Age of my property

[LisaMay]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll see what I can do on Monday about finding a Tithe map, may go to the local library and see if there are any records there. One of my best friends in the area is Welsh, and she has offered to help me out with any translations - which may come in handy!

I had to work up the courage to post because everyone here seems so knowledgable, and I know literally nothing about older properties (including my own) so I did feel a little daft making my first post.

I'm in Ceredigion, up in the hills around 18 miles from Aberystwyth. Nearest neighbour is a couple of fields away, which is nice because I love peace and quiet!

The roof - I should have mentioned that last night. It was a very quick job, involving a lot of friends and family - I don't think I could have managed another winter of having buckets and newspaper everywhere. It rains quite a bit here in Ceredigion!

Thanks once again for the advice and for the welcome.

 

[LisaMay]

Another question

I asked one of my neighbours to ask the chap who rented my house years ago, if he knew what was under the concrete floor in the kitchen. My neighbour has asked, and phoned me tonight - apparently, the floor was cobbles (I'm sure that's what he said anyway :wink: ) and the chap that rented it concreted over the cobbles.
I don't know what the best thing to do is - chip away at the concrete and see what really is there, or put something over the top? I'd like things to be as original as possible, although there really aren't that many original features here. I certainly don't mind putting the work in, but is it worth doing it?

My late partner and I bought the place mainly because of the land and the outbuildings, much more room than where we lived before (Olton) we had dogs and horses and needed the room. I've since fallen in love with the little house and would like to do the best I can by it.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Lisa,

If I was you I would be tempted to do some exploration - carefully with a lump hammer and cold chisel. Possibly in a corner. It will be difficult initially, but once you have an "edge" concrete is relatively easy to break up. Would be useful to ask your chap how thick he laid the concrete.

Remember though that cobbles may not be very suitable or comfortable as a kitchen floor. They may also be in a poor condition.

However, I always think it is worth having a go and exploring.

Robin

I've just seen when you joined :shock:

 

[Flyfisher]

If you're lucky, you may find that the concrete has not stuck very firmly to the underlying cobbles and it might be possible to lift and break off quite large slabs at a time. As FW has pointed out, the trick is to get an edge to work with. Concrete is relatively easy to break by forcing it apart (which is what lifting does to the underneath surface) but almost impossible to break by just pummelling it with a big hammer. A long crowbar underneath an edge can work wonders.

However, I do agree with FW about considering what the state of the floor may be before undertaking too much work. Judicious exploration is always tempting but if you already know there are cobbles beneath the concrete I'd recommend thinking about whether you could live with them as a kitchen floor.

I'm in Ceredigion, up in the hills around 18 miles from Aberystwyth.

I spent many teenage summers in that vicinity, on a family friend's farm about 20 miles south of Aberystwyth. Wonderful countryside and happy days.

 

[LisaMay]

Thanks Robin - yes, joined after a few glasses of white wine

I've just been talking to my Dad about the cobbles - he said the same about them possibly being in poor condition and unsuitable as a kitchen floor. I'd really like to see them though. I know this house has never been anything spectacular, but I'm getting more and more fascinated by its history. I'd love to know more about it.

The neighbour I spoke to earlier also mentioned that the front door was originally at the side of the house rather than the front which is interesting - I can't see that the side wall he mentioned has been touched - it's not rendered and the whole wall looks the same. I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. The one I posted last night is worse than useless!

 

[LisaMay]

Thank you Flyfisher and apologies - I haven't figured out how to quote yet.

I'm very tempted to give it a go, the hard work isn't a problem - but the money is, if it makes things more expensive to put right in the end. I'm so happy with my quarry tile living room floor - which took an age to clean. My younger brother was all for me putting something new on top of them, but I stuck to my guns on that one!

It is beautiful up here in the summer, I'm about 8 miles inland from Aberaeron. Winter is not so good - I was snowed in for just over two weeks over Christmas....the neighbours are good with their tractors and 4X4's though, thankfully!

 

[LisaMay]

Here I go again...

Every time I post something, I think of something else I wanted to say!

Windows. My Dad is all for me having double glazing put in this summer - something I'm not too happy about. I don't want to change the outside of the house anymore than it has already been changed. Any ideas?

Also - as I mentioned before, I lived in Olton with my late partner, but was brought up in Solihull - very close to Elmdon Park. You all seem to know quite a lot about very old properties, and my Mum, as a young girl lived in a cottage in Elmdon Park. We've always been interested in the history of the park and Elmdon Hall, so I thought I'd ask, on the off chance, if anyone knew anything about it?

Thnks again, and sorry for all the questions!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I'm very tempted to give it a go, the hard work isn't a problem - but the money is, if it makes things more expensive to put right in the end.

Well, assuming you already have a cold chisel or bolster and a lump hammer, then the only cost I can see would be a bag of ready-mix concrete to replace the bit you expose if you're not happy with the result...

 

[Flyfisher]

Thnks again, and sorry for all the questions!

No need to apologise - the more the merrier!

I had not heard of Elmdon Hall, but this brief article suggests it came to a rather sad end:
http://lh.matthewbeckett.com/houses/lh_warwickshire_elmdonhall.html

I know Aberaeron though. Our friend's farm was in Talgarreg.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Elmdon Hall (google is your friend)
http://lh.matthewbeckett.com/houses/lh_warwickshire_elmdonhall.html

 

[Flyfisher]

Snap! :lol:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Windows. My Dad is all for me having double glazing put in this summer - something I'm not too happy about. I don't want to change the outside of the house anymore than it has already been changed. Any ideas?

