Wind and Rain - Wet or Dry?

I wrote recently about how this house is now warm and dry (see this post), and the recent weather has reinforced that view.  The wind and rain have been causing issues both to the Grade I listed church opposite, and to the 12 year old house of a friend who had water ingress affecting her electrics and security alarm. In both cases I went to investigate and the cause was the same - the driving wind from the south-west forcing water into cracks in the wall and gaps along flashing.

On the church there were small leaks at various places along the south arches where the nave meets the south aisle. As a result I had to go on the south aisle roof (on Christmas Eve!) to investigate and found that the flashing was pointed with cement which had come away from the limestone above, leaving a 2-3mm gap.  Since it was cement already I overcame my inbuilt resistance and used some fairly wet cement mortar to fill in this gap; however, it is a good illustration of why you shouldn't use cement on a limestone building - the cement is rigid and so will crack when the lead expands in the heat, whereas lime mortar is much more tolerant. At some time we will get all this cement out and have the job done properly with lime, but of course I couldn't do such a repair in this cold and wet weather.

The friend's house was perhaps more surprising: the water ingress was where the low front porch joined the front wall of the 2-storey house and at a quick glance from the ground it all looked OK. However, closer investigation using a ladder revealed cracks in the pointing of the front wall of the house, and some very poor pointing using mastic on the lead flashing at the join. In fact, there was what looked like the proper exterior mastic but also some clear mastic which really looked like internal stuff which someone had applied when a similar event had occurred before our friend bought it; of course, the newer stuff was no longer stuck to the older stuff so my recommendation was to get someone to sort the mastic properly and, perhaps, fill the pointing cracks at the same time. Of course, I am still officially convalescing so I didn't want to volunteer myself, even though I do have the necessary tools.

On the plus side, our own house has stoutly resisted the weather and has only ever had water ingress at one point - a southerly wind can force rain onto and under the front door despite a decent weatherboard and some cunning work by me on the doorstep. We use a bit of newspaper to mop it up and otherwise ignore it! As I look out now on New Year's Eve and see the rain still falling, at least I can feel content with this house being warm and dry - now I must go and check the church...

The Rebuild Continues

Colin completed the foundations (left) several weeks ago, and at last Pete the brickie has started.  He has been in for most of the last two weeks, and we now have the internal block walls (photo below left) and external brick walls (photo added belatedly, right) erected up to head height.  I am pleased that all the materials I bought were the right ones, apart from a couple of things: a window was the wrong size - far too small (I don't know what I was thinking!) - and the door ordered, with the help of staff who assured me "Of course, we wouldn't sell you a door and frame of different sizes", and then did exactly that!  The door frame was easily fixed the same day and a larger window has been ordered, although I will still have to pay for the smaller one.  However, I was very pleased today to discover a use for the smaller window in the block wall above the toilet door, to give more light in what could be a very dark little cell! There was one error in construction when Pete filled in the wall where the sash window is meant to be fitted; fortunately this was spotted very quickly and easily rectified. There is one other issue with the materials - despite careful use of an Excel spreadsheet, I seem to have bought at least 60 too many blocks.  Offers on a postcard...

We are essentially rebuilding the old extension exactly as it used to be, but in modern materials with a lime mortar finish to match the rest of the house.  This does mean that we have to rebuild the chimney (which extends to the second floor fascia) even though we won't use it as such.  Although I did intend to keep the old one, it was much easier to knock it all down and start from scratch.  One side benefit of this is that the chimney breast can be a lot smaller than the old one, thus allowing better use of the space in the room.

The only real issue this week was the scaffolders, who declined to come as planned on Thursday due to the weather, which was correctly forecast as very light rain for much of the day.  I never thought that scaffolders could be so "wussy" (to use the word said by their receptionist).  So they promised to be here first thing on Friday.  Their idea of "first thing" is not the same as mine, as they turned up at 9.20am, went for a drink and the first pole was unloaded at 9.50am!  The job itself took far longer than they had said, so Pete only got going on site at 12.45, and so we lost more than a full day.  I hope they are better when they come to add the second lift next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

I have been refurbishing a double Georgian style casement window, as illustrated previously (see "The Lull before the Storm").  The frame was totally rotted (and the new one has been delivered already), but the two attractive casements are in not bad condition (see detail right), considering they are probably over 100 years old.  One needed a few epoxy repairs at the base joints, but the other (which was fixed, not hinged) needed the bottom section of frame replacing, as well as the bottom of both verticals.  I have now completed all this and primed them as well, ready for fixing hinges - I really do find this sort of repair joinery very satisfying, especially the stage at which you paint primer over the lovely wooden detail.  I am looking forward to finishing this task soon, but of course I can't fit the window now as the scaffolding is in the way.

Most of the glass was old, wavy and thin; just one sheet was new and thick (and also very badly cut).  However some of the eleven old panes are cracked, and I have a plan:  I have two very large panes left from the old 2 over 2 sash window which was replaced (two were already broken), and I'd like to cut these down to replace two not so large broken sash panes elsewhere in the house.  I then want to cut those smaller panes to provide three or four small panes (about 12 x 9") for the casement window.  However, I am thinking of getting a professional to cut the glass for me as it's a one shot task - right first time or not at all.

