|
Just discovered a cellar!!!
Hi
I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. I'd like to restore it, but I'm concerned that I'm breaking so many regulations renovating my house that reinstating a cellar might just get me into an altogether new realm of trouble if I get caught. Any ideas what to do with it? I quite fancy a small area where the wife can practice the violin without me having to go outside! T |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
wrote in message oups.com... Hi I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. I'd like to restore it, but I'm concerned that I'm breaking so many regulations renovating my house Don't break regulations. that reinstating a cellar might just get me into an altogether new realm of trouble if I get caught. The cellar is there, you are not digging out a new one. Use it to put the cylinder and boiler in there. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
Is your building listed?
Generally, restoration and repair isn't a planning or building control matter. Reinstatement may be - however bringing a cellar back into use as a cellar is probably ok - unless you were planning some very different use for it. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
|
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 10:58, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote: wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. I'm intrigued! How did you not notice it before? -- Dave The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 I was cleaning up out front and noticed a flagstone beneath the crumbling remains of a tarmac covering next to the house. I lifted it and found a hole, so I sent the wife down to take a look. T |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
wrote in message oups.com... On 5 Aug, 10:58, "The Medway Handyman" wrote: wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. I'm intrigued! How did you not notice it before? -- Dave The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 I was cleaning up out front and noticed a flagstone beneath the crumbling remains of a tarmac covering next to the house. I lifted it and found a hole, so I sent the wife down to take a look. T ..... and that M'Lud is the case for the defence G AWEM |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 10:49, " wrote:
Is your building listed? Generally, restoration and repair isn't a planning or building control matter. Reinstatement may be - however bringing a cellar back into use as a cellar is probably ok - unless you were planning some very different use for it. Before I started on my renovation I rang BC for some advice. I am replacing about half of my downstairs floor, which should be quarry tiles on earth, but is a patchwork of quarry tiles, concrete and nothing. I now know that one neat concrete rectangle is in fact the blocked up entrance to the cellar. I mentioned that my walls are 2ft thick random stone and mud, that there are no foundations (so I thought), no dpm or dpc and no damp. My plan to replace the floor with flagstones was unacceptable. I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. I kid you not! Since then I have had nothing to do with my local BC department, save submitting a building notice which neglects to mention about 3/4 of what I'm actually doing. T |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com... On 5 Aug, 10:58, "The Medway Handyman" wrote: wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. I'm intrigued! How did you not notice it before? -- Dave The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 I was cleaning up out front and noticed a flagstone beneath the crumbling remains of a tarmac covering next to the house. I lifted it and found a hole, so I sent the wife down to take a look. T .... and that M'Lud is the case for the defence G AWEM Well some idiot a few posts back did say to stick the boiler down there. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
"Heliotrope Smith" wrote in message ... "Andrew Mawson" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com... On 5 Aug, 10:58, "The Medway Handyman" wrote: wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. I'm intrigued! How did you not notice it before? -- Dave The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 I was cleaning up out front and noticed a flagstone beneath the crumbling remains of a tarmac covering next to the house. I lifted it and found a hole, so I sent the wife down to take a look. T .... and that M'Lud is the case for the defence G AWEM Well some idiot a few posts back did say to stick the boiler down there. And as bigger idiot like you would put the boiler in the living room....and listen to it. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
wrote in message oups.com... On 5 Aug, 10:58, "The Medway Handyman" wrote: wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. I'm intrigued! How did you not notice it before? -- Dave The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 I was cleaning up out front and noticed a flagstone beneath the crumbling remains of a tarmac covering next to the house. I lifted it and found a hole, so I sent the wife down to take a look. T Brilliant. Any chance of some photos (of the cellar not the wife) Adam |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
Before I started on my renovation I rang BC for some advice. I am replacing about half of my downstairs floor, which should be quarry tiles on earth, but is a patchwork of quarry tiles, concrete and nothing. I now know that one neat concrete rectangle is in fact the blocked up entrance to the cellar. I mentioned that my walls are 2ft thick random stone and mud, that there are no foundations (so I thought), no dpm or dpc and no damp. My plan to replace the floor with flagstones was unacceptable. I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. I kid you not! Hmmm - sounds a very unenlightened approach from BC in relation to an older building (how old?) I don't blame you for going your own way in those circumstances. Listed building status might do you some good (in that inappropriate building regs don't have to be followed) - have you considered getting a spot listing? |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 11:39, wrote:
On 5 Aug, 10:49, " wrote: My plan to replace the floor with flagstones was unacceptable. yep I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, Neither of these are required, BCO was wrong to insist on those. Whether you choose to challenge that is upto you. excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. fair enough. And insulation. AFAIK reusing an existing cellar doesnt require any permissions. I'd stay away from the listing idea, not that you'd get it anyway. NT |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, Neither of these are required, BCO was wrong to insist on those. Depends if there are any alterations that influence part of the original structure. excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. fair enough. And insulation. Not if the work undertaken was a repair. I'd stay away from the listing idea, not that you'd get it anyway. Spot listings are quite possible. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
