Roofing and Tree-Felling

Well, we slated the roof last week, which took longer than I thought it would.  After Saturday doing the insulation and battens as reported in my last entry, I spent a day and a half (Monday and Tuesday) doing as much of the tiling as I could on my own as Chris hadn't shown me how to do soakers at the edge. I covered an area with diagonal edge from the base of the wall up to the level of the rooflight, which I reckon means I did over half of the total required (photo right).  I also fitted the rooflight myself before Chris came on Wednesday and we then spent a lot more time doing not much slating; the window was tricky to secure due to

Doors, Roofing and Insulation

I've had the replacement chippie (who did the rafters last week) back to fix our new FLB (***see below) external back door, complete with a rim lock and brass knobs, into the frame.  Of course, I forgot to buy a weatherboard so I'll do that myself later this week.  He also did a new frame for the old door from the kitchen into the extension, which was hanging

The Extension Arises Anew

Well, 'Er Indoors has been away for the last two weeks, and I have been VERY busy.  The main visible task has been completion of the brickwork for the rebuilt extension (mostly using bricks reclaimed from the previous structure), despite the efforts of both the weather and the scaffolders.  On Saturday the replacement joiner did the new roof without cutting himself as his predecessor has done (at his own workshop, I hasten to add).  So, we are now ready (photo right) for the roofer who I hope will be able to come fairly soon to do the slate roof and the leadwork.

I have also been trying to do numerous small tasks inside (plus a few large ones) in an effort to give the appearance of making some real progress while she's been away.  I've been diverted by a number of other tasks: some of these were house-related, such as collecting the new rooflight, and going to the reclamation yard for more bricks.  However, others were total diversions, such as helping my daughter put up shelves in her new (first!) flat in London, playing with grandson, attending a hearing of the Council's

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?

Well, Well, Well

I think I have found a well.  Between the two gardens at the back of the house is a 6ft brick wall which has an arch at the base (photo right).  I had seen this feature some time ago from the neighbour's side but on our side there had been a hawthorn tree growing right in front of this spot.  When I cut it down last year, I left two 3" stumps about a foot high; more recently, doing the groundworks for the extension, Colin pulled these stumps with his digger and they just came up without difficulty, because the tree had been growing on top of the concrete!  The arch then became more visible on our side when we removed the concrete slabs and a foot of soil (notice the tidemark on the wall!). 

I had been wondering if this brickwork could hide some water item such as a well or ditch, then we found a lead pipe under the tiled floor of the old extension.  Colin reckoned that in his experience this was probably the supply from a well.  He didn't want to rip it up at that time as there was still a live cast iron water pipe which might have been disturbed inadvertently.  This was the supply which fed my neighbour's outside tap (see previous), but it has now been disconnected so today I dug it up.  After retrieving 6 ft of two inch lead pipe (££ scrap), I realized that the bit left in the ground has an echo sound when moved.  Moreover, when I dropped a small stone down it, I'm sure that there was a watery sound.  The foul sewer goes in the other direction, so I think it is most likely to be a well! 

Presumably the wall was built over the well, and it was used during the 19th C by both houses.  Then at some later time the well was covered and the archway was filled in.  I think the important question now is how well was the well capped?  Or was the concrete slab (which covered the entire yard, 10' x 20') part of the capping?  The next question is how high is the water?   Do I dig out the rest of the pipe and see, or do I leave well alone?
 

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 End of the Old Extension

 
Well, a week is a long time in building.  It's Friday and the last eight days have been most productive, as it was only the previous Friday that we demolished the old extension (above and right).  My trusty friend Chris came to do this task, accompanied by Dwayne (or Duane?), as Shane has broken his leg quite badly in a motorbike accident.  NB The brickie (see below) is called Shaun so I'm in danger of getting confused by these young men - well, I reckon they are young as they are half my age.

