The Restoration - Week Sixteen

For the first week in a long time I wasn't around for most of the week so it was nice to see the dramatic changes to parts of the house when I returned.

The biggest step this week was the fitting of all the timber infills above the windows. This has really transformed the look of the house and its great to see our vision become reality.

Adding the wood arches is the finishing touch on the new windows and doors.

The front door will be sanded and painted to match the windows once the builders have finished when it won't be in danger of getting knocked or scratched :0).

The completed windows and doors really change the look of the house

Another job done this week was the repointing of the verges which, as you can see in the photos above are wrapped in Hessian to protect from frost.

Last week we thought the whole of the large chimney would need dismantling and rebuilding but on Monday this week, after a closer inspection, it was decided that repointing the lower parts would be sufficient and it would only be necessary to rebuild the top section. After removing the flaunching we found four flues, three blocked at various levels in the house and roof space. Only one is in use today for our woodburner but we'll fit capped, ventilated pots to all the blocked flues to restore the original look of this big stack with four pots.

There are four flues under the Hessian protecting the repointing and its easy to see which one serves our woodburner!

The last major job done this week was to repair the chimney breast in the kitchen. There were a lot of crumbled bricks and very little mortar under the plaster when it was removed but now its looking in much better shape!

The brickwork still needs some cleaning to remove old limewash and distemper but its now repaired and structurally stable.

Next week we hope to get close to completing the repairs on both chimney stacks. As well as the stacks there are also quite a few other outside jobs to complete; relaying some rows of roof tiles and fitting new guttering along the west wall, laying new ridge tiles, fitting airbricks in each gable to ventilate the roofspaces and repointing the stonework at the base of several of the walls. So we have our fingers crossed that winter waits for a couple more weeks! 

The Restoration - Week Fifteen

Almost 4 months since the start of building work, all major brickwork repairs to the walls have been completed. This leaves only repointing of poorer areas to be completed and that work was continued by the bricklayers Gareth and Stuart throughout the whole of week 15.

Other work started this week was the preparation of window and door reveals ahead of the plasterer who will be with us again in a few weeks. We also saw some clearing up inside the house where lime grout had leaked through the west wall (in significant amounts) into the living areas and cellar.

The oak arch infills, each of which is a unique size, handmade on site by Ben the carpenter, all received their second coat of linseed oil paint and these should hopefully be installed next week.

Another job completed this week was the upgrading of the electrics to bring OLF up to modern standard. Whilst rewiring wasn't needed since all cables are in good condition, the ring main had to be split into smaller sections, some junction boxes were upgraded to more waterproof versions in the cellar, earth cables were connected to incoming water and oil supplies, a new larger earth cable and ground spike was fitted and a new consumer unit installed.

Apart from all of the above, attention switched to the chimneys as a new "lift" was added to the scaffold to reach the big chimney in the centre of the house.

The scaffold heads skyward to reach the big central chimney

Once we had access to this chimney it was quickly apparent that it would need major attention - more so than originally thought. The mortar was extremely damaged and looks like a very weak mixture had been used in previous repairs. This leaves only one sensible option - a complete rebuild of this chimney which will start next week. The chimney stack will be taken down to roof level and completely rebuilt using a suitable lime mortar and repaired with reclaimed bricks to match the present style. We think there may be a total of 4 flues, with 2 currently hidden beneath the flaunching. If thats the case, we will probably install 4 pots to restore the original look of this big stack.

The poor state of the big chimney stack was very clear once we were able to take a close look.

There was better news from the other chimney stack which, apart from needing some repointing and a few bricks replaced is otherwise in good condition. So we will have less work to do on this one since we had budgeted to rebuild the top six courses. The leadwork will also be repaired.

The second chimney stack is raked out to be repointed and will have the lead work repaired.

So, the scaffold not only gave us a better view of the chimney stacks, it also provides a great vantage point for a unique view of the garden and surrounding Shropshire countryside - a reminder of why we are liucky to live in such a beautiful spot.

