new member

[amandag38]

hi everyone
i have been visiting the forum for some time now, and have finally decided to join, to introduce myself, my name is amanda, married to anthony, with 3 mastiffs, molly, murphy,& cleo, 1 cat Peter.
We have just moved from Manchester to essex and absolutely love it we have bought a 16c grade 11 thatched cottage, that requires restoration, so as you can imagine reading your posts have been extremely helpful in guiding us through the process of work. we moved in october so are just at the designing stage, we have employed an experience architect to draw plans for work needed, plus extending,
We have never lived in an historic house and have absolutely no experience of this type of house, we had done some sole plate work done but didnt need LBC as it was a like for like repair, so the CO said :?

I will no doubt have loads of questions to ask, but these I will leave for another time, but just one little one :lol: when other people have just started out did they ever get overwhelmed at the amount of work that needed doing, and praying that their budget would hold out, and how they would live without a toilet and bath!! see im off :shock:

Dont get me wrong we go around touching the beams and loving each one despite most of them being full of woodworm and rot, but i sometimes think god what have we done :?

look forward to hearing all yor advice, would love to post a picture but cant because im useless on computers

 

[Cloudscape]

Hi, Amanda. So I'm not the only one kept at wake at night, wondering what on earth I have got myself into. :lol: I alternate between hugging timbers and wondering how some of them stay in place. Years ago, I wouldn't have touched a house (or even a piece of furniture) if I had seen one worm hole in it. Now I have a house with thousands of worm holes.

What's a budget? We just have a big pit we're intending to throw money into. :shock: :wink:

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Hi Amanda

Welcome to PPUK. Enjoy your house and don't worry too much about the budget, all will be well worth it !

 

[CHRIS]

shhhsh lets keep Essex to ourselves!

 

[Schoolmarm]

Live there awhile before jumping in and doing anything. You might not need or want to do much.

 

[Nemesis]

Join SPAB and go on one of the Homeowner's courses before doing anything much else:

http://www.spab.org.uk


A little time spent there might help avoid costly mistakes!


http://www.spab.org.uk/html/media-centre/press-releases/press-release/BookingNowLondonHomeownersWeekendCourseFeb23.html?ContentID=75


http://www.spab.org.uk/html/education-training/courses-for-homeowners/

 

[MdB]

Read up as much as you can before doing anything. Ignore what most builders say about the best way of doing things and read the damp FAQ.

(oh an multiply your budget by at least 3)

 

[skier-hughes]

I'd second lots of the above points.
We lived in our house for a year before we started on any real work.
SPAB is an axcellent organisation to join, superb friendly advice.

Not sure about the x costs by 3 bit, I'd say by 5 or 10 or 20 or...... Oh my god!!!!!!!!!

We've been without a proper kitchen for over 12 months, but work progresses slowly and carefully and we hare happy with that. We intend to live here for as long as we can, so 2 years for a kitchen compared to 30/40/50 years enjoying it, nothing is it.

We'd not swap out home for anything.

Relax, enjoy it for a bit and then enjoy the working on it.

Graham

 

[amandag38]

thanks everyone for your comments, anthony is planning to go onto a lime plaster course in the new year, so hopefully we might be able to save a few pounds there :? In the past we have bought houses that have required lots of work but they wernt historical, its funny because i always felt safe to demolish walls and such in brick houses, now im petrified if i touch a beam the place will collapse, it amazes me that these houses have stood for hundreds of years, and the relatively simple build design, we have beams that are no longer in the wall (its bowed) yet the house is still standing and has been lived in forever :shock:
Normally we would have steamed in and started doing work, but obviously because of the constraints of the process we are having to just wait, so it is a good thing,
We have played around with kling strip on some of the beams with fantastic results, but otherwise we are sitting on our hands.

 

[Nemesis]

Before playing around with any more Kling Strip, you might just consider the fact you could be removing historic paint also.

Talk to the CO before doing anything!

This is a useful book as an introduction:

Title:Old House Care and Repair
Author:Janet Collings
Details:Hardcover - 208 pages (September 2002)
Publisheronhead; ISBN: 1873394616
This title should help owners, builders and all construction professionals make the decisions that are right for old buildings. It illustrates the long term benefits of using more traditional solutions on older houses rather than modern materials like cement based mortars, sealants or impervious paints. It offers practical guidance on: how to get the right professional advice; legal requirements for listed buildings; problems with damp and rot; use of lime mortars, plasters and renders; the benefits of using water based paints; why old buildings need to breathe; planning applications; and trees, outbuildings and gardens.

Available from a number of places, including via this site.

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/ppuk_books_general.shtml

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/ppuk_books_timberframe.shtml


The SPAB has a number of very good advice sheets and publications which are well worth getting before you start.

http://www.spab.org.uk/html/advice/


I hope the architect is one with conservation skills and expertise!

 

[Flyfisher]

(oh an multiply your budget by at least 3)

or apply the same rule if you're doing work yourself!

I agree with Skier; relax into the place, learn to live with the 'lumps and bumps' for a while and don't rush into things.

(Unless you're a developer aiming to do a rushed makeover in order to sell for a quick profit - in which case I'd keep your head down around here!)

 

[Nemesis]

And here's Jon's ongoing labour of love for inspiration:

http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/index.htm

 

[middi]

Relax, absolutely nothing wrong with what you are trying to do.
Be positive, you will not regret it.

( it is not your fault that you have become mentally deficient like the rest of us for the love of old buildings)

 

[amandag38]

hi thanks again,

when we were in the process of buying the house we asked the CO to accompany us on a second viewing, one of the main reasons being that there is no staircase to access half of the house it was done via ladder, so obviously this was our main concern, hence why we need to extend, to provide access through the thatch (her idea) she advised us to strip the beams and with kling strip, most of the latest work was done in the 60s ie current single storey extension, painting beams brown, etc, which the CO was happy for us to get rid of.
I have heard alot of people say keep the CO out but I have to say she was very helpful in fact it was her ideas that swayed us into buying the house, plus the fact that fell in love with it, still cant get over the peace and quiet :lol: when I say we lived on the hard shoulder of the M60 im not exgerating (sorry for the spelling)
as for the budget well im now really depressed
oh and ive joined LPOC and Thatched owner group,

 

[Nemesis]

Join SPAB! Much more use than LPOC (IMHO...)

 

[Penners]

i always felt safe to demolish walls and such in brick houses, now im petrified if i touch a beam the place will collapse.

I think you've got that principle the wrong way round!

Timberframe houses are much more forgiving of movement and adjustment than masonry. They can flex and re-align themselves to accommodate ground movement when a masonry house would have developed serious cracks.

However, let's hope that you never have cause to prove or disprove the above.

By the way, have you been told about the smiley rationing on this forum? We're all allocated a specific number of smileys per year. Your new allocation should arrive sometime in 2009.

Just teasing!

 

[Moo]

Penners, I'm surprised at you !

 

[amandag38]

Thanks for that Penners ooops finger slipped 8)

 

[skier-hughes]

Thanks for that Penners ooops finger slipped 8)

I can see you will fit in well round here, you've got Penner's sorted already !!

Another suggestion I'd make is go and look at other peoples old houses, we did, and some of your major problems appear to be minor niggles when you see how other houses have been lived in for years with no hassle.

Graham

 

[Penners]

Thanks for that Penners ooops finger slipped 8)

Right - that's it. You're on my list now.