After all the hassle about our proposed new extension, everything has been refused and I just want to repair rebuild the old one "as is".  My original intention was to leave a large part of one wall including the chimney, although this would have made the foundations a bit difficult.  Having unintentionally got permission to demolish the whole extension, I decided to do it as per the permission as that would make the whole task much easier.  However, this meant that Chris had to demolish the tall chimney, which proved to be quite well built.  I won't post the photos of this as it would only generate a lot of comments about health and safety.  Suffice it to say that he did it safely and we were most relieved.


The rest of the extension was in a worse condition than we realised, and it took less than seven hours to reduce the whole thing to separate piles of bricks and wood (photos above).  Jane and I then spent the whole of Saturday sorting, burning and tidying as the apparently spacious garden had quickly assumed the role of an untidy and very crowded building site.

On Monday the groundworkers Colin and Ryan arrived with the digger (right) and dumper to clear the site and reduce the level of the topsoil and concrete which has been the Achilles heel of this property for decades.  When we first saw this house, there were two distinct problems: the water falling on the house and the water coming in through the high ground all around it.  We tackled the roof first, but now almost a year later it was great to see a start being made to rectify the high ground issue (caused largely by adding layers of concrete up to the side of the house!).

Huge amounts of soil and rubble were removed, piled in the front of the house and taken away by the 18 ton grab lorry (left). This did five trips over the next four days, so it was probably almost 90 tons removed.  This is hugely more cost effective than using skips.

Tuesday was a special day - the (expensive) archaeologist was coming at 8.00am to observe the digging of the foundation trenches.  She hoped to find a mediaeval grave or two, while I stood beside her hoping for exactly the opposite.  I'm pleased to say that I won!  I had also booked the Building Control Officer (BCO) to come at some stage to agree on the required depth so the whole process was a bit fraught but it all turned out OK.  Then to my surprise the ready mix concrete turned up that afternoon and we poured the foundations as well (photo right)!  Colin does not hang around.

On Wednesday the oversite brick and block work was done (i.e. up to damp proof course level), and more soil was removed; on Thursday the base and Celotex was laid for the floor, the old drains along the side of the house were removed (plus the soil on top!) and new plastic pipe was laid up to the existing inspection cover near the front.  The old soil drain is just visible in the photo left, running up beside the new block wall.  Getting rid of this was a nasty smelly job as there was not much fall on the foul drain...  Lastly, on Friday morning, more ready mix arrived for the floor, and the job was done, although the lowering of the inspection cover near the front will wait until we have finished the extension.

NB I wrote most of this on Friday but didn't post it until Sunday, partly because on Friday I fell asleep watching TV at 6.45pm!

Let's Start Again

Well, after much hassle, we now have permission to rebuild the service wing (photo right), and so the fun starts again, very soon.  The story on the conservatory has fully justified my caution in an earlier blog when I said that I was not counting chickens as far as the council went.  I WAS RIGHT!  We had originally proposed rebuilding the service wing and adding a similar size extension on the large blank brick wall (photo below), but this was refused as it "would harm the symmetry of the pair of listed buildings".  (The service wing of the other half of the semi can been seen in the left hand photo in the distance.)  At a meeting in June, the Conservation Officer (CO) actually suggested what we could do instead of the original proposal - an oak conservatory.  Although it wasn't really what we wanted, it seemed a good compromise, so that is what we applied for; unfortunately the dear person has now gone back to her original comments about the conservatory harming the symmetry.  So the meeting was utterly pointless and has cost us time and money for no good reason.

When I saw the CO's objections posted on line, I suggested to my architect that we should withdraw the application for Planning Permission (PP) and modify the one for Listed Building Consent (LB), as the work would not now require PP.  However, although the application was revised to delete the conservatory, we now have both LBC and PP for just the service wing - even though we don't need PP at all.  The subtle point here is that the archaeological requirements were only specified on the PP application, so if that had been withdrawn as I suggested, we would not have had to pay for any more archaeology.  I'm actually in favour of history and archaeology but they are a bit expensive!

