Recent content by ree

OP, What you definitely dont do is is to fix another joist onto an already rotten joist. Especially when its hard to tell what kind of rot is present: dry rot or wet rot or perhaps both? Plus, some of the joisting already appears to have been doubled up? Neither do you glibly start removing any...

Poster #12, Labour supporters might be a little more thoughtful than you think: From 1937 on the Labour Party under Clement Atlee was forcefully against Hitler and the later Munich Agreement cowardice. Individual Labour MP's were opposed to Hitler & his British Blackshirt scum from 1933 on...

OP, No, do not "vent" the cavity - for a number of sound reasons you dont vent any wall cavities. Your "air bricks low down" should be opened up - they should be located below the interior floor level - they should also be sleeved through the cavity. If you post pics of the brickwork I can say...

OP, Yes, as above, some kind of, maybe local, grit sand was used with lime. So point up with a 3:1 sand & NH lime mix.

OP, The roof is an amateurish construction with built-in faults from the first day of construction. Where pitched roofs meet flat roofs always needs special consideration. Very little consideration went into your roofs abutment. Joisting has failed ie. the ponding hollows, or it was never there...

OP, Was the chimney flue swept before it was sealed off at the bedroom fireplace? Was there a bottom vent fixed into the fireplace blocking? The "efflorescence" - (if it is efflorescence) - appears to be minor. Maybe its not efflorescence but Hygroscopic salts leaking thro from the flues?

OP, Why not post a pic of the "plasterboard section" you intend to make good? Its well possible to replace a piece of p/b with hardly any filling.

OP, "expansion gaps at every abutment" - ie. wherever any part of the boards comes against any kind of obstacle eg. walls - pipes - certain fixtures etc. then, typically, a 10mm to 15mm expansion gap must be left.

OP, You have dry rot. With dry rot its worth paying an Independent Damp & Timber surveyor to do a detailed survey, & schedule of works, of the bathroom area & to be thorough, the rest of the Victorian house.

OP, Stop with the "ripping up" business. If done properly, & depending on how it was fixed, most any wood floor or sheeting can be lifted with very little damage to the boards. There are a few basics that go into laying any kind of suspended floor eg. a pre-laying survey for well fixed joists &...

OP, For my money, what you propose is a bad idea. I think its a bad idea for a number of reasons but thats just me, others might have different notions?

OP, If you post pics of the walls it might help? Stick with a 3:1 sand & NH lime mortar mix - its the go-to standard for pointing and rendering in thousands of jobs. Air bricks wont make much difference to pointing. What "openings" have been "closed off" - are you intending to ventilate cavity...

OP, Could you stand back and take pics: showing all the window boards, the ceiling, & down to the floor on the three walls? And pics of the outside of the bay and the bay surrounds including the crack? And a pic of the front elevation of the building? The joist tails in the bay floor sound like...

OP, Gently push up at the damaged areas & determine if the plaster has "debonded" from the plaster laths - or if the laths & plaster have "debonded" from the joists? If its the laths have dropped then: 1. Find the joists that the sagging plaster laths were attached to. 2. Pilot hole through the...

OP, A larger context photo of the wall would help? To find the DPC you need to use, say, a flat bladed screwdriver to to start scraping out a little mortar from the beds. Start at ground level and work up bed by bed. Any DPC would probably be a slate DPC although other materials were used...