Hello from the (apparently) sunny isle of Guernsey!
I’ve signed up here as I’m in the process of buying a late 19th century listed, semi-detached property which is in need of a bit of TLC. The homebuyers survey I had commissioned (I checked that the surveyor had suitable experience in older properties first!) has highlighted a couple of issues that I need to try and resolve fairly quickly (also a condition of the mortgage) as follows.
First of all are the gutters, these are wooden gutters integral to the roof structure/top of the wall (not quite sure on the exact construction at the moment) which need re-lining. I’m torn between doing a gleaming job in something like copper or using one of the rubber membranes you can buy (EBRD?). As you’ll only be able to see the lining from the dormers in the attic rooms I think rubber, although not exactly period, is going to be the better choice – the product I’ve found suggests it will last for 50 years, which would be nice if even 50% true!
Second, the exterior needs some patch repairs to the render (not sure whether this is cement or lime) and redecorating. There is some evidence of historic damp in the house (blown sections of plaster etc.) but nothing looks, feels or smells particularly damp (except the floor joists on the ground floor – see below) so I believe that even if it is cement and a modern paint that renewing with the same shouldn’t prove too problematic? If it makes a difference the walls are of granite rubble construction (probably a few red bricks thrown in here and there as well) and are somewhere between 12-18 inches thick.
As mentioned, the floor joists under the living room floor are showing to be slightly damp – I think this could be a combination of the house not having been lived in for a few months, a lack of air bricks ventilating the under floor cavity and the chimney not having been capped off properly even though the fireplace has been removed (the floor joists run into this wall). So, my plan here was reveal the original floorboards which are currently covered by laminate flooring, open up the fireplace and have a fire installed so that the chimney breast can breathe again and monitor the situation. There is some limited ventilation of the floor void into the basement and out the back of the house so hopefully the combination of the above will prove sufficient. The basement area which is accessible (under the hallway and dining room) is cement rendered so may be contributing to the problem.
Otherwise, there are a lot of patch repairs to plaster, rewiring and redecorating that need to be done, as well as trying to straighten/replace a couple of twisted doors and warped floorboards, so we’re going to be living in bit of a building site for a while. Although I’m an accountant by profession this isn’t the first house I’ve renovated so am quite looking forward to getting my hands dirty again!
There’s also a lean to on the rear of the house (added c. 1900) which has been converted to a shower room, sun room, study and garden room during the 1980’s with little sympathy – there are clear plastic corrugated and concrete asbestos sheets over the roof, some rough flashing added to try and seal the join with the wall and the whole thing has subsided slightly making the structure look rather exhausted, as well as creating an interesting slant on the tiled floor! Not quite sure what I’m going to try, or indeed be allowed, to do with this yet. I think I may also need a few years to brace myself for the cost of doing anything!
Going to court in December to buy the house (we have a very antiquated legal system over here) so I’m afraid it will be a while until the obligatory interior photo’s make their way onto here, although here’s one of the frontage from the estate agents details. Looking forward to the challenges and will update as we go along!
I’ve signed up here as I’m in the process of buying a late 19th century listed, semi-detached property which is in need of a bit of TLC. The homebuyers survey I had commissioned (I checked that the surveyor had suitable experience in older properties first!) has highlighted a couple of issues that I need to try and resolve fairly quickly (also a condition of the mortgage) as follows.
First of all are the gutters, these are wooden gutters integral to the roof structure/top of the wall (not quite sure on the exact construction at the moment) which need re-lining. I’m torn between doing a gleaming job in something like copper or using one of the rubber membranes you can buy (EBRD?). As you’ll only be able to see the lining from the dormers in the attic rooms I think rubber, although not exactly period, is going to be the better choice – the product I’ve found suggests it will last for 50 years, which would be nice if even 50% true!
Second, the exterior needs some patch repairs to the render (not sure whether this is cement or lime) and redecorating. There is some evidence of historic damp in the house (blown sections of plaster etc.) but nothing looks, feels or smells particularly damp (except the floor joists on the ground floor – see below) so I believe that even if it is cement and a modern paint that renewing with the same shouldn’t prove too problematic? If it makes a difference the walls are of granite rubble construction (probably a few red bricks thrown in here and there as well) and are somewhere between 12-18 inches thick.
As mentioned, the floor joists under the living room floor are showing to be slightly damp – I think this could be a combination of the house not having been lived in for a few months, a lack of air bricks ventilating the under floor cavity and the chimney not having been capped off properly even though the fireplace has been removed (the floor joists run into this wall). So, my plan here was reveal the original floorboards which are currently covered by laminate flooring, open up the fireplace and have a fire installed so that the chimney breast can breathe again and monitor the situation. There is some limited ventilation of the floor void into the basement and out the back of the house so hopefully the combination of the above will prove sufficient. The basement area which is accessible (under the hallway and dining room) is cement rendered so may be contributing to the problem.
Otherwise, there are a lot of patch repairs to plaster, rewiring and redecorating that need to be done, as well as trying to straighten/replace a couple of twisted doors and warped floorboards, so we’re going to be living in bit of a building site for a while. Although I’m an accountant by profession this isn’t the first house I’ve renovated so am quite looking forward to getting my hands dirty again!
There’s also a lean to on the rear of the house (added c. 1900) which has been converted to a shower room, sun room, study and garden room during the 1980’s with little sympathy – there are clear plastic corrugated and concrete asbestos sheets over the roof, some rough flashing added to try and seal the join with the wall and the whole thing has subsided slightly making the structure look rather exhausted, as well as creating an interesting slant on the tiled floor! Not quite sure what I’m going to try, or indeed be allowed, to do with this yet. I think I may also need a few years to brace myself for the cost of doing anything!
Going to court in December to buy the house (we have a very antiquated legal system over here) so I’m afraid it will be a while until the obligatory interior photo’s make their way onto here, although here’s one of the frontage from the estate agents details. Looking forward to the challenges and will update as we go along!