is it block or stone ?

E

edenjohnny

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a bit of a quandry, i'm buying a cottage/bungalow in Meath, A 1920sland commission type. I was wondering if under the rough render perhaps it was stone. When did concrete blocks come into use here in Ireland? I am having the survey done next week , but was foping for an answer before then. How hard would it be to remove yhe render, and reveal the stone ( If it was stone)
 
edenjohnny said:
a bit of a quandry, i'm buying a cottage/bungalow in Meath, A 1920sland commission type. I was wondering if under the rough render perhaps it was stone. When did concrete blocks come into use here in Ireland? I am having the survey done next week , but was foping for an answer before then. How hard would it be to remove yhe render, and reveal the stone ( If it was stone)
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The concrete block was in use from 1900 onwards, not with standing that there would be a pretty good chance that your cottage is stone. Mud was not very common at this pint and it is highly unlighty that it would have survied to this day in a salable condition.

I`m not an expert so that the best I can do.

Jaid
 
edenjohnny.

As far as I am aware back in those days they used to shutter walls and pour the concrete. A complete mess in my opinion. If this is the case you would be looking at knocking the lot.
I cannot see blocks used in 1920. Probably stone built. If the walls are about 2 feet wide at window openings then probably stone built
 
hio hayabusa,I dont think it was shuttered concrete, it has wooden floors with ventilation vents under. That would be tricky would;nt it I just hope it is stone , it would look lovely with the render strippped off.
 
edenjohnny,

Ok the fact that the floors are suspended does not mean thet it is not poured concrete.
However I lived in a house with suspended floors and they are a disaster.
Firstly be prepared for a lot of drafts up from under the floor. Also unless they are insulated and damp proofed underneath (which I am sure they are not), there is a strong possibility you will get a musty smell from the dampness below.
Also the potential for mice or rats to come up is increased.
If it were me i would pull out the whole lot and damp proof insulate and fill it. I just knocked a house with suspended floors mainly due to dampness and drafts, (along with wanting a new house).
 
Thanks gfor that , I have 4 jack russel terriers, and a cat , so I dont think mice would be a problem. The floors are made of t& g wide plank pitch pine, will be lovely when re-sanded and finished. I am not prepared to knock the house down, as I a) cant afford to rebuild, and b) If I wanted a new house, I wouldnt have bought the cottage and 20 acres of land in the first place. EWould I ?
 
Superman said:
That's not a very good idea - water will simply pour into the house.
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It depends, there are ways around this, for example raking back some mortar point the stonework with a waterproof pointing mix.

Some times the reason the stone got covered up in the first place is because it was poor quality.

Jaid
 
thanks jaid it would be hard work stripping off the render, it is kind of rough cast,and very hard . When you say poor quality do you mean the stone, or the pattern of stone ?
 
edenjohnny said:
thanks jaid it would be hard work stripping off the render, it is kind of rough cast,and very hard . When you say poor quality do you mean the stone, or the pattern of stone ?
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Could be a bad idea in my opinion, the render provides weather-proofing to the wall it is not merely a decorative covering.
 
bankrupt said:
Could be a bad idea in my opinion, the render provides weather-proofing to the wall it is not merely a decorative covering.
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Your right bankrupt, but to answer endenjohonny's question it is likely that both the stone quality and the craftmanship that went into building the wall where less that ideal i.e. soft stone(limestone), uneven surfaces, wide joints, random sizes, large mortar joints and uneven stone colour.

The best thing to do is take a patch of 1m2 off and see what you have? you might be suprised and find a lovely finish there.

If you find a good quality finish something mid way between random and ashlar water ingress should not be a problem.

Jaid
 
Ashlar is a term used to describe fine cut stone work, where the stone faces are worked or finished and the joints between the stones are usually very fine. Wall thickness is your best clue to the wall construction although without some (destructive) opening up works this is all pure speculation: mass concrete is very likely and where this is the case you will find the wall thickness to be between 250- 300mm (10 - 12"); random rubble stone, with brickwork reveals and heads would tend to be of the order of 350mm thick at a minimum- if your walls are very thick they are most likely stone. Is there a roof void you can access to inspect any unrendered walls?
 
Than
ks carpenter, We are having a full survey done on thursday. The surveyor will tell me wont he ?
There is no roof void, as the ceiling is timber kinda A, frame with the top flat
 
edenjohnny said:
Than
ks carpenter, We are having a full survey done on thursday. The surveyor will tell me wont he ?
There is no roof void, as the ceiling is timber kinda A, frame with the top flat
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He should be able to tell you, if not he should be able to give you a very good indication of the construction material.
 
Hi, the surveyor was very depressing. Said the cottage was of concrete(probably) construction with rising damp. I can fix that myself with the new cream damp proof injection material. (Low pressure), But will have to insulate the internal walls, Ill probasbly use insulated p[lasterboards, So I will have to change the rediators, and pipework. More work.
 
edenjohnny said:
Hi, the surveyor was very depressing. Said the cottage was of concrete(probably) construction with rising damp. I can fix that myself with the new cream damp proof injection material. (Low pressure), But will have to insulate the internal walls, Ill probasbly use insulated p[lasterboards, So I will have to change the rediators, and pipework. More work.
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Thats a shame and rising damp too:( Its seems like you have a lot of owrk a head of you. The best of luck with it.

Jaid
 
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