|
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 11:36, wrote:
I've just discovered a cellar. One the TV renovation programmes found one once. The explanation given was that it was common practise to fill redundant cellars with demolition rubble from the next job (wells and air raid shelters likewise). Perhaps we should all look for them; not just those with old houses -- Grime Busters reported on a Council house with a substantial void underneath, filling with sewage (perhaps a reason for _not_ looking :). Chris |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Listed building status might do you some good (in that inappropriate building regs don't have to be followed) I have never heard that..in fact in one case I have heard a BCO and a listings officer each arguing with the other about a staircase. Me too, in my own home. BCO wanted firecheck doors, LBO wanted to preserve the building. Argment never resolved and I just gave up any intent to do the work, or even to do repairs. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 10:36, wrote:
Hi I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. I'd like to restore it, but I'm concerned that I'm breaking so many regulations renovating my house that reinstating a cellar might just get me into an altogether new realm of trouble if I get caught. Any ideas what to do with it? I quite fancy a small area where the wife can practice the violin without me having to go outside! T Dear Tom FWIIW I suggest you do the following: Accpet the manna (sp?) gratefully and put the cellar to the sort of use that was intended for it when it was first built. this is likely to be storage (wine or coal depending on its age) but if you want to upgrade to modern standards be very, very careful how you do it. I take it that the building is not listed from your reponses to comments - that is good. I share with Nat Phil the veiw that the last thing you do is to list it if you can avoid it. Listing is a good thing in general but is dependent on the whim of the local conservation officers who vary in competence and understanding from the plainly obsenely, incompentent purists with no practical understaning to the very good but in my experience there are more in practice who tend to the former than the latter description and it is quite common to find them disagreeing with each other let alone the BCO! Do not be tempted to try to make the cellar water proof by tanking - it will merely cause water to go different routes and maybe in walls that you do not want it to go! Do, however, introduce subfoor ventilation (if necesary by excavating a subfoor tube( to get through- ventilation. Do put in an ISOLATED timber (tanalised) floor if you want to store things ( or simply some sheet poly?) but bear in mind it will not be vented and thus is at risk if you have cut any ends of treated timber. It would be good to reinstate access from inside but if you do so make sure any staircase is also isolated. Seems to me the best use you could make of it is to store wine or any non-cellulosic material. Chris |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 13:41, " wrote:
I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, Neither of these are required, BCO was wrong to insist on those. Depends if there are any alterations that influence part of the original structure. excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. fair enough. And insulation. Not if the work undertaken was a repair. I've just decided to "repair" the floor rather than "replace" a section of it. Unfortunately the replacement tiles will be a lot bigger and a different colour. Thanks for the tip! Putting a dpm down is a guaranteed way of making the house uninhabitable. The idea that 2ft thick random stone and mud walls can be injected with a dpc is lunacy. T |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On 5 Aug, 18:17, wrote:
On 5 Aug, 10:36, wrote: Hi I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. I'd like to restore it, but I'm concerned that I'm breaking so many regulations renovating my house that reinstating a cellar might just get me into an altogether new realm of trouble if I get caught. Any ideas what to do with it? I quite fancy a small area where the wife can practice the violin without me having to go outside! T Dear Tom FWIIW I suggest you do the following: Accpet the manna (sp?) gratefully and put the cellar to the sort of use that was intended for it when it was first built. this is likely to be storage (wine or coal depending on its age) but if you want to upgrade to modern standards be very, very careful how you do it. I take it that the building is not listed from your reponses to comments - that is good. I share with Nat Phil the veiw that the last thing you do is to list it if you can avoid it. Listing is a good thing in general but is dependent on the whim of the local conservation officers who vary in competence and understanding from the plainly obsenely, incompentent purists with no practical understaning to the very good but in my experience there are more in practice who tend to the former than the latter description and it is quite common to find them disagreeing with each other let alone the BCO! Do not be tempted to try to make the cellar water proof by tanking - it will merely cause water to go different routes and maybe in walls that you do not want it to go! Do, however, introduce subfoor ventilation (if necesary by excavating a subfoor tube( to get through- ventilation. Do put in an ISOLATED timber (tanalised) floor if you want to store things ( or simply some sheet poly?) but bear in mind it will not be vented and thus is at risk if you have cut any ends of treated timber. It would be good to reinstate access from inside but if you do so make sure any staircase is also isolated. Seems to me the best use you could make of it is to store wine or any non-cellulosic material. Chris Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure the cellar was a pantry, there is no sign of coal dust. Piecing together bits of local history, I would guess that the cellar dates from the late C17. I doubt I will be hanging a pig from the hooks on the ceiling any time soon, but a wine cellar sounds a splendid idea. I definitely will not be tanking the cellar. I'm trying to ensure the house stays damp-free by allowing it to breathe. The staircase is still there and it's made of stone. T. |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
|
Just discovered a cellar!!!
