Old house, drains, specialists and stones! PHOTOS added

[MdB]

Leave the wall built into the hillside unless you have damp problems there and if you do, removing the cement may not be the best solution. The other side of the wall is likely to be very damp and the cement may be all that is stopping it coming straight through the wall. Walls made of mud or wood don't like being wet but stone walls are generally happy.

The solution of course is to dig out the hillside behind the wall but this may not be possible. You may need to look at a dry lining solution / tanking solution.

 

[Alex]

Hello and welcome. We are currently removing cement from the inside but we are lucky, we can use a Makita drill with a chiesel attachment. It doesn't damage the stone here at all, if we do hit a stone it just sparks but it does make the job so much easier to do. Maybe you could try it somewhere where it wouldn't be noticed if you did damage a stone. I'm definetly not suggesting you try it on the front of your house.

Good luck

Alex

 

[Smithtrae]

Hello again,

As a follow on... it seems our little cottage is too small for most people to want to travel to! Trying to find a joiner in north somerset or bristol to repair the staircase and a couple of the beams but so far...no luck. Just asked SPAR if they have a list but i suspect again that most will only be interested in bigger jobs.
Was Hopefully of J Leyzell and Sons but no luck. It is true its only a small job but is there anyone out there in our area that anyone knows?
Im not sure I fancy trying my hand at woodwork as well!!! :lol:

Alex... we are going to get a Makita with chisel anyway as there is a concreted area in the front room we need to remove (over the old flags...eek) so thats good, we might try that in a small area and see what it does. Thanks for the reply, its great to know you have had success with it in the same situation as we have.
I do wonder if being built into bedrock at the back is better that being built into soil as I guess bedrock would hold less water and help the house breath better. We are still not sure what to do with the back wall but first we need to get everything ship shape for the winter and keep it warm and dry as Matt said to keep the beetle away!

 

[Alex]

Are you still looking for a joiner/carpenter ? I will ask my sister who lives in Nailsea and see who she uses and get back to you.

Alex

 

[AMc]

If you're "rural" then you may find there is a network of local tradespeople who don't advertise. One of our local builders has been going 20 years and only gets jobs on referral from his existing customers, he doesn't even have a number on his van. If you still have one ask in your local shop and local pub, if your neighbours have older houses a knock on the door to introduce yourself and pick their brains for who they've used - and who to avoid!

 

[Smithtrae]

Thanks Alex and AMc, hopefully we have found someone now and, as you said, through word of mouth from someone on here in fact!