Hi all
I always swore, having grown up in a chilly Victorian house with an iffy septic tank, that I would always have a modern house, with double glazing and mains everything.
But apparently the 40's is the age when madness strikes in my family, because I & my husband are now seriously considering buying a building from the 1870s. It's been a holiday cottage, but not lived in for some time, it's single story with a flat concrete roof that I'm told is leaking, a couple of the internal rooms have ceilings that have come down, AND the drains run directly into the sea. Oh yes, and it's Grade II listed! I can see my younger self shaking her head now. It's a light-house - this one : https://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/23124/details/leading-lightssandyhaven-estate-summerhouse-st-ishmaels
I'm hoping for some advice on how much trouble and delay would be likely to come with the Grade II listed status in the process of getting it waterproof and liveable. We don't want to modernise it internally (much) or change the look of the place, but we do want it to be dry and ideally, reasonably warm. I understand that listed status is designed to preserve the building rather than allow it to crumble, but if we bought it, is it too optimistic to think that we'd be able to mobilise a Polyroof contractor, get it waterproofed and have a warm roof system installed, or would we be likely to be stuck indefinitely with the original (cold and leaky) bitumen?
The other issue is the drains, and I'm wondering if installation of a septic tank or domestic sewage processing plant will require lengthy consent processes? The new laws on drainage appear to make it impossible to buy the place unless the drainage is sorted pretty much immediately. Obviously the installation would be best hidden well out of sight (not sure if the soil is deep enough to bury it completely).
All advice welcome, even if it is 'fly you fools!'
I always swore, having grown up in a chilly Victorian house with an iffy septic tank, that I would always have a modern house, with double glazing and mains everything.
But apparently the 40's is the age when madness strikes in my family, because I & my husband are now seriously considering buying a building from the 1870s. It's been a holiday cottage, but not lived in for some time, it's single story with a flat concrete roof that I'm told is leaking, a couple of the internal rooms have ceilings that have come down, AND the drains run directly into the sea. Oh yes, and it's Grade II listed! I can see my younger self shaking her head now. It's a light-house - this one : https://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/23124/details/leading-lightssandyhaven-estate-summerhouse-st-ishmaels
I'm hoping for some advice on how much trouble and delay would be likely to come with the Grade II listed status in the process of getting it waterproof and liveable. We don't want to modernise it internally (much) or change the look of the place, but we do want it to be dry and ideally, reasonably warm. I understand that listed status is designed to preserve the building rather than allow it to crumble, but if we bought it, is it too optimistic to think that we'd be able to mobilise a Polyroof contractor, get it waterproofed and have a warm roof system installed, or would we be likely to be stuck indefinitely with the original (cold and leaky) bitumen?
The other issue is the drains, and I'm wondering if installation of a septic tank or domestic sewage processing plant will require lengthy consent processes? The new laws on drainage appear to make it impossible to buy the place unless the drainage is sorted pretty much immediately. Obviously the installation would be best hidden well out of sight (not sure if the soil is deep enough to bury it completely).
All advice welcome, even if it is 'fly you fools!'