Installing or replacing electricity and plumbing requires a sympathetic appreciation for the traditional methods of masonry, carpentry, plaster, paper and paint.
Chasing old walls should be undertaken with hand tools.
Author
Sam Crawford
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For the past thirteen years, I have lived in fear of selling my house and “downsizing”. Down deep is the fear that a prospective buyer will discover just how many faults this huge Georgian house has. The Neighbourhood Construction home tutorial showed me that these fears are totally unfounded.
Having read a number of publications and white papers on the subject of restoration and conservation of traditionally constructed buildings I understood the significance of vapour permeable, traditional building materials such as lime mortars and lime plasters.
One of the main reasons for this were some cold air draughts coming in through holes in the kitchen wall. How can there be holes in the kitchen wall? They were hidden behind the fridge and washing machine. The first was a large one, left in place from a previous tumble drier and half-heartedly filled with rags by a previous owner. The others were left over from the current and previous waste pipes of the kitchen sink.
One of the things I have been impressed with is the idea of the partnership between ‘customer’ and ‘provider’ of work. The ethos of the Co-operative is to encourage the owners to join in and experiment for themselves. This can cut down cost and spread the knowledge around.