Anyway, we shall get on with the new project as quickly as we can, as winter is approaching and we want to have it fully functional well before it gets cold. Talking of temperature, we've noticed that the house maintains a pretty constant temperature at all times, between 16 and 17.5 deg C, even when the outside temperature fell overnight to 7.5 deg C.  I reckon this is pretty good with no heating on at all, especially as this was noticed before I plugged up the draught holes around the new windows.

Following some comments from within the family ("how can you have a new toy and not play with it?"), I finally lit the woodburning stove (right) for the first time the other day.  The process was very simple and the stove worked as advertised; it is wonderful to see a real flame in the kitchen, and the heat from the stove is most noticeable.  I think the size (4.5kW) is about right, apart from the fact that, being small, it needs fairly frequent attention.  I lit it, stoked it up and went to my doctor's appointment; when I returned 90 minutes later, the fire was burnt out (but I was kept waiting for 30 minutes and then the doctor was particularly talkative!). 

The following day I tried the new "decorative arch" open fire in the lounge (left) for the first time. Unfortunately Jane was late home and so didn't see it until it was just a few embers, although I kept it going for four hours.  Like the woodburning stove, it burned a lot of the stuff that I had kept from the house renovation, such as the very old roof battens.  These were so old that they had not been treated - you mustn't use any painted wood (a lot of mine was lead painted) or treated wood (e.g. cut ends of battens or joists, or pallets) whose vapours could damage the very expensive flue.).  I suspect that the acquisition of suitable wood will become a major topic of daily life for me.


Anyway, whilst writing the above my groundworker called by, to see how things were going.  So we agreed to start next week and now I just need to make sure that we can do the demolition this weekend, get the archaeologist to turn up next Tuesday morning and also submit a Building Control application.  Back to the grindstone!

Slight Progress Again

I've been enjoying the last few weeks, in a lazy fashion.  Planning for the "service wing" re-build is still a major pre-occupation; sorting out the contractors is now almost second nature, and quite easy when you use the same ones!  (I must have done something right the first time as they are all happy to do another job for me.)

However, there is still a planning issue with the County Council's archaeologist who is interested in our footings.  I think we can get round all that, but it means that we will, after all, have to pay for a professional archaeologist - another thousand or more down the drain.  I should point out that Jane is actually quite excited by the thought of an archaeological dig on our own property.  I think I would be as well, were it not for the expense and the delay (as winter is rapidly approaching).
 
Recent work has been slight; the fireplace people came back to install our woodburning stove (left), with which we are very pleased (although of course we haven't actually lit it yet!).  The whole thing is a huge improvement over the fire and floor which used to be there (below right, obviously, although it didn't actually slope).  They have also just fitted a cowl on the chimney above the decorative arch fire which they fitted in the lounge; this had to wait until the bird's nest was empty.  They did NOT have much fun clearing it - there had been a considerable effort by the big black things (I was never exactly sure whether they were crows or what) in completely blocking up a chimney which was swept only last November.

In preparation for emptying the "service wing" for demolition repair, I have purchased and erected a small (7' x 5') garden shed with a pent roof (i.e. a single slope, not an apex).  The next task will be to fill this!  NB I have it on good authority that, although we have no "Permitted Development Rights" in this conservation area, this is still legal as it is less than 10 cubic metres in volume, so we don't need any permission.

Apart from finishing off around our new double sash window, I have also been tiling in the kitchen, using 10cm square tiles.  If you've never used these, they are quite tedious to put up, being so small; I much prefer the 25cm x 33 cm ones we've used in the bathroom as you cover the space so much quicker.  Another disadvantage of the small ones is that it is very easy to get out of square, especially on uneven lime plaster.  (I must hasten to point out that I am not criticizing the plasterer's work, but rather just pointing out a fact of life in old buildings.)

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]