It's a tricky one that. Many of us on here equate DG on a level with the devil and politicians. I have gone as far as removing a couple of modern wood DG windows and replacing with nice wooden SG sliding Yorkshire sashes (shh don't tell building control!).

Whether DG is right for you will depend upon a variety of factors. On the assumption your cottage isn't listed, you might want to ask yourself:

a) is the look of the house likely to be affected and can you live with that change?

b) Is the house cold? Are your windows in poor repair? Can the windows be made more secure/draught-proof? Can they be secondary glazed? If the rest of the house is warm and insulated, then the change from SG to DG with what appear to be your small windows will probably not make a significant difference to warmth.

c) Can you afford DG? would you rather spend the money elsewhere?

DG is not a maintenance free, everlasting panacea uPVC comapnies would have you believe.

NB - I am not an expert and prone to ramble. Others more expert will be along shortly. Let's just whistle until they do... 8)

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Elmdon Hall (google is your friend)
http://lh.matthewbeckett.com/houses/lh_warwickshire_elmdonhall.html

What a handsome house - and what a shame it is lost.

Something like that would be just perfect for the FamilyWiggs

 

[LisaMay]

Thanks all. I'm still trying to pronounce 'obfuscatory sesquipedalianism' after a couple of glasses of the dry white stuff it doesn't seem to come out quite right

Off to look at the links now.

Talgarreg is a lovely area.

I was aware that Elmdon Hall had come to a sad end. Shame. A chap who lived near there wrote a book on its history which I have somewhere. There's an old ice house there which was always fascinating to any children that went to the park. The old Rectory is still there too. I love the place and the church yard is beautiful. Eeek, I'm talking too much again.

 

[Flyfisher]

Windows. My Dad is all for me having double glazing put in this summer - something I'm not too happy about. I don't want to change the outside of the house anymore than it has already been changed. Any ideas?

You seem to have good instincts when it comes to looking after your house and your Dad clearly has the best interests of his daughter at heart.

If the existing windows are in good condition then I would also not be happy to change them. I would go with FW's suggestion of secondary DG, in the hope that all parties (including the house!) would be happy.

 

[LisaMay]

Windows. My Dad is all for me having double glazing put in this summer - something I'm not too happy about. I don't want to change the outside of the house anymore than it has already been changed. Any ideas?

It's a tricky one that. Many of us on here equate DG on a level with the devil and politicians. I have gone as far as removing a couple of modern wood DG windows and replacing with nice wooden SG sliding Yorkshire sashes (shh don't tell building control!).

Whether DG is right for you will depend upon a variety of factors. On the assumption your cottage isn't listed, you might want to ask yourself:

a) is the look of the house likely to be affected and can you live with that change?

b) Is the house cold? Are your windows in poor repair? Can the windows be made more secure/draught-proof? Can they be secondary glazed? If the rest of the house is warm and insulated, then the change from SG to DG with what appear to be your small windows will probably not make a significant difference to warmth.

c) Can you afford DG? would you rather spend the money elsewhere?

DG is not a maintenance free, everlasting panacea uPVC comapnies would have you believe.

NB - I am not an expert and prone to ramble. Others more expert will be along shortly. Let's just whistle until they do... 8)

Yes, I think the look of the house will be changed - and I really don't want it to change.
I can live with the draught - I actually like it (am I weird?) The house isn't too big, as you can see. In the small living room, there is an open fire, and in the large one a multi fuel one in the inglenook (I burn coal and wood on it) There's no other kind of heating in the house, but those two fires keep it warm enough for me. I think it's too warm mostly, but my parents, when they come to stay, don't think it's warm enough.

I'll definitely post some more photos tomorrow. of the inside as well as out.

 

[LisaMay]

Windows. My Dad is all for me having double glazing put in this summer - something I'm not too happy about. I don't want to change the outside of the house anymore than it has already been changed. Any ideas?

You seem to have good instincts when it comes to looking after your house and your Dad clearly has the best interests of his daughter at heart.

If the existing windows are in good condition then I would also not be happy to change them. I would go with FW's suggestion of secondary DG, in the hope that all parties (including the house!) would be happy.

What a lovely thing to say Flyfisher. Honestly, I'm at a complete loss when it comes to most of it, though I really do love the place. My Dad is an angel and just wants me to be warm enough during the winter. He worries too much, probably because he's so far away (Still in Solihull)

 

[Alex]

Hello LisaMay,

have you had a look at your County Councils website, its pretty good (much better than ours here). They even have photo's of a few old houses, cottages and farms, your place could be one of them. Try your local history society or have a day out at the National Library in Aberystwyth, I keep meaning to go there myself but its quite a way from here, you could ring first and check what they have got.

Good luck, Alex.

 

[LisaMay]

Alex,

Thanks.

I haven't looked at the website (will do), but I am planning on going to Aberystwyth Library on Monday to see what I can find out. I'm rather looking forward to it!

Lisa

 

[Alex]

I hope you find something out, it really annoys me that we dont know how old our place is, so I know how you feel. You could also try the National Librarys website, I think they have something called COFLEN (Im sure I have got that spelling wrong but the COFL bit is right ), its a list of historic property's in all parts of Wales. We're not on there, when they did the church next door and the cottages the other side of that, I think the surveyor must have been confused with our UPVC windows and concrete overcoat and presumed it not worthy of a mention .
Let us all know how you get on,

Alex