Knockdown or Renovate?

[DJH]

Save those pennies then Joce. You might get me out of retirement yet! Thinking about it I might swap you a roof for a new hip.

Doug

 

[MatthewC]

Another vote for demolition (assuming there are no planning/conservation constraints), but I can't suggest a good style for the new one. Nothing on the current one matches the main house, and you certainly need a permanent solution to the ground level issue.

Best of luck!

Matthew

 

[DJH]

I agree with Lime. Half covering the wall tie with the roof is untidy. Perhaps a single pitch roof might give more options for the layout below leaving a pitched ceiling and would conceal the tie completely. A bit like mine I suppose. I don't think plaster board on the inside should be a no no but have timber panelling such as TVG up about one third of the height to take wear and tear from any accidental knocks.

Doug

 

[Flyfisher]

Verandah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verandah

Yes, I suppose so, although I've always thought of verandahs as having solid roofs, like those in that wiki article.

I think the canopy at Sunnycroft is neither original nor flattering and it looks to me like they had a visit from a high pressure cast-iron glazing salesman with a special offer if they signed that day. If it was post-1888 they may even have got a free Parker pen.

[/quote]

Which just goes to show that these things are in the eye of the beholder. :wink:

The Sunnycroft website states that "Sunnycroft is one of the very few villas to have survived, with a mini estate and largely unaltered contents and decoration.". The website doesn't seem to say anything about the verandah, but its design does bear a very close resemblance to the greenhouse glasswork shown in the photos, so perhaps it is original?
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sunnycroft/

 

[mattice]

A conundrum indeed! Thank you for all of the discussion so far.

We would like to keep a porch, almost the entirety of downstairs is slate floor which is a nightmare to keep clean and the layout means we're limited in our solutions for muddy boots etc. The back door is quite out of reach for day to day use.

The tie beam end has various layers of sealant around it and interestingly it seems the previous porch was box like as there are remnants of a previous lead flashing. Lime - there are many other abuses of this property that I may visit here with in the future!

Probing around the footings a bit more today confirms there's little there, and given issues with the ground level I'm certainly in the rebuild territory. We have a three inch step into the house from the porch so there's scope to lift the height. Longer term we'll need to lower the level of the tarmac drive but I've got no problems at the moment so it'll do for now.

Penners - thanks for your view - we spent some time sat in the car on the drive this afternoon just looking, and thought a design with wider glazing and a door at the front may be an improvement. Yes the porch is on the front elevation and in full sight of the length of the village road We have no conservation constraints, however I suspect a rebuild will require planning as it's over the 3m2 limit. I'll make some enquiries.

Thanks again.

M

 

[Feltwell]

Which just goes to show that these things are in the eye of the beholder.

Indeed. I rather like it, but each to their own.

Digging out the guide book, Sunnycroft was built in 1880 and was heavily extended in 1899 - what you see now, both inside and out, is pretty much unchanged since then. The extension was partly on the side in the pictures with the verandah - however, in the book a picture from 1895 clearly shows a section of the verandah which matches what is there now. Therefore, it's not unreasonable to conclude that the verandah was put on either when the house was built or very shortly after, and was modified and extended when the house was extended.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Plastic pigeon's porch is attractive, I like that style very much, but not at all in keeping with mattice's house. It's a style that Osbert Lancaster dubbed "Stockbroker Tudor " and it mushroomed in suburban fringes in the 20s/30s.

It's from a trade catalogue printed in 1900. I was illustrating my preference for less substantial designs than the one Mattice has at the moment. I love those porches and Verandas in the link.

 

[Penners]

a design with wider glazing and a door at the front may be an improvement.

You may find yourself with a conflict between aesthetics and practicality. The bigger the windows, the less space you will have for coat pegs, shelves and suchlike. I don't think we have ever lived in a house that's truly had sufficient coat hanging space - we've always ended up with great bundles of overcoats, anoraks, etc. hanging from each peg. And of course the garment you want is always the one at the bottom, all scrunched up from the weight of the others on top of it.

Does that sound like a familiar situation to anyone?

 

[DJH]

Yep, spot on Penners and there's always a coat with a broken tag in it that falls to the ground when you try to take out the coat you want which is always the one beneath... :x

Doug

PS Good afternoon your Ladyship. I see you are browsing.

 

[LadyArowana]

PS Good afternoon your Ladyship. I see you are browsing.

Shhhhh, I'm supposed to be paying rapt attention to the Chelsea v Man U game, Chelski just scored....... His Lordship not happy.

 

[Penners]

 

[LadyArowana]

Exactly, and it's all over and very disappointing.

 

[andrew gayton]

In my humble opinion, post primary build porches on the principal facade are usually a disaster. Someone show me a good one please.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Plas Brondanw? Which I believe Clough used to prop the whole structure up. But I agree with you.

 

[andrew gayton]

ok.......................... maybe that post build 'porch' is slightly different to the vast majority of domestic situations!

Saying that, perhaps it is best described as an 'advanced bay' rather than a porch ;-]

 

[JoceAndChris]

I humbly give in to your superior knowledge Andrew!

 

[mattice]

As mentioned in another thread, we're procrastinating.. sorry continuing our research for a design for the new porch. The son of the gent who rescued the house from a demolition order kindly sent us a picture of the porch in the 1960's. He commented that he couldn't believe the house was still standing as his father was entirely self taught. He also thoroughly recommended the demolition of the porch

He rebuilt a lot of the walls, and sorted the roof out. He gave us some fantastic background on where the drains go, construction of the septic tank, what's under random concrete slabs, and recently what he did with the Chimney! The original staircase was apparently a spiral staircase, long since gone.

I'll drop an update once we start forming a plan!

 

[Penners]

we're procrastinating..

Mattice, you really need to mug up on your PPUK vocabulary. There's no such word as "procrastinating" - there's only "assessing". And taking time to assess a project involves copious quantities of tea/coffee and Kit-Kats.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Hello Mattice

I looked more carefully at the porch on the house on the way to work. It is not quite as nice as I thought, as I pass it at 60mph normally, but the general form I like. and it is enclosed without looking like too much of a carbuncle. I think it is the door that lets it down. Now I'm no expert on this type of architecture, living in a Victorian/Edwardian city, but I'm guessing the house is early 19th century and the porch late 19th century perhaps. Others will lambast me if I've got this wrong I'm sure. However I think it is quite attractive.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=na...=0Hduo6KTYJbOQmlyaPEMFQ&cbp=12,97.68,,0,10.42

 

[Zebra]

Hmmm, can't see any brickwork on that 60s photo, but it looks like it might be the same roof. Do you assume that it is the same porch, just clad since the 60s and the door moved, or do you think that it has been knocked down and rebuilt since? In which case even more of an argument to get rid of it, if it is as recent as that.
I think you should just go and have a tentative poke about with a crowbar until "Oh look, it's fallen down"