Retiring to listed Terraced House.

[Richeee]

Hi.

Firstly thankyou for letting me in to your esteemed circle.

I have just had an offer accepted on a C17 terraced house. Rebuilt supposedly in the C18 and now with glorious 1960,s extension and 21st Century conservatory.

Right. Now trying to attach photos.












Its grade 2 listed and tbh from what i can work out is basically untouched since listed. Last purchased in 67 and believe owner now in care home and being sold by his sons.

I have been in the Construction industry in site management , over 40 years, initially as a setting out engineer then as a project manager. Steel frames reinforced concrete, telling people what to do ; my speciality. Some experience on listed buildings but nothing compares to the steep learning curve i know im about to have.

Lost my wife and now retiring early to village with coop , 3 pubs, chippy, library, cafe kebab shop,dentist , barbers and most importantly busses, in a south Wiltshire village. My daughter living here being a major draw.
Previously lived in middle of nowhere and have to drive everywhere for anything.

The major draw being an oversized double garage and amazing location.

Listed building survey is being commissioned, and so the fun really starts.

I will as time progresses be able to give to this forum but am realistic that at the beggining my knowledge of technigues such as 'letting a building breath' as opposed to 'wrap it up in dpm's ' will be taxed.

First off though im on the take with a couple of questions.

A. The floor in the old part at the front appears to be quarry tiles. Presuaby on dirt. Not sure at what time they went down. But in the outside walls there appears to be airbricks. Not quite sure what they will be ventilating.? Any ideas? And these tiled appear stained is this dampness of some sort.? Or just dirty.?

B. The old beams are painted black. Have been reading the Historic Guide on what would need listing etc about internal decoration but wondering what generally the consevation officers would say about removing and getting back to a natural colour.?

Any way thank you for letting me into this forum.

At some point need to revamp the 80's inbuilt cupbords, new kitchen, and hopefully replace the conservatory and extend the kitchen into it, then stairs......... wiring...............
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[LadyArowana]

Welcome, my first impression is it doesn’t look in too bad condition at all. Can’t really comment on the air bricks, although it looks like some sort of ( possibly concrete not lime ) render has been put on the bottom of the wall as the house adjacent doesn’t have that. My guess is that striping the beams wouldn’t bother the conservation officer as long as it wasn’t done with an inappropriate technique like sand blasting! TBH a lot of people probably wouldn’t even bother applying for LBC to do it, but you didn’t see me write that…….

 

[Richeee]

Thank you.

Studying pictures closely the property next door , has probably had the render removed. That could well be because it has the same effect and not letting breathe.
Going to have to pop overand have a look. Thanks again.

 

[a twig]

The airbricks might be ventilation for wood burners / gas stoves etc, worth having a poke about to see where they come out on the inside.

Otherwise it looks great, very jealous of the outbuilding!

 

[Richeee]

Must admit the oversized double garage, 2 other sheds and a greenhouse all providing great storage and accessable from rear all attracted me. Will have to create a through garage as it takes up whole plot width basically for access. But all doable.

 

[Richeee]

Right. Listed building survey commissioned , will see what that brings in 3 weeks time.

But mind constantly whirring about other things. Its a bit of excitement for the future and what have i done all in one........

Central heating system.



The system appears to be a fairly typical system. Gas boiler heating up water thats stored in a tank and then used for either hot water orto use to heat rads. ( As far as i can tell at this stage) . Simple system which i like. KISS.
However a little dated in appearance and some aspects. All though gas for me is a big adventure. Near lived in an area supplied by gas befor. Just got to keep it running for about 20 years before i curl up my toes.

I hace been reading Historic England Advice note 16 , that heating systems due to being changed many times over the years do not necessarily need lbc. But of course exceptions.

Just wondering what your guys real world experiences have beem regarding heating systems, and conservation officers. E.g. if i wanted to replace the old flat rads for cast iron replacements , ? and if i wanted to fit pipe covers to the horizontal and vertical pipes.

Tbh looks like the system has been thrown in with out much thought for runs and conealment. So alterations can be made to rationalise.

Can i lift boards to reroute etc if the same boards go down again. ? (Though the type or state of noards under those 40 year old carpets is any bodies guess.)

Thanks peeps. Feel calmer for just typing it down.