Next week we hope to see visible changes outside with repairs starting on the big chimney and the timber arches fitted over the windows.

The Restoration - Week Fourteen

This week has mostly been about repairs to the chimney on the east gable. After removing the render it was clear that this wall needed a lot of repairs and the chimney was in particularly poor condition.

Having removed damaged bricks and mortar, Stuart made a great job of restoring this section of the chimney.

There was another area of badly damaged brick further up just below the chimney stack. The stack will also require some rebuilding but that will be tackled over the coming weeks.

The bricks below the stack are transformed

When the render was removed form the east gable the ends of both purlins were revealed as they had only been covered in a thin layer of lime mortar under the render. We have decided to make a feature of these by repairing the brickwork around them and adding a flaunching of lime mortar around the timbers. After they are coated with limewash they should be adequately protected from the weather.

The brickwork and pointing around the purlins have been repaired and the exposed timber  will be a nice feature on the gable end.

There was also a lot of repointing and some brickwork repairs to be completed on the North gable this week. Below the eaves there had been a lot of gaps which had previously been filled with cement render and these have now been filled completely by cutting a lot of bricks to fit beautifully into the gaps.

Gareth has been busy on this gable end and made a great job of repairing the pointing and brickwork below the eaves

Another job going on quietly in the background this week and still to make a star appearance has been the making of the timber arches for above the windows. These are being made on site from oak and are at this moment in various stages of completion  in our temporary paint shop (our sitting room which has become a store for everything we have had to move from other parts of the house). As the Linseed oil paint takes forever to dry (at least 48 hours) and two coats are applied it will take some time before the first ones can be fitted. Each window and lintel placement is also a little different because of the variety of brickwork on the house, meaning that Ben the carpenter has made every one to a unique size and design to give the best fit and appearance once installed.

Ben had a very busy week making (and painting) bespoke oak arches for fourteen windows and doors.

One job which I decided to tackle was to remove the gypsum plaster from the chimney breast inside the kitchen. Having previously removed the tiles and cement from the fireplace we wanted to reveal the brickwork on the chimney breast to see if it could be restored and kept as an exposed brick feature in the kitchen. It will certainly need some repairs as there is no mortar left in places and there are a few old coats of paint in some places but we are hopeful it can be left as exposed brick once its cleaned up and repaired. 

One little piece of interest we found this week was some of the old lime mortar which fell out around the chimney breast. It had a lot of animal hair in it. This was commonly used to help bind together the mortar and the hair I found is still in amazing condition - very soft and flexible.

The chimney breast is revealed and in need of some TLC. 

So that was week 14, originally the estimated finish date for this project. However that was always only an estimate and various jobs have turned out to be more time consuming or complex than we originally thought. Its likely we have another month ahead of us before the building work is finished. We will certainly need to wait until spring before limewashing as the temperature will be far too low to apply this material by the time the building is ready for it.

The Restoration - Week Thirteen

A bit of a weird photograph to open this week's Blogpost. This is the view inside the top of the stone wall which has been filled with lime grout. Ignore the bluish green colours caused by the flash. This picture was taken through a hole about the size of a tennis ball and you can clearly see the level area of white lime grout at the top of the wall. All the voids have been filled with this stuff which has set solid and will increase in strength over the coming months as it dries out.

The lime grout has set solid inside the stone wall

This week work started on the west gable which until now was still rendered above the lean to below. This gable also has a chimney stack on it and we didn't know what kind of state this would be in when the render was removed. The news was not good.......

Work starts on removing the cement render from the east gable

Once the chimney stack was revealed it was obvious that it would need extensive repointing where the old lime mortar has been eroded by the layer of cement and the moisture which has been trapped in this wall for decades.

