Problems with restoring a cottage

wadewade

I wonder if anyone can help with our problem! Our church owns a small two bedroom cottage which is Listed Grade 2. It has been somewhat neglected but we now plan to renovate it and let it at a reasonable rent but the estimated costs are starting to mount up. We need to refit the kitchen and bathroom, plaster up some walls, install insulation, etc but we have now come up against two unexpected costs. We would like to avoid these if possible and wonder if anyone can suggest alternative approaches.

1) Architect advises that grouting in walls needs replacing. Estimated cost £8,000. Any way we can seal this more cheaply?

2) Some window frames rotten. District Council have discovered that original windows on front of building were replaced some years ago (when UPVC had just arrived) with rather nasty white double glazed windows and are now insisting they are replaced with wooden frames again. They also say back windows must be replaced in wood. Do we have to do this? If we just do nothing to the windows can they force us to do it? Any ideas?

Many thanks.

Doozergirl

Hi wadewade

1) I think you're talking about repointing the walls where the mortar has come loose. There's no cheap way of doing this as virtually all of the cost is made up of labour because of how intensive it is. Someone has to go round every inch, scrape out the loose mortar, replace it carefully and then clean the brick afterwards. Dependign on the age of the cottage, you may have to use lime mortar to get the right colour for the conservation officer, which is quite expensive and you'll probably need to use a builder used to it as (I think) it's quite dry and difficult to work with.

2) To put uPVC windows in a listed building is irresponsible. Listed Building consents should have been sought before any building work starts and yes the council can force you to replace with wood windows and could potentially prosecute. There's no doubt that handmade windows are really expensive. They were the single most expensive item in our last house!

A listed building is a labour of love and (to be honest) a big liability. Is there a possibility of selling the cottage? The rental return would be poor compared to what is probably quite an expensive building and the ongoing cost of maintenance would disappear. The building will probably get the love and attention it deserves too.

BACKFRMTHEEDGE

Where do you live wadwwade? I live in London and we are paying £1,000 per window for wood double glased sashes...there a fancy design though. :rolleyes:

dander

You can get wooden double glazing that isn't extortionate. I think my colleague got a replacement sash window for around £200 (excluding fitting)

Doozergirl

With a listed building you have to operate within very strict boundaries and the Conservation Officer will have a very strong idea of the windows they will expect to see. If it's a pre-Victorian cottage, it's likely that sash windows won't be suitable or allowed.

The best thing to do with Conservation officers is go overboard with what you want and find 'compromises' that suit you. Sometimes they just won't budge and sometimes you can play the 'like with like' card. eg. the cottage has plastic guttering but the conservation officer wants iron, which is very expensive. Because plastic is already in place, you can replace like for like. Like for like won't stretch to uPVC windows though - they should be removed (rightly IMO).

Feej_2

Agree with Doozergirl. Also, beware that not just any wooden windows will do - depending on the zeal of the conservation officer and the original design you may have to have the old windows copied exactly down to the thickness of stiles/rails and glazing bars (between panes).

If you decide to go ahead with replacement, agree the exact design with the CO in advance of having them made/fitted, including whether double glazing is an option (new regs mean much thicker sealed units for glazing, needing thicker wood which may not be OK with the CO).

All the best,

Feej

Doozergirl

Feej wrote:

If you decide to go ahead with replacement, agree the exact design with the CO in advance of having them made/fitted, including whether double glazing is an option (new regs mean much thicker sealed units for glazing, needing thicker wood which may not be OK with the CO).

Absolutely! Get one window made up and get it approved. Our architects drawing was interpreted badly by the carpenter (exactly because of wood thickness for double glazing mentioned above) and it was only our third, single glazed window that got approved. The two that got discarded were expensive enough, imagine if we'd gotten them all made up before seeking approval! :eek: