Renovating a stone house- how hard?

the_matrix

Hi

I'm thinking of buying a stone house. It needs some serious renovation. How hard is it to renovate a stone house? What are your experiences?

Thanks in advance :beer:

Bye

gwernybwch

Describe 'serious renovation'?
It is always going to be more expensive than renovation than a brick house as stone 'laying' is always going to be slower than brick laying and there are less builders around with the relevant experience.
Repointing a stone house is about as boring as a it comes!

On the flip side if you have an 'eye' for stone walling, a DIY'er can often do a better job of stone walling than brick laying.

Jaynne

A few ideas as to what you think needs doing would probably help. The house I grew up in was a sandstone 110 year old house in Glasgow and could definitely be described as a money pit. Who for instance thought that flat roofs in one of the wettest parts of the country was a good idea should be taken outside and shot. They also were quite chilly so needed a lot of heating on exacerbated by the fact that it was a listed building so no double glazing possible.

On the other hand is was a very attractive house so I guess thats the price you pay.

Canucklehead

Hi: we renovated our stone house over a period of 3 years. We were fortunate to find a fantastic stone mason who repaired and repointed with lime mortar and matching stone while we did the rest of the work.

Btw Bricks & Brass is a fantastic resource.

Good luck with your project.

Let us know how you get on.

Canucklehead

the_matrix

gwernybwch wrote: »

Describe 'serious renovation'?

The place hasn't been touched in decades. Windows smashed, weeds, rain, water, damp... Not for the faint hearted.

Jaynne wrote: »

A few ideas as to what you think needs doing would probably help.

The roof, doors, windows, internal walls, electrics, there's no gas etc.

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi: we renovated our stone house over a period of 3 years.

Btw Bricks & Brass is a fantastic resource.

Good luck with your project.

Let us know how you get on.

Canucklehead

Three years is very fast. You done well.

Great website i'll have a good read.

If i'm brave enough to buy it then i'll let you know how I get along.

Just out curiosity how is this lime mortar done? What's different to sand/cement mortar?

Thanks :beer:

Canucklehead

the_matrix wrote: »

Just out curiosity how is this lime mortar done? What's different to sand/cement mortar?

Thanks :beer:

Hi: have a look here. Also, check out the Technical Q&As on the SPAB website...fantastic resource (meant to put the link in my previous post;)). The 'Old House Handbook' from SPAB is worth a punt as well.

HTH

Canucklehead

renovation_man

If you are inexperienced invest in a surveyor as you could be opening a can of worms.

The works mentioned so far are just basic renovation works, if there has been any water ingress through the roof you could have some decay to roof joists, wall plate, there could be wet rot to all joist ends embedded in the walls, rising damp, penertrating damp.

I have renovated countless properties over the last 27 yrs including listed building, buildings of historic interest and many housing grants and I don't believe I have ever had one come in on budget. get a QS to give you the costings of the required works as per surveyors report and then ad a bit.

oh and stay away from cowboys and gunslingers as cheapest is not always best.