Pictures!

[tycarregydwr]

I hope this works, I am trying to upload pics of our place.

So the first one is an interior wall made of local slate, it was plastered over but we're hoping to point it and leave it open as a feature.


The front of the old part of the house now


historical photo

 

[tycarregydwr]

This is the damaged render at the rear (if it's working?) and the wet wall inside due to leaking guttering. Also, amazing wallpaper.

 

[LadyArowana]

What an interesting property. Such a shame they covered up the outside with that render, I'm sure that with your tender loving care it will emerge beautiful again though.

 

[tycarregydwr]

The rear of the old part of the house, not pebble-dashed, some sort of render, partly damaged. Also the brokern guttering pouring water down the corner at the join with the extension. Damp specialist said that he thinks the wet wall inside (see previous photo) is due to this and if we fix it it should clear up. I hope so, as the wall is really soggy.

 

[tycarregydwr]

Ceiling 1 - showing the loft access hatch, and layers of old ceiling - lath, polystyrene tiles, god only knows what else...

Ceiling 3 - showing the confusing living room ceiling, plasterboard between rafters, but the rafters appear to end short of the exterior wall?! And there is some insulation poking out, but is it just between the ceiling and floor? Who knows?

Ceiling 4 - showing a selection of ceilings - polystyrene tiles, some of them on old ceiling, some on a chipboard ceiling that appears to be attached to old lath ceiling....

 

[tycarregydwr]

thank you. I hope 'interesting' doesn't mean 'hideous' I know it doesnt look like much in these pics, but it will eventually, honest! it is really interesting finding out more about the history, the house used to be a woollen mill apparently, though it clearly looks as though it was built as a residential property. locals still call it 'the factory'.

 

[LadyArowana]

That's some serious gutter leak, it must have been going on quite a long time as it looks like algae has grown on the wall. I bet the damp specialist is correct that if you get that sorted the wall inside will be dry.

 

[tycarregydwr]

Yes, the extension was put on in 2008/9. They cut into the rear part of the house, and appear to have just sliced the old gutter and then jammed a bit of lead on the end, but not properly attached it. So every time it rains, it literally pours water down the side of the house, mostly on the extension but also on the old house. A relatively simple and cheap thing to fix it seems, and then just hope the stone dries out.

 

[plasticpigeon]

It's great that you have that old photo and the original sashes at the back. It means you have a pattern for the windows if you wish to replace the ones at the front, and have something to work towards re the front aspect. It's a shame it's rendered at front, as the stone and brick looks fantastic, but it is a very nicely proportioned house and I'm sure will only improve in your hands.

 

[tycarregydwr]

The problem with the render at the front (aside from how hideous it is and all the rest!) is that the new extension is obviously render (it's just breeze block construction, not stone), so even if we took off the pebble dashing back to the stone, it would look odd next to the new bit. It's something we'll be thinking about long-term though, for sure.

And yes, the two people we've spoken to so far about windows have been excited about trying to match them to the originals, which is nice.

 

[JohnB]

the house used to be a woollen mill apparently, though it clearly looks as though it was built as a residential property. locals still call it 'the factory'.

Where are you, or have you said already? The area around Drefach Felindre had loads of big woollen mills, and also lots of small small scale weaving going on. My house is shown on the local information boards as having had a "hand loom workshop". It's actually a pair of double fronted semis, but seems to have always been in one ownership. At the 1892 census it was occupied by a weaver and his family, and several boarders who are shown as weavers. I've no idea where the loom would have been though, although they were quite small and one would fit in a normal sized room.

Or was yours the mill owner/managers house, and the mill has been demolished? I visited the site of quite a big one yesterday, where the mill had to be demolished as the force of the machinery had pushed the walls out of line so much it was unsafe.

 

[JohnB]

The problem with the render at the front (aside from how hideous it is and all the rest!) is that the new extension is obviously render (it's just breeze block construction, not stone), so even if we took off the pebble dashing back to the stone, it would look odd next to the new bit. It's something we'll be thinking about long-term though, for sure.

I have a late 60s brick cavity wall extension that is rendered to match the house. I've no intention of trying to remove the render, but would like to look into the possibility of covering it with a render that covers the evil flesh ripping stuff. I'm removing it from the original house and aim to limewash that, but I think they will look ok together.

 

[tycarregydwr]

It's not entirely clear, tbh, if the production actually took place inside or if, as you say, this was the owners' house and another building has been demolished. We are in the Preseli hills in north Pembs. There is another house next door, semi-detached, which looks like a more modern addition but actually appears in the old photos, so I suppose that may have been the workshop (though it is very small).

Yes, there are definitely ways to make it less hideous. All in good time! With the way the extension has been done, it almost looks like another house. We've been thinking about how to integrate the two fronts more, visually. But I suppose we could go the other way and restore the original house and then they would really look like two houses... confuse visitors :lol:

 

[dans]

Our house was cement rendered on the gable end over the old red bricks. We managed to remove the cement and air blast the remaining marks without damaging th soft red bricks excessively... The ones that were beyond repair were replaced with reclaims.

You should be able to do much the same with your house, only easier as I Hess your bricks are harder...?

Good luck!

 

[robgil]

What a lovely house, why someone would want to render it to look like that is anyones guess,

 

[Alex]

Lovely house Ty carreg and welcome to the forum. There are 2 builders drilling the cement render off of the gable end of our cottage as I am typing this. I am a bit disappointed to read that you haven't got any artex in your house but if you decide you do want some, I have plenty here and will let you share mine :lol:

 

[tycarregydwr]

Alex, I'll trade you some polystyrene ceiling tiles for your artex.... at least yours isn't a fire hazard :lol:


So another builder has been round, and to demonstrate the depths of my total oblivion on these matters, apparently the rear of the old house is not rendered at all.... he says it's several generations' worth of paint!

 

[Roger H]

Wow. Bringing that front elevation back to the b&w photo would be some transformation. Any townscape improvment grants operating in your area? Worth asking, despite adverse financial climate. Keep us updated.

 

[tycarregydwr]

sorry, Roger, I don't understand what you mean about front elevation?

 

[plasticpigeon]

The front of the house!