Replacing a sole plate.

[robgil]

And the brick plinth. The plinth is 5' by 4 courses high, would there be any benefit from using engineering bricks and cement with a dpc? My initial thoughts were to use soft reds with lime mortar but as the bricks will be rendered over and plastered on the inside I see no point. Then again the traditional way would be to use soft reds , no dpc and lime mortar which would be within keeping with the rest of the house.

Any thoughts?

 

[Keithj]

I'm a purist, so would use reds and lime.

If it's listed, the CO may have a view.

Our "extension" has engineering bricks, cement, DPM and 2-metre deep foundations. Building Regs trump Conservation.

 

[88v8]

There would probably be no harm in using hard bricks, etc, but cement... what footings? Presuming the existing footings are minimal, then I'd stick to lime for the mortar, rendering, plaster, as cement has no tolerance of movement. A felt dpc would accomodate some movement though, provided that this doesn't send damp sideways into other elements of the house.

Ivor

 

[robgil]

Thanks for the replies guys. The footings are the plinth , probably about 2 courses below ground if that. I think I will follow my instinct and go with soft reds/lime. I didnt think about movement issues but I can forsee quite a lot of movement around this part of the house in the future. I wont use a dpc as I dont think I will need one, it is on the gable end so not much rain water running off the thatch in this direction and if I dont render all the way to the bottom the wall should be able to hopefully evaporate moisture naturally.
I am going to order up the oak in the morning (should be here early next week), I also need to source some soft reds and bish , bash , bosh, a new sole plate and plinth.

I know how wee all like to see photos so here goes,

This is the offending plate.

I have had to strip off some daub to do the work which I shall remix and put back in place when the deed is done.

The building is a mud and stud type construction and I believe had been rendered with daub before some numpty put a coat of cement around it , thus causing the rot.

 

[AMc]

My inexpert opinion is that a flexible dpc between the plinth and sole plate is so trivial you might as well?
I can't see a downside but perhaps I'm missing something?

 

[robgil]

A dpc wont allow moisture/water to come up through it to the sole plate however any water that runs down to the sole plate will also not be allowed to penetrate the dpc , this could be bad for the plate as it will be sitting in a pool of water ontop of the dpc.
My train of thought is not to try and prevent damp from climbing up the plinth but more to keep the sole plate dry.

This wall rotted out when cement was applied to the outside and inside of the building thus sealing the timbers in, they were there for a good few hundred years prior to this with no dpc so I have no doubt that I wont be replacing this plate again in my lifetime.

This is how the wall looked before we stripped the cement from it.

As you can see it was sealed in.

 

[robgil]

This is how the other side turned out after repair although the timbers on this side were in good condition anyway.

 

[robgil]

Whilst I have my photobucket account open I may as well show some more before/during/after photos.

This is the other wall in the room that needed a bit of work to get right, mostly cleaning, remixing a few daub panels, brick plinth repair and plastering (with lime putty and chalk) and some limewashing.

When we found it it was covered in woodchip wallpaper, thankfully.

We stripped it all off to find this, very happy we did.

An old doorway was blocked up with cement so out it came and wattle and daub was put in it's place.

The plinth was repaired, soleplate stripped of paint and section of concrete floor removed, This wall took a very long time to repair, cleaning the old wall paper, cement , dirt etc and fixing the daub with more daub and/or lime putty, hair and chalk plaster where daub could not be used.
This is the end result, still needs a tidy but it's getting there. The old window was put there before the clay lump extension was grafter onto the rear of the cottage, so before it had a kitchen/bathroom/skullery, possibly around 1760 as this is when this half of the house was rebuilt. Which is why it is called ''clipper'' cottage.

 

[robgil]

I have ordered the timbers for the plate , should be here early next week.

 

[AMc]

I don't tend to think about penetrating damp as much as you
Nice work, you should be proud!

 

[robgil]

I havent thought about penetrating anything for a long time, it's nice to be doing stuff to the cottage again.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Rob - I love seeing that series of photos. Thanks for sharing again.

Really good work - the house is lucky to have you.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Rob - you seem to be doing a great job (still wish you'd got the little wreck near Cambridge though :roll

 

[robgil]

Cheers guys, Gareth sometimes I am glad we didnt bid on the little cottage in Horningsea, as lovely as it was in hindsight I reckon it would have been too much for us to take on. Has anyone bought it yet do you know? Last I heard it was being sold with planning permission and a cleared garden but it was looking like the buyer might have taken a loss on it had it sold.

Oh my goodness, I've just found it.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/16781837

That didnt take long at all , that is the same one isnt it?

 

[LadyArowana]

Cheers guys, Gareth sometimes I am glad we didnt bid on the little cottage in Horningsea, as lovely as it was in hindsight I reckon it would have been too much for us to take on. Has anyone bought it yet do you know? Last I heard it was being sold with planning permission and a cleared garden but it was looking like the buyer might have taken a loss on it had it sold.

Oh my goodness, I've just found it.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/16781837

That didnt take long at all , that is the same one isnt it?

They have more than one bin! Not a fan of the kitchen look, would be interested to know what all the materials they used. Hope it's traditional.

 

[tobydog]

Wow. That should divide opinion under the existing thread - Period Extensions: Traditional or Contemporary?

 

[Flyfisher]

Nice 'cottagey' feel on the inside. :wink:

Is that wood stove installation strictly legal? I thought they had to be installed on a raised platform.

 

[robgil]

Apparently it sold, for more than the asking price.

This was it when I viewed it with Gareth. Edit - I lie, this was it after it sold and permissions were granted.

http://www.cheffins.co.uk/lot/thatch-dock-lane-horningsea-cambridge-cb25-9jf-490279-propertyauctions-0

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10311&hilit=horningsea

I might have some photos of how it looked inside somewhere on my computer..

 

[MdB]

Is that wood stove installation strictly legal? I thought they had to be installed on a raised platform.

My understanding is that they don't have to be on a raised platform but they do need to have a demarcation such that it isn't possible to put a rug / carpet etc within 400mm. Could be wrong.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Cheers guys, Gareth sometimes I am glad we didnt bid on the little cottage in Horningsea, as lovely as it was in hindsight I reckon it would have been too much for us to take on. Has anyone bought it yet do you know? Last I heard it was being sold with planning permission and a cleared garden but it was looking like the buyer might have taken a loss on it had it sold.

Oh my goodness, I've just found it.

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/16781837

That didnt take long at all , that is the same one isnt it?

Oh good grief! It was in a bad way but I doubt it needed quite such a brutal stripping