This old chimney is going to need a lot of repointing

In places the render came away easily on this gable whereas in others it was quite stubborn. Eventually after a couple of days work the whole gable and chimney is revealed.

All render removed form the east gable and the scaffold is extended to reach the chimney stack

Repointing began this week on the east gable where the wall and chimney will need quite a bit of work.

A lot of the remaining work on the house is repointing brickwork and roof verges. There are also a lot of bricks to be cut to fill in holes between the roof and the gable ends where cement had been packed into gaps. But before repointing the brickwork a lot of raking our has to be done to remove the remnants of old cement render and in places some failed lime mortar. Because of the softness of the old bricks powered grinders were out of the question for raking out and a hand chisel is the tool of choice. Of course this makes it a slow job but will avoid damage to the edges of the bricks.

Stuart chisels out old cement mortar in preparation for repointing

The first stage in repointing after the gaps are filled with lime mortar

The pointing is finished off after a day by consolidating it with a stiff brush and removing the excess mortar

One job started last week was the repair to the front door jambs and the reinstatement of a brick arch above the door. Early this week that was finished off although a new door frame is still to be fitted and the door will be sanded and repainted in linseed oil to match the windows.

Door jambs repaired and the new arch is built

The scaffolders were back this week to build a new lift on the north and south gables as well as raising the scaffold to the level of the chimney stack on the east gable. This allowed repointing to start on the higher parts of the gables and the fitting of cut bricks to fill gaps under the eaves.

Gareth starts preparations on the north gable to lay cut bricks below the eaves

Next week there is a lot more repointing to be done as well as the remaining brickwork repairs on the north side of the house. Hopefully we can also start to fit some of the timber arches above the windows. Apart form these things there are still a lot of smaller jobs to be finalised:

• Raking out and pointing the stonework around the base of the walls.
• Repairing the window reveals and soffits inside the house.
• Rebuilding the top courses on both chimney stacks.
• Relaying the ridge tiles.
• Lifting and relaying the bottom rows of roof tiles on the west side to increase the overhang and fit new guttering.

..........and some other things I've no doubt forgotten!

The Restoration - Week Twelve

This week was a very busy week at Old Lawns Farmhouse (or OLF to those of you not familiar with this Blog).

• The last four triple glazed windows were fitted.
• The new timber back door with sidelight was fitted.
• Grouting of the west stone wall was completed
• Work began on repairs to the door jambs and reinstating the arch over the front door.
• Much of the remaining brickwork repairs on the walls were completed.
• Re-pointing continued and the scaffold was extended to reach higher areas.
• The new boiler installation was completed.
• The second fix on the electrical work to install extra kitchen sockets, extractors, lights and upgrades to some old wiring was started.

All these jobs meant that OLF was a congested place with 9 tradesmen working on the property at times this week but all these people played their part on accelerating the pace of our restoration.

So lets start with the windows. Four were fitted to complete the fitting of all the windows this week. The biggest change was on the North Gable where the bathroom window was fitted into the original opening opened up last week.

The last two windows were fitted in the North gable, including the bathroom (top left) reinstated to its original size.

Next came the replacement of the old UPVC back door. This door had a top light above it and always looked out of proportion with the building, so it was decided to replace it with something we felt to be more in keeping with the property. The door opening is very wide and had been infilled with UPVC side panels. Having come across a recent, very tasteful barn conversion during a summer walk in south Shropshire I loved the style of the door and sidelight which had been fitted to it and thought something similar might look good on our house. So, not being one who believes in "reinventing the wheel" I took a photograph and gave this to Wiiliams Homes of Bala who manufactured our new door and sidelight to an identical design..

First of all the old door had to be removed, along with a hefty door frame which was found lurking behind those UPVC side panels.

The door is almost ready to be removed and the brickwork above will be repaired and a new brick arch installed.

The door is out! 

Now to install the new door and sidelight, brick up the space above the door where the old top light was located and build the brick arch above the new door.

