Price Estimate for Grade 2 Weatherboard & Windows Repair

[Toolmaker25]

Hi All,

I know this post is essentially asking the length of a piece of string, but I'm hoping for some starter advice/ ballpark numbers.

Me and my wife have seen this property with a full viewing next week.
Its a grade 2 white weatherboarded Kentish house. 18thC.
Its currently unoccupied and has been for up to 1 year.

The agent said that inside is starting to go mouldy/ damp and I have attached a few photos of the exterior.

so, what I would like to know is,

• How fatal is the rot in the 3rd photo? its only this small section but it completely soft. will the internal wall underneath almost certainly need replacing too?
• Some window frames look a bit rotten, not actively rotting but just in a mode of dry disintegrating. Are they repairable or would folks in the know expect a full replacement?
• Could someone be kind to offer some ball park numbers that we should expect to pay, if we had the work completed by a reputable firm and assuming up to the worst?
• Would LBC be easily obtainable to have the works approved? I wouldn't change anything, just keep all appearances they way they are.

Possible required works,

• Full recondition of weather board on front
• Repair of isolated rot on side elevation
• Repair or replacement of some/ all windows

I appreciate this is a very broad question with limited information.

If anyone does look the house up for themselves, I would appreciate if you didn't identify it on this thread as I don't want it to appear under a google search for any other parties.

However if the photos are enough for the most ardent Period Property owner to suggest walking away, please say so as well!

I know this is also scratching the surface but from the rest of the exterior, the rear and other sides weatherboard has been recently replaced or painted. Brick work is in fair enough condition with only 1 settling crack in 1 chimney that now only contains a boiler flue. The agent photos from the last year don't suggest any internal issues and looks habitable. (famous last words)

Kind Regards,

 

[Flyfisher]

I've always thought of weatherboarding as something of a sacrificial layer protecting the underlying structure. So, if they've done their job properly, the worst case scenario would be to replace the weather boarding where it appears to be in poor condition and 'crumbly'.

The good news is that (assuming no underlying issues) this should be a fairly easy DIY job - certainly easier than lime rendering - and could also be done a bit at a time. To my mind, it's a pity the weatherboarding has been painted, because I would guess it has contributed to the problems with the weatherboards. A suitable unpainted wood left to weather naturally would likely last longer (especially if pressure treated) and require less maintenance before replacement, but since it has been painted previously it would probably require LBC to change it now (although it could be left unpainted and if anyone complains then it could easily be painted to 'finish the job' ). But a like-for-like replacement would probably not require LBC.

As for the windows, it's difficult to properly assess their underlying condition from the photos. Again, the paint certainly looks the worse for wear, especially on the putty, but if the underlying frames are basically OK then some judicious local repairs followed by some new paint should work wonders.

Basically, until the underlying structure can be examined, the photos really only show some 'shabby' weatherboarding and paintwork, both of which should be easy to rectify.

One curious thing though, unless I'm misinterpreting the photos, is why there are quite a few boards that appear to have vertically aligned joins instead of being staggered. Not a big deal I suppose, but looks a bit odd to me.

 

[jamest]

I second what FF said. Where my parents lived near Cranbrook there are a lot of old weatherboarded houses and all of them were painted white - seems to be characteristic of the area, so likely very unlikely to get permission to change. Originally, they would have been lime washed = no reason not to and modern exterior lime washes like those by Ingilby paints are very resiliant. My parents place was a barn conversion, also weatherboarded, but unpainted (barns unpainted, houses painted seems to be the rule). The boards did rot over time and they never applied for consent to replace them - they just did like for like replacement and never had a problem (conservation area rather than listed though). Underneath, the wall was fine and it was timber frame with insulated panels. Vertically aligned joints are odd, sometimes that happens when you replace sections, but it looks all the way up in the photo.