New restoration project - what have I done!

[Griff Boy]

Ug_lee said:

I echo this, such a massive amount of work has gone into this I really don't know how GB finds the time to do this along with work and family, I am in awe!

I've a Georgian property that is nowhere near the size of this and I'm finding out the hard way just how much more involved and difficult it is to get everything 100% compared to a new build. I definitely have days where after lots of graft the only thing that has progressed is the number of further issues to sort before I can get back to where I initially started!

Griffboy, I may have missed this but did you find many problems with the house regarding the roof and the structure? I'd love to get to a point in mine where I can concentrate on the interior but mine keeps on throwing up hidden horrors before doing the nice stuff??

Cheers lee, I feel your pain! Old houses in my option give so much in the way of character, history, space, height and features, yet are so good at taking it all away again with problems, maintenance, restrictions and labour! To me it's been worth it, but now I need a rest, as so far since I've started this I've developed trigger finger from a damaged tendon, a compacted vertebrae in my back, and added a fair few scars that I didn't have before! (Mentally and physically!) oh, and gin consumption has risen dramatically!

Structure problems, yes, it's all in the blog, but the worst was dry rot caused by an un maintained leaking gutter on the stair turret which meant that one of the main supporting beams of the staircase had to be replaced with a steel support. It was a 18" x 18" chestnut beam IIRC so wasn't a 5 min job to replace, especially as I had to support the entire staircase from ground to top floor whilst it was being changed. Roof wise, we were ok, it needed repointing on the end gables, and quite a lot of replacement slates, but structurally it was sound, and very well supported, so no sagging. Being in Scotland, it's constructed with sparking boards underneath, so this helps the rigidity if it. It will one day need re slating, but not for a few years!

I have two kids, 15 and 12, (I think!) and they have grown up to me working long hours, and to be fair they have both also been down to help, especially with the work on their own rooms, as I wanted them to feel a level of ownership to the work... Whether it worked or not is hard to say, according to my son the best thing he loves about living here is the 80mb download speed! (2mb in my last house!)

[Mr_C]

Spectacular. Love it.

[Ug_lee]

Griff Boy said:

Cheers lee, I feel your pain! Old houses in my option give so much in the way of character, history, space, height and features, yet are so good at taking it all away again with problems, maintenance, restrictions and labour! To me it's been worth it, but now I need a rest, as so far since I've started this I've developed trigger finger from a damaged tendon, a compacted vertebrae in my back, and added a fair few scars that I didn't have before! (Mentally and physically!) oh, and gin consumption has risen dramatically!

Structure problems, yes, it's all in the blog, but the worst was dry rot caused by an un maintained leaking gutter on the stair turret which meant that one of the main supporting beams of the staircase had to be replaced with a steel support. It was a 18" x 18" chestnut beam IIRC so wasn't a 5 min job to replace, especially as I had to support the entire staircase from ground to top floor whilst it was being changed. Roof wise, we were ok, it needed repointing on the end gables, and quite a lot of replacement slates, but structurally it was sound, and very well supported, so no sagging. Being in Scotland, it's constructed with sparking boards underneath, so this helps the rigidity if it. It will one day need re slating, but not for a few years!

I have two kids, 15 and 12, (I think!) and they have grown up to me working long hours, and to be fair they have both also been down to help, especially with the work on their own rooms, as I wanted them to feel a level of ownership to the work... Whether it worked or not is hard to say, according to my son the best thing he loves about living here is the 80mb download speed! (2mb in my last house!)

Thanks for the reply!

We are in Scotland also and our roof is constructed much like your own. It's not in terrible condition but has been left neglected for the last 20-30 years so the scaffolding is going up (again) in the next few months to sort once and for all.

Your issue with your stairs and a dry rotted beam is uncannily similar to me, here's a few photos to show what we came across and the beam we had to put in place. All because the water pipe supplying the toilet had a small leak that was never fixed. Like you we had to support all the stairs top to bottom!







So with budget well and truly blown looks like my man cave is going to have to wait another year or 2!

[Griff Boy]

Mr_C said:

Spectacular. Love it.

Cheers mate. Been finding it a bit hard working on things for the last month, nice to get a lift from your comment.

[richtea78]

Wasn't that jealous of the house till I saw the fish tank! Now very jealous. Looks tiny in your kitchen though, it'd look a lot bigger in mine!

[Backtobasics]

The threads alive! I thought it had gone the way of the nazi bunker. Great read, keep going.

[Pixelpeep7r]

this thread never fails to deliver. - OP - you sir are a god of internal design.

[Griff Boy]

It's been pointed out to me that I've not updated this for a while.........

So! Been doing some work out the back of the house. Dedicated listeners might remember I dug a flower bed a year ago, 25m long x 1.2m wide, with the aid of a digger!

There was also an open area at the rear of the house which needed to be sorted to stop the dog escaping. (Houdinis love child!)

So, after sorting out the bed, membrane fitted, and 1 tonne of chipbark (literally!) and some jump poles, it looked like a flower bed, just need to save up some penny's to fill it in with plants!

Also, set a pair of 6" posts into the ground for a pair of double gates, just in case we have to get vehicles round the back of the house, and formed a small fence section and made a pair of gates. 1800high x 2900mm wide. First time I've ever built gates, but seemed to come out ok!

[Griff Boy]

[Kateg28]

Well that took a couple of hours to read.