The new frame is in place and the brickwork repair can begin.

A few hours work and the brickwork and arch are complete and the door is glazed.

A nice feature of this door opening is the quirky, curvy brickwork on the left side. Although its not plumb, its all been repaired and repointed over the past few weeks. Of course we could have straightened this out by taking the wall down and rebuilding but we love the look of it and believe its yet another feature which tells the story of  the building.

Another curve which we think sits nicely against our new door.

Part of the work in replacing the door also involved rebuilding the brickwork above the door and below the bedroom window above. This was in a terrible state, most of the mortar having dissolved to dust below the cement render. The remedy was to strip the outer skin of bricks and rebuild.

The old  brickwork above the door was in a terrible state.

The brickwork is repaired, transforming the appearance of this area.

The removal of the old door, repairs to the jambs, rebuilding of the brickwork above, installing the brick  arch and fitting and glazing the new door took about 2 and a half days in total. We feel that this has immensely improved the appearance of the building, bringing the door much more in proportion with the rest of the house. 

The new door and sidelight,  installed and glazed.

As you will have seen in Blog posts over the past few weeks, there has been a LOT of work done to repair the west stone wall which was in a very poor state of repair when the render was removed. We didn't know what we would find when this wall was revealed although we suspected that it would need significant repairs. In fact this has turned into the largest single piece of work on the entire project. First it was completely raked out and repointed in lime mortar. Next, around 40 stainless steel Spiroties were inserted horizontally through the wall to tie together the stonework. Finally holes were drilled through the mortar at various heights up the wall into which a lime grout slurry was poured, starting at the base and gradually working upwards over the course of a couple of weeks. This week that work was finally completed with the last grout poured into the top of the wall.

John, the skilled mason who has been a big part of repairing this wall pours the last of the lime grout into this big wall.

The total amount of lime grout used was 4.8 tons, so allowing for the fact that the mix has been about two parts grout to one part water, this means that over 7 tons of material has been poured into the wall, filling all the voids and immensely increasing the strength of this wall. I have no doubt that it has NEVER been as strong as it is today and its good for another 400 years!  

What's been amazing at times is how the grout has "traveled" across the wall, leaking out a long way from where it is being poured. Even as John was pouring the last few hundred kilos, we had a few leaks inside and outside the house. Let's just say that if you are doing this kind of work in a house where you are living, as we are, then don't be too precious about your carpets!! 

Lime grout oozing through the newly pointed wall, clay was used to temporarily plug these weep holes.

Having fitted the new back door and sidelight, work got underway to repair the jambs on our front door. Once all the remaining render had been removed it was obvious that the existing door frame was too narrow for the opening and the gaps on each side had been packed with cement. So the solution is to rebuild the jamb on one side and fit a new larger door frame but reuse the existing timber door within the new frame. We also decided that we will eventually sand the existing door back so that it can be painted in Linseed oil paint from Allback in the same Lichen colour as our new windows.  

Ben gets to grips with removing brickwork on one of the door jambs, ready to rebuild it to the new frame size.

Next on the list were repairs to the outer skin of bricks below the north kitchen window. This looked like an area which had been poorly rebuilt at some time in the past. The cement render in this area was VERY hard and when Stuart the bricklayer started to remove the outer skin of bricks it was clear that extremely hard cement had been used. 

Removing the old brickwork was a tough job due to the very hard cement mortar which had been used.

Once the old brickwork had been removed, it wasn't long before this section was fully repaired.

Stuart completes the rebuild and has matched the pattern on the adjacent section of wall

This repair is one of the last significant areas of wall in need of repair and leaves only one section on the north gable still to be done. The weather remains on our side even in late October and temperatures are still OK for the use of lime mortar so we're crossing our fingers for a mild start to November! 

Two areas of brickwork which also need attention are the chimney stacks which will have the top 6 courses rebuilt. The scaffolders returned this week to provide access to higher areas of the south gable and they will eventually scaffold the chimneys sometime in the next couple of weeks once the bricklyers are ready to start work on the stacks.