Finally, I have had to find a new chippie for the roof joinery as Barry, who did the main roof last year, has cut his hand badly and will be out of action for several weeks.  He has recommended Colin who lives nearby - I reckon recommendations from tradesmen are pretty reliable: a good tradesman is not going to recommend a useless mate, is he?

The Lull before the Storm

It might appear that not a lot has happened in the last two weeks as the new floor and foundations for the extension are still untouched (photo right).  However, we have fitted new carpet on the stairs and landing which really makes a huge difference to the feel of the house.  I have been making plans and the brickie is coming this Monday, and then the work will begin again in earnest.  The materials are here (see below) and I have the joiner, roofer, plumber, electrician and plasterer all lined up (in that order) for the following weeks; the hope is to have the new "look-alike" extension done by the end of November.

I forgot to mention an oddity that we found while doing the excavations.  The extension had its own rising main, fed from the same main in the street as our "proper" rising main in the kitchen, but what we found was that the cast iron pipe carried on under the garden wall and supplied next-door's external tap!  This might seem insignificant, but while the community centre was being built at the back, this was the tap which supplied their water.  Fortunately, I only had a water meter fitted in June this year, which was after the construction had been completed...

Since the foundations for the extension have been done I have been busy reclaiming bricks to re-use for the external wall; we now have 1800 in three piles in the garden (right), which should be about enough; the remaining ones are difficult as they are in cemented blocks of three or four; on these you can spend ten minutes with bolster and mallet, and still only end up with one or two good ones.

The materials for the brick/block work was all ordered and delivered last week.  It was unloaded from the road and dumped in my front garden using one of those lorry-cranes with a good reach.  Then I had the task of moving it all round the back so as not to attract the attention of people who like to appropriate things.  There were lintels, wall plates, blocks, insulation batts and lots more.  I had been quite surprised that we require 450 blocks as well as the reclaimed bricks.  I was even more surprised to find that "lightweight" blocks weigh over 7kg each, so yes, muggins here had to hand every single one (that's over 3 tonnes) into the wheelbarrow, trundle it round the back 50 times (!) and then stack them all again on pallets so they don't get muddy; this all took four hours...  (photo above left).  I could only take 9 blocks each journey as I thought the tenth might be the straw that broke the wheelbarrow for good - it really is on its last legs after being abused by too many overloads.  The really annoying thing was that it was only as the last pallet was being unloaded that I remembered a good idea I had had a long time ago - if I asked nicely, perhaps the lorry could go round the back to the community centre car park and unload over the wall? D'oh!

One task that has been keeping me busy is the refurbishment of a pair of casement windows from the original extension (photo right). I wanted to re-use these as they both have mostly antique glass, as well as being very nice old bits of joinery.  The right hand window has never been hinged but was simply nailed in place, with a rebated edge for the other window to close on as there is no central pillar (mullion?).  The window frame was past retention, being totally rotted by the long-term ingress of water in the old roof, probably from the leaking chimney flashing.  (NB I was unaware that the same water ingress had also rotted the purlin which I thought was the only good bit of wood in the entire roof structure! Isn't ignorance bliss?)  The right hand window needed a new bottom piece of frame, and then I found that both the vertical bottom ends were also rotten, so there was more work than I expected.  The old glass was carefully removed (mostly successfully) and all the replacement wood was found from an old sash which had been taken out of the front window in June.  Now it just needs priming and re-glazing, and the new frame is being made by a local joiner.

Now, as I said, tomorrow it all starts again!

The Next Phase

With the impending arrival of autumn (given that we have hardly had a summer, again), I've had a breather this week and done very little on the house.

Our thoughts are now turning our focus to the question of the "service wing" extension at the back of the house.  My understanding is that the house has had three major phases: firstly (in 1834?), it was a rectangular schoolhouse of squared limestone with a ridge roof running east to west; the front was at the eastern end where there is part of an archway visible in the wall.  Then they converted it to a pair of semis, facing south (we own the western half, on the left of the photo right), adding a larger rectangular structure (in coursed rubble) to create the back rooms and allow for the front doors to be positioned on either side (just visible on either side of the photo right); we have dated this to prior to 1870.

Finally they built the brick extensions at the back on either side as the kitchens. This extension (left and right) is a brick built, single storey structure with a simple slate roof, set at an angle which appears too shallow for slates.  The brickwork is now in poor repair, one wall (photo below right) is bulging badly with loose bricks and daylight visible!  Additionally the roof structure is rotten after the years of damp neglect, and the ground around has been concreted at the level of the floor inside, adding to the damp problems.


