, but I'm not so sure. It looks more Arts and Crafts to me. I'm certainly no great expert, though, so take that opinion to be worth what you paid for it.

I love the blacksmith-made windows and door! Gorgeous. Lovely thin sections. There is a company which restores these, even galvanising them to prevent the perennial rust problems.

 

[Lisasutton]

Thanks Mike

 

[mims&pip]

Hi Lisa! Welcome from me too

Your house /cottage is lovely! Plan-wise it is very like our current house - originally built as a three-storey plus cellar cottage by a gentleman farmer for his grandson in the 1850s, but extended to the side (two storeys) in Arts & Crafts style in 1924 - long and relatively narrow. Like your house we have the majority of the Windows on the garden front - we do have three tiny ones on the opposite side - although that is because ours is built into an escarpment, whereas I gather you have an attached property to the rear? We don't have a door on the lane side either - just a high wall with gate built into it - but instead have four doors and a set of French windows on the garden front! Despite having some great original features from the 1920s - including fireplaces and the majority of our doors/Windows/bays about 21 of which are original Crittall - we are not listed here though :roll:

Your metal door in fact reminded me of ours, although some of ours have a definite 1920s look.

I agree with Mike in that the fireplace you are not keen on is more Arts & Crafts - I admit to being a bit of an arts & crafts fan as we have collected related *stuff* for the past 15 years (we, like Joce, have rather a museum, lol!) - although the Minster styling is a bit twee for my tastes. We actually had one almost identical in a former (unlisted Tudor :shock: ) property that we removed and replaced with something more appropriate. Sadly when we sold, our buyers in turn replaced that with a modern replica of the Minster, even though we had left the original at the house - I think they wanted something that looked more clean and new :roll:

Apologies for rambling, but to conclude I concur with the consensus here that you should live with things as they are in your charming home for now. Make notes on what you would like - should the CO agree of course - to achieve, by all means.......I am a great fan of making sketches and lists, lol - whilst getting a feel for the place. Unlike some of our previous period wrecks it certainly looks very liveable from what you have shown, so no need to jump in and make what could ultimately be costly mistakes!

Good luck with it and look forward to seeing/hearing more of your continued journey

Mims x

 

[MikeG]

Having had a little look around the old interwebthingy, I'm going to stick my neck out and say firmly that I think you have an Arts and Crafts fireplace there, which means (if it were fitted in your house as an original) that it dates from a little earlier than you thought. Here is a similar example, not as nice as yours:

http://www.westlandlondon.com/antiques/fireplace-period/victorian/detail/12828/summary.asp listed as a "Hornton stone Arts and Crafts chimneypiece, 1920s"

 

[mims&pip]

Having had a little look around the old interwebthingy, I'm going to stick my neck out and say firmly that I think you have an Arts and Crafts fireplace there, which means (if it were fitted in your house as an original) that it dates from a little earlier than you thought. Here is a similar example, not as nice as yours:

http://www.westlandlondon.com/antiques/fireplace-period/victorian/detail/12828/summary.asp listed as a "Hornton stone Arts and Crafts chimneypiece, 1920s"

Mmmm, ours was definitely not as nice as that example, Mike :wink: I need to trawl through my photo library to remind myself though.

Ours was fitted by a previous owner in 1938 when the house was dismantled and rebuilt in a new location. It was hugely out of scale with the double-height, vaulted-ceilinged room......

 

[Lisasutton]

Again I would like to thank everyone for your interest, I am astounded by your responses. To be honest I was a little disillusioned when I first moved in thinking that I had bought a period cottage that I could take back to its former glory, but perhaps couldn't and in just a couple of days have become to realise that I have quite a gem which I have to embrace.

I love the idea of a 'museum' feel and budget willing I aim to get to a point where my house is filled with authentic additions. I have a love of history and a very keen appreciation of all things old which I think is why I am so keen (impatient) to see what is behind all of the 'cover up'. But for now I now have some more specific questions so I think I shall start a thread for those.

Lisa