Cement over old timber frame.

[thatbloke]

Thought i would post this up. The house has stood for 500 years, in the 60's 70's and possible 80's cement was the material to use , strong , water proof and deadly to old houses.

This is just one of many sill plates and lower studs that bi have to repair due to them being encased in cement render and plaster and not being allowed to breath. The addition of cement flooring and a DPM helped push more moisture into the walls, the moisture had nowhere to go so the frame took the full blow.

This might not look too bad , the oak is compost though and crumbles to the touch.




Even the brick plinth has been reduced to rubble.
So , if you are doing work on old houses use old traditional materials and methods, or leave it to someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[Donkmeister]

That's just criminal!!! How are you going to repair it: like-for-like to original standard, or rip out the damage and repair with modern alternatives?

Many of the older buildings in this country have been systematically ruined over the years by a combination of people attempting to "modernise" by just hiding any part that has character, and by application of modern building regs to houses that were just built to work differently.

Everyone knows you don't put plain unleaded petrol into an old car that can only run on leaded... yet so many don't stop to think "should I really be using this modern stuff in this old house?"

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against people modernising a property if it's done with sympathy to the building fabric... When it comes to ripping out decent old doors and fireplaces and hiding original details behind chipboard, Barry Bucknell has a lot to answer for!!!

 

[thatbloke]

The sill plate is toast , as is the lower half of the studs. I will carefully support everything then strip it all out cutting the rot out of the studs, I shall rebuild the plinth with re claimed brick and and lime mortar and put in a new sill plate with new timber scarfed into the remaining decent wood in the studs.
Its not a difficult job to do but one that I could be doing without doing.

 

[john455]

its great to see that you are going to do this job and put it right, let me know how you get on. A family member has an old property and she has had similar issues with the one wall in the living area, she had hers corrected over 10 years ago and hasnt had any issues with it touch wood!

 

[thatbloke]

Once repaired properly it should outlast the person who did the repair,In this part of the house there are repairs that date back to 1760 although the frame possibly dates back to the early 1500's unless the cottage was ever rebuilt, hopefully the repairs I make will last another 500 years.
When I get round to doing it I will post up some more photos.

 

[Zebra579]

Hi thatbloke. Cannot see the photos you've posted but am wondering if you could tell me how you're planning to re-render, whether you're planning to strip off the cement render that's been applied...
I have a similar project, a 300-400 year old house that's been rendered in cement over an old timber frame, some time in the last century.
I'd be grateful if you'd see my post //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=272648 and if you could shed any light on the problem.
(Mine is only timber frame upstairs, it's solid brickwork downstairs)
Many thanks

 

[thatbloke]

Hi Zebra, I would say the first thing you need to do is register here,

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php

lots of people on there , including myself who are better equipped to help you out.

Without seeing the building I would say you need to support the frame and strip off the render then repair the frame ,lath with hardwood (oak) then lime render it.

Is it listed? where abouts are you?

anyhow , go to the forum listed above as I don't really use this one very often, the period property forum is full of people in your situation , or people who have been in your situation and are more than willing to advise.

Dont worry too much though , your house has been standing for 500 years or so , its not going to fall down anytime soon and timber framed buildings have an uncanny way of showing us they are a lot more robust than we give them credit for.

 

[Zebra579]

Will do. Thanks!

It's in Hertfordshire. It's not listed, although it wouldn't surprise me if it were to get listed suddenly, as the planning applications I've put in to alter the newer parts of the building may draw the Conservation Officers attention to it!

 

[thatbloke]

They will only put a conservation order on it if you plan to remove or alter the buildings original fabric, that is providing it is of some historical importance in the first place.
I would be more afraid of what building control might make you do to it.
My cottage isn't listed and sometimes I really wish it were.

 

[mypetearthling]

We're doing up an old property (400 years old ish, we think) , but it is nigh on impossible to find people in our area who can use traditional methods. so we're having to learn as we go along and do it ourselves.

One of the main problems is damp. The cause of this is cement render which covers one whole side and about a third of the front. We have arranged to have the front removed and redone in a lime and horse hair render. On the inside of this part there was a wooden floor which was rotting, when we lifted the boards to have a look under we found compost where there should have been joists. as we got further into clearing this room, removing peeling paint from walls and ceiling, we discovered that two walls had been lined with large sheets of something which sounded almost metallic when tapped.
We are now waiting for someone to come and have a proper look at it but it seems some smart ar$e has lined the room with sheets of asbestos

Our house isn't listed, although a lot of our village is, from what I have heard in our area it isn't difficult to get it listed. We're in Wales though and Cadw can get a little carried away.
The details for England are here:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/protection/process/online-application-form/
Hope you're enjoying your old house as much as we are ours!


K