Blog of interest to anyone restoring a cement rendered house

[stuwlam]

Oh no, keep posting! Apart from anything else I'm relying on you for future recommendations for good Salopian tradesmen! :wink:

Did you get anywhere with the paint removal gunk from Strippers of Sudbury?

Thanks Feltwell! We got a sample bottle of Solvistrtip which seems to have worked pretty well. Thanks for the tip! The main contractor got some delivered last week and they're going to use it on the red masonry paint. I'm a bit nervous about our newly painted windows but theyre aware those need protection :shock: I'll stick some photos on the blog when they do the job.

 

[stuwlam]

Apart from anything else I'm relying on you for future recommendations for good Salopian tradesmen! :wink:

It'll be a pleasure, all the guys working on our project are so skilled - I'm in awe of their abilities. Carpenter, brickies, mason, plasterer - all come highly recommended by me.

 

[stuwlam]

I'm really quite in awe of your rate of progress Stuwlam, and your calm control of the situation, if you are an amateur restorer and not a professional.
Where are your panicked cries for help?! :wink:
If I had a blog, it would read "week 165, fixed a couple more insulation boards in the living room, thought some more about doors."

Ha ha Zebra, that made me smile! I'm definitely an amateur in the restoration game and my only contribution has been chiselling off render......oh yes and paying the invoices! I have a work background which involves a certain amount of project management so I suppose that's helped me keep the plates spinning and avoid (outward) displays of panic. But undoubtedly the biggest plus on this project has been finding a superb main contractor in http://www.phillipsandcurry.co.uk with whom we've built a great working relationship. They are truly a pleasure to work with.

 

[Feltwell]

It'll be a pleasure, all the guys working on our project are so skilled - I'm in awe of their abilities. Carpenter, brickies, mason, plasterer - all come highly recommended by me.

Just make sure you keep a good record of contact details!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Yes, please keep names, you are not too far, perhaps some of them will venture into Birmingham

 

[JoceAndChris]

Phillips and Curry look great - you're lucky to have got them on board! And well done on all the terrific work, it really is inspirational. My blog would also read "Week 260 - thought about insulation - hung some pictures". Keep coming with the posts as people don't always have time to read the blog.

 

[plasticpigeon]

My blog would read week 100, still fixing stuff that I paid someone else to do badly.

 

[stuwlam]

Hi all. Thanks all for all the encouraging feedback. I'm glad to know that this is of use to people. It started purely as a personal record of what we were doing with this old house but I soon noticed that it might be useful for others. We are heading towards 10,000 hits on the Blog which staggers me(I think only about 3000 of those are my mum trying to figure out how to use the internet :lol: ). I'm certainly keeping a good record of contact details for all the trades who are working/have worked on the project, not least in case I want any of them back to do little jobs in the future. We have a small 17th century barn beside the house which I would love to restore but as I've told Phillips & Curry that will have to be a "Lottery Funded Project" :wink: ! The guys working on the house are also following the Blog and I know they will be very happy to get enquiries from people interested in using their skills - these guys are certainly not bodgers and I am very happy to recommend them. PP, I think they may well be tempted into Brum - I know that at least one of the brickies and the mason we used certainly do work in other parts of the country, even though they are based in mid Wales and Shrewsbury respectively. The other guys are Oswestry based but again they may travel within reason if the work warrants the journey.

Thanks again for all the kind comments.

 

[stuwlam]

Another week, another update...... This week we've finished off the windows with the fitting of the timber arches and the kitchen chimney breast has been repaired. We've aslso had a little bit of frost so there's been a lot of Hessian used to protect some repointing on the roof verges. You can read more and see what's been going on here....http://oldlawnsrenovate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-restoration-week-16.html

 

[Zebra]

That looks like an excellent repair on the chimney breast. The dog seems to like it anyway, and dogs are very particular about good brickwork. (I hope I haven't just insulted your cat....)

 

[stuwlam]

That looks like an excellent repair on the chimney breast. The dog seems to like it anyway, and dogs are very particular about good brickwork. (I hope I haven't just insulted your cat....)

Lol!! No offence, that IS our very small dog - the cats are bigger :lol: and yes its a nice repair - great brickie!

 

[stuwlam]

We can almost see the finishing line....... almost! A little later than usual here's the update from last week. Bespoke, kiln dried oak cill boards being made and fitted, more brick repairs and repointing plus other bits 'n bobs. Methinks its time to make a list of all those little jobs which might be forgotten and need finishing off before the builders disappear!! http://oldlawnsrenovate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-restoration-week-eighteen.html

 

[stuwlam]

This week was mainly about restoring the two chimney stacks to their former glory. By the end of next week the majority of the work should be done, so I'm seriously hoping that another two weekly updates after this one will see our project complete, apart from the limewashing next spring. http://oldlawnsrenovate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-restoration-week-eighteen_8.html

 

[MatthewC]

By the end of next week the majority of the work should be done, so I'm seriously hoping that another two weekly updates after this one will see our project complete, apart from the limewashing next spring.

Hang on, this is all a bit quick. Those of us who have taken three years (in my case) or more (I'm sure there'll be a competition on that!) were all pretty happy with living in our unfinished properties and then you come along and do it all in 18 weeks? Surely one maxim is that the work on an older property is NEVER finished because you have to do things again? (See http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/doing-things-again.html for the first things that I had to do again... sigh)

Give us a break, please. If t'other half saw your post she would never again believe a word I said! :lol:

 

[stuart45]

Good to see the pots built into the stacks, and not held by the flaunching alone.

 

[stuwlam]

Hang on, this is all a bit quick. Those of us who have taken three years (in my case) or more (I'm sure there'll be a competition on that!) were all pretty happy with living in our unfinished properties and then you come along and do it all in 18 weeks? Surely one maxim is that the work on an older property is NEVER finished because you have to do things again? (See http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/doing-things-again.html for the first things that I had to do again... sigh)

Give us a break, please. If t'other half saw your post she would never again believe a word I said! :lol:

Ha ha, sorry Matthew. Of course "finished" is a euphemism in these old houses - its only the current phase of repair which is "finished". Actually we've not been as quick as it seems - we've lived here with damp walls, peeling paint etc for 19 years, raised 3 kids, etc and only now got together the finance to pay experts to tackle this project which is way beyond my capabilities - I can redesign and lay out the garden but when it comes to building I know my limits! Also, 18 weeks is only the time since the builders set foot on site - I took the lump hammer and chisel to the first bit of cement render over 13 months ago - so please don't be too upset with me - I share and feel your pain :0)

 

[MatthewC]

Thanks Stuwlam, it's a relief to know that you are in the same boat as us really. Mind you, I think 19 years living in a place before STARTING any work is perhaps a record? I'm glad that we decided to do work first and then move in after 8 months - I reckon if we had moved in first then we'd still be plastering (or I'd be divorced!).

 

[Zebra]

19 years? I feel much better now.

 

[stuwlam]

Matthew/zebra happy to have reassured you - got a bit of a shock today when the roofer arrived, stripped 6 rows of tiles along the eaves above our big stone wall and asked me to join him on the scaffold with my eyes shut What awaited me was an oak wall plate rotted to a thin stick and several rafters with badly rotted ends!!! All of this was the result of tiles not overhanging the gutter for a few decades and happily dispatching rain into the top of the wall. Gladly both roofer and carpenter were totally unphased by this sight (unlike me!) and simply called the local reclamation yard to order a lump of oak to be fitted tomorrow along with new ends to be spliced onto the rafters - I'm so lucky to have such skilled guys on the project. Photos later in this weeks blog.

 

[Zebra]

Yikes. Glad it's getting sorted.