Help - damage to timber in base of wall, wall not stable. Wattle and daub (18C)

[dove]

Hello,

We're very serious about buying an 18th century wattle and daub Grade II listed building, but it appears to have a major problem in one structural wall. We're new to this and would appreciate advice!

On the outer wall, the render has fallen away exposing the wattle and daub, and as you can see from the below photo, the timber is badly rotted. Perhaps it is likely the entire frame needs to be replaced?

This is a listed (Grade II) property, loved by its previous owners, and we have seen no evidence of inappropriate materials (cement etc), so that seems a good sign. But this is a structural wall (one of four). The wall appears to have moved slightly from the vertical (1cm or so), to the outside. The floors slope very slightly to this side also. So we assume the structure is failing to hold because of this damage. It has been unoccupied for approx 1 months.

Can anyone advise on what this could potentially take to repair, please? Worst case scenarios are more than welcome. We have requested a full structural survey but would be grateful for any insights into the process, costs and possible issues further down the line.

We love this house but want to be prepared for whatever is needed.

Many thanks!

 

[dove]

Sorry - that should read 18 months!!

 

[TudorCottage]

From the picture it would appear the sole plate has disintegrated completely from that section.

I think you should try and get a timber frame specialist to take a look rather than have a survey. If other sections of the frame are as bad you would be looking at a hefty bill to rectify.

That said if it is reflected in the asking price and you’re up for the challenge?

 

[dove]

From the picture it would appear the sole plate has disintegrated completely from that section.

I think you should try and get a timber frame specialist to take a look rather than have a survey. If other sections of the frame are as bad you would be looking at a hefty bill to rectify.

That said if it is reflected in the asking price and you’re up for the challenge?

Thanks! This is really helpful. A timber frame specialist sounds like a good call and we will try to find one.

I realise this isn't a straightforward question at all, but assuming the sole plate needs replacing, and perhaps even the entire wall (approx 14' x 18') what's the range of hefty bill we should be bracing ourselves for - 10k? 50k?

 

[TudorCottage]

This is a complete guesstimate from a complete amateur but I would think it would be closer to the £50k than the £10k. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that section of the frame is in poor condition and if other sections are in a similar state you will need deep pockets.

Better to spend a few hundred quid now getting it looked at by a professional rather than let the heart lead the head.

 

[dove]

This is a complete guesstimate from a complete amateur but I would think it would be closer to the £50k than the £10k. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that section of the frame is in poor condition and if other sections are in a similar state you will need deep pockets.

Better to spend a few hundred quid now getting it looked at by a professional rather than let the heart lead the head.

Thanks, this is so helpful and we will definitely get a professional to look at it.. we'd love to be the long term 'caretakers' of this particular building (honestly everything else about it is 100% perfect - and to some extent the state is reflected in the asking price) but it may well depend on the depth of our pockets in the end.

 

[jamest]

From my own (admittedly limited) experience of historic timber framed properties (I've owned two), it's the sole plates that tend to be the most vulnerable members of the frame, assuming that the rest of the house has been kept in a reasonable state of repair (.e., no long term roof leaks or the like). They are close to the ground (and hence likely to get damp from below and get splashed on when it rains) and they are horizonal and so more likely to get moisture on any exposed horizontal surface. Water also gets into the mortices for the stud and post tenons and causes rot. What you get eventually is a completely rotted sole plate. In my part of the country, there are a lot of 16th and 17th century timber framed buildings still standing, it's extremely rare to see intact original sole plates - they are often missing entirely and the plinth has simply been built up to the base of the remaining posts and studs. The possibly good news in all of this is (1) if the sole plate has rotted, the rest of the frame may still be in reasonably good condition and (2) timber framers are pretty good at replacing sole plates with minimal (if that's the right word) disruption. Given that the house is listed, I don't think that the CO would allow you to do the traditional 'build up the plinth to the base of the remaining studs and posts with brick' as that wouldn't count as a like for like repair! The bad news is that it can be very hard to find a timber framer who isn't booked out for the next couple of years. However, I suspect that the house won't be falling down any time soon - there's a cottage across the road from me that has been standing up perfectly well for years, probably decades, despite having damp brown mush where its sole plate once was!