|
Just discovered a cellar!!!
In message , The Natural
Philosopher writes wrote: On 5 Aug, 13:41, " wrote: I had to underpin the house, damp proof inject the walls, Neither of these are required, BCO was wrong to insist on those. Depends if there are any alterations that influence part of the original structure. excavate the floor, put in a dpm, radon sump. fair enough. And insulation. Not if the work undertaken was a repair. I've just decided to "repair" the floor rather than "replace" a section of it. Unfortunately the replacement tiles will be a lot bigger and a different colour. Thanks for the tip! Putting a dpm down is a guaranteed way of making the house uninhabitable. The idea that 2ft thick random stone and mud walls can be injected with a dpc is lunacy. If the stone is impervious, then its just the mortar that needs it. There are other ways of slowing water ingress tho. Better tell Griff Rhys Jones ... -- geoff |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Never go for a listing if you can avoid it. It devalues the house around 30% because it doubles repair costs every time. If that _really_ is the case then why do so many estate agents headline property details with the fact that the property is listed? I don't mean some mention in the small print but the first line describing the property as "A Grade 2 listed ..." etc. Andrew |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure the cellar was a pantry, there is no sign of coal dust. Piecing together bits of local history, I would guess that the cellar dates from the late C17. I doubt I will be hanging a pig from the hooks on the ceiling any time soon, but a wine cellar sounds a splendid idea. I definitely will not be tanking the cellar. I'm trying to ensure the house stays damp-free by allowing it to breathe. The staircase is still there and it's made of stone. T. You are "lucky" it is not listed : from: http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html "The older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed. All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are listed, as are most built between 1700 and 1840. After that date, the criteria become tighter with time, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally important to be listed." Robert |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:04:44 +0100 Andrew May wrote :
If that _really_ is the case then why do so many estate agents headline property details with the fact that the property is listed? Because it probably impresses the average buyer who finds out too late what the issues are. I suspect that "Moben kitchen" has a similar effect. -- Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:36:35 -0700 someone who may be
wrote this:- I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. As well as the storage already mentioned, they can make good places for odd bits of machinery like washing machines. This is likely to require a pump to raise the output to sewer level, but that is no great problem despite what the trolls say. Ventilation is the key to preventing deterioration. An ideal solution would involve total house ventilation. -- David Hansen, Edinburgh I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54 |
Just discovered a cellar!!!
David Hansen wrote:
On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:36:35 -0700 someone who may be wrote this:- I've just discovered a cellar. It's about 2.5m x 3.0m with a vaulted ceiling and a stone staircase leading up into the house. The ceiling height at present is over 2.0m, but I suspect if I dig down I will find a flagstone floor. It's still limewashed, and there are a few iron hooks on the ceiling. As well as the storage already mentioned, they can make good places for odd bits of machinery like washing machines. Odd bits of machinery? What planet are you from? Suggest that to someone with a young family This is likely to require a pump to raise the output to sewer level, but that is no great problem despite what the trolls say. Ventilation is the key to preventing deterioration. An ideal solution would involve total house ventilation. Yes, doors and windows are an excellent idea |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:24 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 DIYbanter