Marianne Suhr: Final repairs

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The project: Restoring Corner Cottage, an 18th-century, two-bedroom, rubble stone house (rubble stone being, specifically, stone masonry with irregularly shaped stones bonded by mortar).
This month's challenge: To tackle the front elevation and complete the restoration of the exterior.

This is my third and final report on Becky and Robin’s cottage, and I am delighted to announce that the outside of the house is almost complete. It has been a challenging three years during which time Becky has insisted on tackling as many jobs as possible single-handed, with weekend assistance from her parents, occasional volunteers and more recently from fiancé – now husband – Robin.

It was a house with lots of problems and some very substandard DIY by the previous owner, all of which needed sorting out. For almost a year Becky’s kitchen consisted of a microwave in the spare bedroom and a bath that doubled up as a kitchen sink. This is undoubtedly the average DIY enthusiast’s nightmare.

I feel partially responsible for the events that have taken place as I met Becky at a SPAB homeowner’s course three years ago just after she had bought the house. It was probably me expounding on breathability and the evils of cement that made her take this long and tortuous road, removing every incompatible material and replacing it with lime. Little did I know at the time that we would become good friends and lend each other a hand at key points during our respective house projects.

I visited Becky and Robin just 10 days before their wedding to help with the final push. They were both really keen to complete the job and get the scaffold down before the big day.

The other three elevations had already been finished, leaving just the front to do. But this was also the most difficult side of the house as the stone was dressed (tooled to a smooth finish), rather than the rough rubble stone on the other sides. This meant that we had to take much greater care when chipping out the cement and removing the masonry paint in order to minimise any damage to the face of the stone.

Around the back we had used a ‘scutch hammer’ to take the modern paint off the rubble stone. On the front, all the paint had to be removed using a caustic alkaline based stripper: this involved painting it on, leaving it to bubble up, then scraping it off with a blade. While Becky prepared the surfaces, I followed on with my adapted cutlery knife, pointing up the voids with lime mortar. But despite our superhuman efforts, time was running out and Becky and Robin were getting perilously close to their wedding day.

When most brides-to-be would be getting a manicure and a facial, Becky was up the scaffold, morning till night, chipping, scraping, pointing and painting, with her unfaltering fiancé by her side. The scaffolding finally came down the evening before the wedding. ‘It’s not quite finished,’ said Becky, ‘but we’ll have to fix that from a ladder after the honeymoon.’

ABOVE (L-R): The chemical paint stripper is applied to the stone; once the stripper starts to react, the previous layer of paint is scraped off; Becky taking off the old paint.
BELOW (L-R): Marianne lending a hand with the repointing of the exterior; The finished end wall of the cottage.

Marianne's checklist: DIY Building Works

• Plan ahead If you’re planning to carry out your own repairs to an old house, start by writing a list of the jobs, one by one in chronological order. Work out where you need to bring in specialist help such as for electrics, plumbing, chimney repairs, and make a note of the projects you feel confident about doing yourself.
• Is your house listed? If it is, remember that you will need to apply for listed building consent for any alterations that go beyond straightforward repair. It’s easy to make your own application – speak to your conservation officer to find out how.
• Go one step at a time Don’t tackle the work all in one go. Divide it into manageable tasks, either by room or by elevation. Try to keep an area of the house clean and free from DIY so you have somewhere comfortable to retreat to at the end of each day.
• Economise on scaffolding Think carefully about where you need access and design it so you can complete as many jobs as possible from the same platform. You could sort out the walls, windows, guttering and chimney, and pay just once for the scaffold.
• Getting rid of rubbish Skips are expensive due to land fill taxes – look into alternatives for removing rubbish from the site, borrow a trailer and use your local recycling units where possible.
• Security measures Be vigilant once the works begin. Scaffolding and building sites attract thieves. It’s easy to break into an upstairs window, or steal tools and materials that are lying around.
• On-site training If you’re keen to carry out much of the work yourself, consider using an ‘on-site trainer’. This works really well for jobs such as repointing, plastering and limewashing.

Reno Expertise: Safety is Paramount
Building is a dangerous business – take every precaution to stay safe. Always carry a mobile phone with you to alert a friend if you have an accident. If you are working on your own, make sure someone knows where you are and could raise the alarm if necessary. Make sure your scaffold is erected by a legitimate contractor, and check that any ladders are securely fixed.

Always wear a hard hat if there are works going on overhead. Invest in a comfortable pair of goggles and a good quality dust mask, and remember to use them whenever there’s a risk. Keep a first aid kit on site, and an eyewash and eyebath for emergencies. Most importantly, keep the site tidy and clean. Clear up at the end of every day, remove any trip hazards and sweep the scaffold boards regularly.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE SUHR
Featured in the February 2010 issue of Period Living