 

[LadyArowana]

We were doing a lot of work on the house, so the heating system configuration was put on the Listed Building application. If we had only been going to change the look of the radiators, rather than where some were and where the boiler was sited then I wouldn’t have bothered with an application tbh. Our system which came with the house used small bore pipes and we were changing up to what’s standard now. I think CO requested that as much as possible we used holes made for existing runs and all the usual provisors about care in lifting boards and putting them back. Realistically the CO doesn’t know what’s under the carpet now and won’t be coming back to check after anyway. If it’s only the actual boiler unit which is changng then, like radiators I wouldn’t have bothered, if it’s moving to a different location then wise to put in an application as it will probably need a new flue and that impacts the building. We were granted permission to move our boiler to a completely different position. It had been in a very nasty cupboad covering part of a big stone fireplace, so our CO was pleased it could move to a newer non original part of the house and the badly damaged section of stone on the fireplace restored. I think the reason for the comments from HE are related to the provisions for “like for like” replacements not needing LBC. Other people may have had a different experience and advice to me of course…

 

[Richeee]

Thank you for your reply. It is appreciated.
The house is very much liveable in and all things being well (touch wood) will be in before christmas.
Then i will be able to fully formulate ideas and probably involve a local architects firm i know to produce a scope, drawings and application for works so that all covered.
Not major to be honest. But converting conservatory to a fully year round space and knocking modern wall down between it and the kitchen will be the biggest item. The rest just needs revamping to make brighter and lighter And up to date.

 

[Richeee]

Listed Structural survey tomorrow.

Im all of a wobble.

Just waiting and worrying.

 

[Cubist]

Hey, hold on... something doesn't compute.

Retirement and taking on the rights to be presented with all the bills for a Period Property at the same time just doesn't add up.

You do realise, I hope, that you are in fact swapping an Occupation for a Vocation that has no understanding of Paid Leave?

In that sense it's rather like taking Holy Orders and consigning yourself to cloisters. A long time ago I nearly did just that when I considered buying a house that was offered for sale in the grounds of a Nunnery! I quite liked the idea at first but the First Lady reminded me of the vows to which I would have to commit, and she would enforce, as well.

 

[Richeee]

Very good.
I was looking for a double garage and sheds in a particular village. The fact it was a 17th century cottage with 3 bedrooms was beside the point. It was nearly a 1970,s estate house that had not been touched from the day it was built.

A garage with 2 3kw heaters. Sky on tv hanging from the ceiling ans an old car or 2 to fettle is my idea of heaven.

The fact that i might have a house to play with at the same time will be fun.

 

[LadyArowana]

Very good.
I was looking for a double garage and sheds in a particular village.

The fact that i might have a house to play with at the same time will be fun

Oh dear, you have poked the sleeping tiger and greatly angered the patron gods of ancient property ownership. Even *thinking* "it will be fun" is very unwise. It's not too late to seek forgiveness, you must build an altar of reclaimed materials and promise to sacrifice a large sack of money.

 

[malcolm]

My priority searching for a house was space for a garage for maybe 4 cars I also ended up with an older house but have yet to build the garage. What cars do you have?

 

[Richeee]

My priority searching for a house was space for a garage for maybe 4 cars I also ended up with an older house but have yet to build the garage. What cars do you have?

At present Triumph Spitfire 1500. Also my restoration car of a Triumph Herald. Converting to automatic by cutting the chassis and welding in new chassis rails to give enough clearance for a borg warner 65 Gearbox and 1500 engine from a tc
Also a cyclemaster as well as a few ordinary cars. Last count 7 v5 documents. None of them worth a lot. Just loads in upkeep.

As for the house looking forward to it. Spent my whole career working on other peoples properties. Liasing with architects and clients. Nice to do the last one for me.

 

[malcolm]

My first car was a Spitfire 1500. Bought it for £400 in 1989. Restored it and enjoyed it for a year but ended up selling it to fund the purchase of an MGA shell and rolling chassis that I still have. it needs another tidy up 33 years after the restoration.

The garage looks like a good find. Even more so if there is a house beside it. Hope the survey goes well.

 

[Cubist]

Its a long story that I won't go into here but last year I found a 1965 Mk2 Jaguar 2.4 in Gold and with just 60k miles that has been parked in a distant relatives garage for the last 20-25 years. Had it been the two seater Jag my relative suggested it may be, then I would not have mentioned it now.

