replacing a sill plate. is it as easy as it looks?

[Gareth Hughes]

No, EH would send someone out. In most cases it wouldn't put a stop to your work, unless the local council decided to serve a building preservation notice (they almost never do), which might be a good thing as EH would then have a mere (!) six months to decide about listing. Of course, you might wreck the place in the meantime and then get listed on the basis of what was on show before the wrecking happened, on the day of the EH visit.

 

[robgil]

i think wrecking might be a tad strong Gareth , i need to get some central heating in there and fix this sole plate , other things like sorting the floors out isnt really top of my list but a general clean up to make it habitable will be needed. i also need to lath and plaster the dining room ceiling but im sure none of this would be cause for concern.
the history group have documents to suggest that it was built between 1520 and 1580 such as tenancy agreement type things however i have been told that a guy (apparently he was well known in the world of historic buildings) visited the house some years back and after looking in the loft space confirmed it to be an old hall house , one of the reasons being the chimney construction? he then went on to mention it in a lecture regarding walshams old buildings in the village somewhere. this is all second hand news so i am not entirely sure how accurate it is. he did mention that he thought the buildings construction date could be earlier than 1520. i will find out more as my neighbour has it all in a book apparently in which the house among others was written about.
its worth noting that the buildings behind the house have documented history dating back to the latter half of the 15c.

some of the history is written here , although brief.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.walsham-le-willows.org/maps/walking/images/historictrail/56.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.walsham-le-willows.org/maps/walking/historictrail&usg=__9ctcqk7nSWNN-zWcmUJR60rdI5A=&h=378&w=598&sz=36&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=s2BXzpP0hwDxWM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dclipper%2Bcottage%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

 

[middi]

this is true. i just fancy the idea of putting the house back to what it was when it was built. i am not sure how i feel about building a modern house out of an old one. i also fancy the idea of learning how to do it as it was originally done.
i suppose i have to consider the environmental impact of an uninsulated house though. i did consider battening it out then using cellotex or similar , lathing it then lime rendering it.
how could i water proof the external walls and wouldn't it be best to leave them porous or breathable?

If ,as sugested. your house was originally a hall house, there is little scope of reinstating it as hall house, unless you want to preserve it as a museum piece ( you would not be allowed to do it anyway as this would entail destroying the history of the building through the ages).
Also you would not want to live in a draughty house with no glass in the widow openings,no chimney, no drainage, a fire harth in the centre of the room and a hole in the roof to let the smoke out :wink: :wink:

In your shoes I would concentrate on preserving whatever is left of historical significance ( this is where you could do with some advise).
and complement this "restoration" with modern materials carefully applied where necessary to preserve and protect what is left of the structure .This can be quite tricky and if it is attacked from a DIY pint of view, unless there is a "feel" and a good understanding how these buildings behave from their constructional point of view irreversible mistakes will be done . So, "wrecking" with good intentions is easily achieved.
A reasonably clear plan has to be put in place from the beginning as how you will restore the whole building bearing in mind it's historical significance, the insulation and heating aspects and it's serviceability generally and at the same time preserving it's asthetic effect.
If the place was listed you would be guided on this because you would have to comply with directives therefore less room to make mistakes.
Obviously you are in the right direction in getting right simply because we are talking about it and you are eager for information, I am confident that you will do a good job evntually.

 

[JoceAndChris]

If the place was listed you would be guided on this because you would have to comply with directives therefore less room to make mistakes.
.

Mmmm, such a good point. I think about that every day in my unlisted building with all the temptations of extension and grandifying that lie before me.

I can see the appeal of living in a hall house though. A lot of us here are expert at drafts and freezing conditions, and quite happy to skin a rabbit or two and hang their hides up at the mullions. :wink:

 

[middi]

Good point, The planet would be in a better state if everybody realised that for 40/50 pounds for the prize of a couple of jumpers one could save 4/500 pounds in gas.

It appears that some of us are quite happy to run around in our houses in T shirts and underware when the temp. is minus 10deg outside

 

[FamilyWiggs]

[A lot of us here are ... quite happy to ... hang their hides up at the mullions. :wink:

Joce, I know you have form for this sort of exhibitionism, but I really think a little more decorum is called for now you are all grown up!

Please can we see the pics again?

 

[robgil]

im back. phew , that drive is painful but i can happily recommend eating all your meals for the day in a little chef , expensive though it is..

right then , had a busy day today , first off was having a fella from lf jarvis around to give the place the oncer over .ive asked advice from him before on a house we were going to buy previously to this one , it was cambridge council who recommended him to us. i was so impressed that i asked him to give this house the once over and he really went out of his way to do so.
anyhow , the gist i got was the front of the house is dubious , there is a king post missing , there may well be very little holding the front of the house up. i told him i was planning to do the work my self and he said he would happily advise me and even help out when it came to supporting the front of the house before we removed the render to investigate what is left of the frame. when i told him i planned to use strong boys he said it would work but due to the extent of the work involved it would be better to use two acros either side of the wall and a timber in-between like a bridge , then repeat along the wall until everything was supported. this is because the sole plate that i planned on replacing was only the one i could see , further investigation revealed the sole plate under the window to be rotten and 'floating' above the brick plinth. the other side of the house has sound sole plates but there is a king stud missing in the far corner and a huge beam is sagging down in that corner due to lack of support. all along the front of the house above the windows is not showing any signs of a wall plate so , as we had to strip and replace the render anyway we will use this opportunity to do the frame repairs as well. so , basically what i thought was simply replacing a sole plate has turned into what could well be a major frame repair.
on a good not though the rest of the house is in really good health.

we then had a calor gas guy out to see if we could use lpg , we can. they will provide an lpg tank , the pipe work and a free combi ,all installed and all for 250 quid. we also get 100 quids worth of free gas. how can i turn down an offer like that?

chimney guy came out then and gave one of our chimneys the all clear and it was pointed out that the other is in need of some pointing before we can use it , so one out of two isnt too bad.

all in all a good day , although i got bugger all work done.

 

[MdB]

we then had a calor gas guy out to see if we could use lpg , we can. they will provide an lpg tank , the pipe work and a free combi ,all installed and all for 250 quid. we also get 100 quids worth of free gas. how can i turn down an offer like that?

By reading the small print.
Check out the cost of the gas. I seem to remember ours was very expensive.
Check out the length of the contract. 3 years I think and that was just to take over somebody else's system.
Check out the cost of removal. Something like £120 I seem to remember. It might have been more.
Installation is cheap but once they have got you, you are then stuck. You can't get anyone else to refill the tank so they can charge you what they like.

I'm not saying it is a bad deal, just make sure you have looked into it properly. It also took us 6 months and many many phone calls / faxes to get our tank removed. Organisation didn't seem to be their strong point.

 

[Jon Maine]

Sounds like a lot to take in in one day, I would defo read the small print.

Th frame repairs don't sound to horrendous so start planning, when you work out what oak for the repairs you need and have costed it, IM me and if I can save you some money I will try.

 

[robgil]

its a 2 year contract but i certainly will look deeper into it.
cheers Jon , i will let you know when i get it priced up but its most likely going to be early next year before we get started on the frame repairs.
i was told to render onto a waterproof paper wire mesh type thing , apparently it comes in 8x4 sheets but i cannot remember what it is called , anyone know what i am going on about? i did want to use oak laths but i first need to compare the costs.