Our plan is to repair this building with a new roof and re-positioned doors and windows.  Originally we wanted to extend it but this application was refused as it would have spoiled the symmetry of the pair of buildings.  Our plan now, with the Conservation Officer's verbal agreement, is instead to add a conservatory which, being obviously new, does not have the same effect on the symmetry.  This conservatory will be a solid piece of structure, hopefully from 6" square oak in a natural finish (if we can afford it!), although the CO has said that it should have a brick wall at one end so that the conservatory is not visible from the front... words fail me.  I'll do anything that gets it done and saves me having to have further interaction with such an unpredictable person.  The application is in and so now I need to come up with some decisions.

The major decision is how to do the repair work.  The building is single brick but we will have to make the walls thicker to meet Building Regulations; hence, does everything have to be done in lime?  I am all for it as a general principle but if this is not actually essential for breathability, it would make sense to make the entire finished extension using modern materials, even with Thermalite blocks on the inner skin!  Then a builder I know just threw a huge spanner in my works by suggesting that the inner structure could be an insulated wooden frame.  I have no idea as to whether this would be acceptable to the CO.

Then the next question will be the materials for the conservatory - the ideal desire for green oak will be simply a matter of whether we can afford it.  Hopefully, as it's not large the cost will be vaguely sensible...

Then all I have to do is to enlist the required contractors and we're off!  Firstly the lads to demolish most of it, then the groundworker to remove a lot of concrete and earth, then also do the foundations and drains, then the brickie for the footings and walls, then the same demolition lads to do the roof structure, slates and lead.    Finally, we'll get the same plasterer, electrician and plumber back.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?

[Edited 6 Sep to include photos of service wing]

Looking after old buildings with love

Still waiting to exchange contracts, so here's a bit about my knowledge and experience of old buildings:

I once went on a one day course with the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) called "Faith in Maintenance".  This excellent course was aimed at people who were elected as churchwardens and suddenly found themselves responsible for possibly a massive 800-year old Grade I listed church, without an idea of how to look after it. 

The major lesson from the course was "control the water" which goes on/in/down roof, gutters, downpipes, drains etc.  If you do this successfully, we were told, you will do four-fifths of the job.  Essentially, prolonged exposure to water means serious damage to an old building, and a high repair cost.  The old proverb about a "stitch in time saves nine" is very relevant but understates the saving as spending £500 on roof maintenance every year may well save a capital expenditure of a thousand times that in a few years time.

The second lesson was to never use inappropriate materials; I shall probably go on about this at length in this blog, but principally do not mix modern materials (cement/gypsum plaster) with old materials (lime mortar/plaster/render) because it doesn't work!  You have to understand how the building was intended to work with dampness and go with it, not fight against it.  A modern house sits on a waterproof membrane and works on keeping all moisture out by using impermeable materials, whereas a building made with lime mortar/plaster does not expect to be bone dry all the time (but see lesson one above!).  Instead, it expects there to be draughts, and manages moisture by allowing it to evaporate through the mortar in the walls.  Replacing the lime mortar with cement means that the moisture goes though the stone or brick instead, causing damage such as delamination of the face of the stone or brick.  Covering a wall with (impervious) gypsum plaster instead of lime plaster means that moisture will be retained inside the house; it has to go somewhere so it will form on the inside of the wall or run down windows excessively, etc.

So don't mix vinyl paint, ribbon pointing or injected chemical damp-proof courses with lime walls.  Basically, if you want a modern house then buy one, don't try to convert an old one.

My experience with a 320 year old church

In a sense I was lucky as the Grade II* listed church I looked after for five years only dated from c.1685, apart from the late mediaeval tower base.  In the church I found many examples of poor repairs and maintenance:

• cast iron downpipes replaced with black plastic
• earth/leaves/twigs allowed to pile up outside a wall, causing dampness and cold inside (see right)
• gypsum plaster repairs on lime plaster walls (it really does fall off)
• modern vinyl paints used on walls and stonework
• lime plaster falling off because of prolonged flow of rainwater due to a blocked gulley on the roof
• extensive use of a cement skim (about one-eighth of an inch) over walls, window cills and stonework, presumably done in some cases to tidy up the appearance of these items
• water pouring down inside the walls of the tower due to the internal roof not draining. This was caused by excessive pigeon guano (see right, lower), which itself was there partly because a previous rector had placed nesting boxes up there!
• damaged window panes not replaced - when these were done, I discovered that one pane, which had a sheet of clear plastic over the hole, had been missing for over 20 years; the annual maintenance had been to replace the sellotape holding the plastic!
• poor workmanship by roofing contractors, who had fitted new slates and copper valleys, but had bodged the woodwork around the clerestory windows (using untreated one-inch plywood in one place)
• the many church doors had been repainted without permission or skill - the old royal blue was now covered by grey paint which looked like the stuff used to paint battleships, and it was peeling as they had not even sanded down the blue to provide a key

The same roof window, before and after. 

 The same roof dormer door, before and after.

Most of these matters were rectified in my time, together with many more, but we were very busy and some remain...  You could sum it up by saying that the church building was not loved, and old buildings need to be loved if they are to survive.