What an epic project. The bit that really stuns me is the vision to take the school and see what a beautiful house it could be.

Have I missed the updated floor plans?

[Griff Boy]

Kateg28 said:

Well that took a couple of hours to read.

What an epic project. The bit that really stuns me is the vision to take the school and see what a beautiful house it could be.

Have I missed the updated floor plans?

Thanks Kate!

It's been a real labour of love. As regards the vision, a lot of it was trying to return it to its original state (before the council got their hands on it!) to be honest when I bought it we couldn't hardly see anything inside, as it had no power and all the windows were boarded up, so we had to make a decision after viewing it with torches and screwdrivers! Seems a bit bonkers when I look back on it!

[Griff Boy]

Carrying on the theme of its supposed to be summer soon, been cracking on with the outside work. One of the areas that's been a bit neglected since we started is the lower BBQ area. It's a nice area set down off the main garden roughly about 12m x 8m, and was simply gravelled before, when we had the diggers on site.

Planning to create a covered BBQ area, fire pit and seating area here, which are all in the planning stage just now.

First job is to sort out the stone steps going down to the area. They were well and truly abused by the school kids, and haven't aged well.. I'm looking for some ideas on how to renovate them without having to start again. Current thought is to try to re-shutter them and reform some of the missing step sections in concrete, then use patio stones to create nicer looking steps. Questions are how do I make the new concrete stick to the old? Any good reccomendations for bonding agents? Also thinking I might have to drill and fix metal rods / half in metal fixings for helping join the new sections together?

Or any other ideas?

A few pics of what we've got to start with.

[Jonesy23]

Griff Boy said:

First job is to sort out the stone steps going down to the area. They were well and truly abused by the school kids, and haven't aged well.. I'm looking for some ideas on how to renovate them without having to start again. Current thought is to try to re-shutter them and reform some of the missing step sections in concrete, then use patio stones to create nicer looking steps. Questions are how do I make the new concrete stick to the old? Any good reccomendations for bonding agents? Also thinking I might have to drill and fix metal rods / half in metal fixings for helping join the new sections together?

Depends on how much of the tread is currently stone and how much is concrete? If it is mostly concrete I'd be tempted to remove as much as possible to make any section of repair as big as I could as it would be more likely to be stable compared to a small patch.

For retaining repair sections you can use the stainless helix rods like you'd also use for wall stitching, drill in and bond the rod in whatever shape/position seems sensible to retain the new repair then cast around it.

If it really is mostly concrete the easy option is going to be to basically remove the treads and rebuild as that will be easier and give a more stable outcome compared to patches. If there are stone treads in there you might be able to pull them out and turn them over to get a new edge on the top and bury the worn bit?

[jep]

Jonesy23 said:

If it really is mostly concrete the easy option is going to be to basically remove the treads and rebuild as that will be easier and give a more stable outcome compared to patches. If there are stone treads in there you might be able to pull them out and turn them over to get a new edge on the top and bury the worn bit?

As above really. I would look to get as much of the old concrete removed as possible, then make a former for the sides and treads, and pour a new base for the new patio slabs. Shouldn't be too much of a faff for somebody of your skills!

[Muncher]

I would just just bed new stone onto the existing I think, patching it will never look right.

[Griff Boy]

Muncher said:

I would just just bed new stone onto the existing I think, patching it will never look right.

Agreed, patching was never going to work!

[Griff Boy]

Cheers Jonesy and Jep, I took your advice and breakered off all the old top layer of concrete on the worst steps, right back down to the bare stone underneath. Then shuttered it back up to reform the 3 steps, ready for finishing when it's gone off fully.

Current thought is either to cover it in slabs, something nice and rustic, both the treads and the risers. Then to render the sides as a contrast. 2nd option is to exterior tile it, but I'm still not convinced on this, as I don't want it looking too modern... But we shall see.

Steps chipped back ready



And shuttered up, and filled ready for finishing.



I've started doing some drawings on ideas for the BBQ area, and part of the design is to create and build a covered BBQ area, enough for a gas BBQ and a open cast charcoal grill, a big rustic prep bench and I've saved a few of the old school Belfast sinks, so was thinking of building that in as a simple wash area...

Something like this type of design, easy enough for me to build myself. But smart enough to look the part... Thoughts?

[Griff Boy]

[jep]

Good job

What about rendering the risers as well? Topping them off with some granite slabs with an overhang on the front and sides would finish it off nicely in my mind.

Re the eating area, I saw in the Food/Drinks/Restaurant section on the Big Green Egg thread, that tuffer had a really nice BBQ area set up that would look bob on under there.

tuffer said:

Love mine, going to do some chicken kebabs tonight.

[Griff Boy]

jep said:

Good job

What about rendering the risers as well? Topping them off with some granite slabs with an overhang on the front and sides would finish it off nicely in my mind.

Re the eating area, I saw in the Food/Drinks/Restaurant section on the Big Green Egg thread, that tuffer had a really nice BBQ area set up that would look bob on under there.

tuffer said:

Love mine, going to do some chicken kebabs tonight.

Cheers mate, I could easily render the up stands, or clad them in stone as well to match the treads, I'll wait until the former comes off and then decide I guess.

I saw that thread, looks great doesn't it. Especially being made in iroko IIRC, great material to use outside. Over the idea of making it movable as well. Some time at the drawing board needed!