 

[Richeee]

Still waiting for the full report but had a debreif with the surveyor yesterday evening. Things mostly as suspected.
Front facade has that meter high cement render that ideally should come off. In Some places its cracked and gravity may do work for me.
Depending on state of bricks could be reinstated with lime. Front facade is pointed in cement. But a weak mix. Ideally to be repointed in lime. Plastic guttering suspect and moss build up will need to be cleared.
Internally appears to be mainly lime. But the amount of anaglypta paper prevents full investigation.
Ideally paper to be removed and breathable paint applied.
Quarry floor tiles appear to be more dirty than damp. And under modern rugs was dry. Ideally i would replace the quarry tiles on aesthetic reasons but thats a decision of the officer.
Roof ok. Probably renewed in 70's when the rear extension was constructed. Some fire damage to the some original roof timbers.
The wiring is a mess. That i knew. Opened up cupboard and quickly shut again when i looked. Surveyor did the same.
No bats evident but emergent surveys only real way but there again no roof works required.
Hot cylinder could be leaking as wet patch in lounge. (Reported to estate agents).
Only real thing i missed was rear bedroom lintel in the extension. Appears lintel rusting badly. Will need replacing. But as my idea is to replace the rear conservatory with an all year round useable space can be replaced then.


So basically no real show stoppers. And as i suspected a tired but sound building looking for a new owner to love it a bit.

Let fun commence.

 

[Richeee]

Now have full report yesterday and spent time into the small hours reading amd rereading and working out scenarios in my brain.

Another recent thread on here has lead me to consider wood fibre insulation for the back of the bathroom stud wall which has an eaves space behind. This is the modern part of the property.

The stud work has fibreglass insulation one side which has fallen down. Also the pipes are not lagged. My old self would have used celotex in here as per another thread. But is this a candidate for wood fibre batts. ? The bathroom has been noted as not having adequate ventilation and a humid controlled vent has been identified as being needed. In your collective experience would wood batt insulation be suitable for this location.

Another item identified in the same vein is roof fire breaks. The property is part of a terrace. To the left of mine is a thatched roof. Mine is clay tiles as is the property to.the right. To the right is a nice roof fire break.

But to my left behind the water tank the space at the sides of the stack is open.to next door.


Might well be removing the tank fed water system anyway. Installing a combi boiler and bypassing out the water storage tank.
My idea is that this fire break would be constructed of lighter stud and modern fire batt material. Roof purlins etc are continuous and unlikely to be cut, but a fire break would give some protection and may well be an insurance led necessity.

Any body have experience of needing to install roof fire breaks.?

 

[Richeee]

Humidity controlled extract fans.

Soon hope to contribute more rather than leech questions. 40 years construction knowledge but almost all modern commercial.


Im my recently recieved survey it makes mention that humidity controlled extract fans would be a good idea in the kitchen, utility and bathroom. ( Especially my lad who uses every drop of hot water in his showers.)
But must admit in 40 years of construction not come across them. Well every day is a school day. Did reserach and find they are pretty abundant and seem a cheap fix.
My surveyor scared me a bit by saying try to advoid using the dishwasher. Also mentioned the fridge and freezer as produce moisture. Had not really thought of that. No beer fridge is a step to far. Listed or not listed. Dishwashers I was thinking Of putting in two ; One for clean and 1 for dirty. Save on cupboards. As you use a plate move it across.

Tried a little experiment today. Did too loads of clothes washing and then put them on my other favourite appliance , the lakeland heated airer. Shut the utility room up and checked the humidity.


In the lounge before i moved the meter it was 55٪.
Clarification. Still in my modern house.

Any body use humidity controlled extract fans ?. Is the humidity level ajustable. ? Do they work Basically?

And as in my previous post any body any experience of fire blankets / break in a grade 2 listed roof. Organised loads in commercial settings. But not in an historic roof.

Thanks every one.

 

[LadyArowana]

My surveyor scared me a bit by saying try to advoid using the dishwasher. Also mentioned the fridge and freezer as produce moisture…

Did he also suggest you wore a space suit to avoid exhaling any moisture? and how is the dishwasher significantly worse than a washing up bowl and hot water, or maybe the dog just licks the plates clean(ish)? and I suppose now it’s Winter you can adopt the mode of a poverty stricken student and hang the perishables out of the college window rather than use a fridge. Sorry, maybe this should go in the grump thread I appear to have added nothing useful to the discussion, although I would endorse the extractor and dehumidifier solution rather than a return to the 19th century