Outside Toilet Renovation

[lyric]

Hello people

My house is about 100 years old. We have our own bathroom upstairs, but the outside dunny remains. It’s in rather poor repair, but I am resolved to keep it. Handy while barbecuing or gardening if nothing else.

It also presents itself as a perfect educational project, an introduction into building renovation. I’m going to ask a lot of questions...

I don’t have before pictures. But the interior was clad in damp plaster board. Behind this were a network of often rotten battens and some very large spiders. This all came out to reveal some rough brickwork and on the outside walls, damp mortar.

On the outside walls the pointing is really damp. It scrapes out with a trowel like sand. I excavated as much as I dared. Some degree of re-pointing has been done in the past, but the damp is already coming through in some areas.

Q Should I put in some kind of damp proof layer to prevent further ingress of moisture? I’ll probably only spend another 5 years in this house max. I am not prepared to get professionals in so are there any options I can use myself?

Q How do I re-point the brickwork?

Q Originally I was going to clean it all back to the original brickwork and leave it exposed. It’s too rough and damaged however. How should I finish it? I was thinking of applying a render, what would be the best way to do this?

There’s an old window to the outside which has been bricked up. God only knows what those horizontal bars are doing running across. I think it’s some kind of crude reinforcement of some dodgy brickwork to the left of the window. Above you can see part of the roof. It has ceramic tiles.

Q Any ideas what the horizontal bars are for? Is this a standard feature of 100 year old houses, and is it safe to delete them?

Q I want to put a skylight in the roof. any tips for doing this? I’ll probably get a reclaim unit - it doesn’t need double glazing since it isn’t heated anyway.

Many thanks for your time reading and replying to this!

 

[Nige F]

Horiz. bars held the cistern, probably........I`d repoint with lime mortar and colourwash the walls with limewash...and I saw an iron high level cistern @ a boot fair last week .......I`d sell that to you but they wanted £15.00 for it do nothing else to it other than cut pattern in top of the door for ventilation ....paint the door with linseed oil paint.....it`s a mini restoration leave the tiles .....and hang "The Watchtower" on a nail for wiping My Gran used to

 

[lyric]

Lime sounds like a good plan - allows the masonry to breathe doesn't it? Is it readily available, how do you use it? I told you I had a lot of questions...

Excellent idea about the cast iron high level cistern - was wondering what to do about that. That is now officially part of the plan!

And yes - the tiles are staying.

I'm not particularly fond of religious fundamentalists but wiping my a*rse on their literature is a step too far (but only because modern pamphlets are too glossy)

 

[Moz]

render the walls , with waterproof render , an paint

put in a new toilet an cisten ........re tile floor , new door , an andrex toilet rolls on back

 

[sandwell]

I have a similar place, and it is looking quite acceptable now.
The brickwork was repointed where necessary. I brushed the whole lot down with a wire brush. Applied stabilizing solution, then Masonry Paint.
Over the toilet cistern I hung a gaily striped curtain. Retiled the floor.
Will try and take a picture and post here

 

[JohnD]

And people used to keep paraffin heaters in them, against frost.

 

[lyric]

I'm going down the lime route. I've got a big tub of lime putty to mix with sand in a 3:1 ratio. Once pointed will render the walls with the same stuff. Then lime wash to finish. I've always wanted to get to grips with lime since reading about it in relation to straw bale constructions. If it goes well, I may lime wash the front elevation of the house at a later date.

Will keep the original tiles but will put in a skirting board.

Going to try to source an old high level cistern as per Nige F's suggestion although I'll lose those parallel bars. The pot itself is probably original and can stay. The door is solid, I'll have it dipped.

Haven't made much progress recently because the car needs work and has taken precedence!

 

[oilman]

Brill reply Nige F and really good to see lyric is taking the advice. Lime is quite easy to use, and the linseed oil paint is a dream to use. It's only disadvantage is the drying time and ex...... , two, its only two disadvantages are the drying time and expense. It needs 4 coats at a day each in warm weather. Don't paint in the winter. Ive just covered 48 sq ft with 4 coats and that took 1/2 litre as a guide. That's £15 in paint, but then I wont have to do it again for 7 years, and then only an oil coat.

 

[lyric]

I've been doing lots of work keeping my old motor on the road (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) - so haven't progressed very far to be honest.

Parallel bars are out.

All screws and fixings in the brickwork are out.

Walls have been cleaned up using a wire brush (attached to an angle grinder).

Q Okay all you lime officinados, do I add horse hair into my lime mix when rendering?

Cheers

 

[Nige F]

I`m still with you and I`ve just acquired an old building book from the 30`s.....so I`ll have a look @ the lime plastering section when I get a moment I`m doing up a 1970`s flat for N0.2 son @ the moment ....now then ..........the book says the tradesman`s rate is 1/8d per hour charged by the builder..........and a semi 3 bed cost £550.0.0........so what£ pro-rata should a builder charge now with a semi@£200k.....

 

[JohnD]

£31.82

Except that the standards of the house would not make it work 200k - it would need rewiring, insulating, replumbing, 2 bathrooms etc.

So maybe knock a third off each figure.

Also, with your power tools and modern materials, you can do more work in less time (wiped lead joints per hour, or threaded steel pipe joints? Number of Yorkshire ring joints you can make per hour? Number of plugged wooden blocks to nail skirting to per hour? Number of plasplugs drilled and fitted per hour? Or noMoreNails?

And luckily cost of living is lower/standard of living is higher (inside toilet? Tin bath? carpets on the floors? Wash-stand and jug of cold water?)

Probably near-impossible to compare.

 

[Nige F]

Excellent and fast answer I think,though that apart from technology and the NHS..we`re no better off in real terms and perhaps under more day-to day pressure now , but then WW11 was looming...so who knows