Another level was added to the scaffold on the south gable. 

One reason for the higher level of scaffold is the amount of repointing still to be done on OLF. A lot of the lime mortar has been damaged or even dissolved away by years spent wet under cement render.

Gareth starts repointing the top of the south gable

Last but not least, as the autumn arrives we got our boiler installed and the heating system was up and running again. Having use an ageing, oil burning Stanley cooker to provide heating and an electric immersion heater for hot water, we are very impressed so far by the performance of the new 97% efficient oil burning, condensing system boiler which has been installed. We have our fingers crossed for lower energy bills at a time when most people are seeing an increase.

Still a "work in progress" but our kitchen is getting slowly back to normal and its cosy again thanks to our new boiler!

Next weeks work will include continuing repointing, replacement of some individual bricks, work on the front door jambs and arch and repairs on the remaining brickwork.

The Restoration - Week Eleven

The main progress this week has been:

• Four window openings have been repaired ready for their new windows, 3 with newly built brick arches.

• Our bathroom window opening has also been restored to its original size using its original brick arch.

• The new oil fired boiler installation was started.

        

The first of the smaller windows was fitted after minor repairs to the jambs.

I don't think I've posted shots showing the rebuild and reinstatement of a window arch so here are a few shots to show the process on one of the windows rebuilt by Stuart this week:

Having hacked out the modern outer skin of brick and removed the lintel, the brickwork above is supported by Acroprops while the jambs are repaired. 

With the lintel replaced and a wooden former in place, the arch is restored.

Finally, thin sections of brick are cut and laid over the arch to complete the job.

One part of the project we were looking forward to was restoring the bathroom window to its original size which was revealed when an old arch was discovered under the cement render. This will let a lot more light into the room which is on the darker north side of the house.

This was the old bathroom window and its original arch which had been hidden under the render.

Work starts on the removal of the brick infill, improving the view from the bathroom 

We found old soggy plasterboard on the left side of the reveal and a nice big oak beam over the top of the opening which, although it had been hidden beneath plasterboard for decades, seems to be sound and will be left in place to eventually be a feature in the room.

The new opening is much more in proportion with the other windows on this gable.

Other windows were fitted and glazed leaving only 4 more to go as well as our new door, all of which we hope will be fitted next week, although its looking like the weather may be turning wetter.

Another window goes into its newly repaired opening. 

Because of their weight, the windows were fitted without glass and the triple glazed units installed once the windows were in place.

The brick corbelling  on OLF has been painted red and we want to remove this so that these bricks can be limewashed. This week a paint stripper was tried with some success but it thinned and smeared, rather than removing the paint. Blasting is probably an option but we would rather not go to the expense of doing that and now that the new windows are fitted, sand blasting at this stage runs a high risk of damaging the glass. The plan is to try brick acid next but if that proves ineffective we may eventually have to use a masonry paint which will match the limewash on the rest of the brickwork. Before doing that however, we will test limewash on the stripped bricks to see if it will cover them and adhere to the treated surfaces.

Removing masonry paint from brick is proving difficult without blasting.

Finally on Thursday, we had the welcome sight of our oil boiler being installed. In an ideal world with no financial restrictions it would have been nice to install a wood pellet boiler but those installations would cost about £10k, excluding the cost of a building to house the boiler, fuel hopper and heat storage tank. While not the greenest choice, our new  condensing oil boiler is 95% efficient and so at least it will make better use of the oil than our old, thirsty range!

At last! By this time next week, we will be ready for winter.

The weather next week is not forecast to be too good - wet and windy. Nevertheless the hope is that we can continue to make progress on :

• Fitting the last four windows
• Installing the new door
• Finish grouting the west wall
• Start repointing brickwork in lime mortar and...
• Start internal work on making good around the new windows