Victorian Outbuilding renovation advice needed

[thecourtenayboy]

Hi Everyone. We moved into a Victorian property last year and the place needs a lot of work. I'm fairly competent when it comes to DIY but I'm a bit unsure about how to tackle the outbuilding at the end of the garden. Hopefully someone here can help.

My wife wants to use the largest central part of the building as a Photography Studio so it needs to look smarter and preferably insulated. The roof tiles are old and there are a few damaged ones. Fortunately there's a stack of spare tiles, so I can have a go at replacing the bad ones. There are some occasional leaks from the roof but its hard to spot exactly where they're coming from as there's a cladded ceiling. I've been told that these roof tiles are very fragile and that I may break some whilst I'm up there trying to replace bad ones. A few roofers have suggested that the whole roof should be replaced. I'd like to avoid this if possible as money is tight atm.

There was an old water but being fed from the guttering, which overflowed causing damp issues at the front of the building. I've since replaced the guttering and bypassed the water but so water drains away properly. I'm still a bit concerned about the floor though as this it is lower inside the building than outside, which could lead to damp issues. The other issue is that the floor inside slopes from the back to the front and from the left to the right.

I've been thinking that the concrete patio in front of the building needs to be dug out and lowered slightly. Then remove the wooden cladding/door and lay a course of bricks all the way across the opening. Then build up a few more rows of bricks before adding cladding and windows above. Just one or two rows of bricks below the door though as there isn't much height to play with. Then inside the building I may have to remove the grey floor tiles that are there currently and perhaps dig out some of the high spots before filling in and levelling with concrete. Not 100% sure on this being necessary or if its the best option?

On the internal walls I'm mostly concerned about the back wall as it is exposed to the elements. Would a stud wall with a waterproof membrane and celotex insulation on the inside be suitable given that this is an old building with lime mortar in between bricks?

Any advice on any of the above would be much appreciated. Thank you

 

[motorbiking]

What a lovely project.

If you don't mind a step up a 40-50mm raised floor with celotex between will be worth it, may be lay a DPM first.
For the walls 70-100mm Celotex foam glued to the walls (all gaps sealed with foam) with plasterboard (attached the same).
For the roof something similar
For the front window if you can get inside the paneling, fill it with insulation or perhaps replace the whole thing with a double glazed unit.

That will get you a U-value of around 0.3-0.5 which is pretty reasonable though not up to building control (which shouldn't be needed).

At the same time use the newly created voids for services (electric, internet etc)
For heating, I'd consider a small split air/con unit if you can find somewhere to mount the external unit.

 

[SFK]

I would put in an upright banister asap.
Those angled spindles are an accident waiting to happen as it will not stop people falling though.
Sfk