Restoration & modernisation of a 16th Century Grade II listed cottage in Lewes.
The removal of boxing in the entrance revealed an original frame post
The bottom of the frame main post had no doubt rotted and been placed on stone
The entrance with boxing removed, still a number of items in front of the frame tie beam
Everything removed
The one copper pipe that wasn’t removed from the building can be seen off the water main
New copper work installed for under floor heating, gas and kitchen tap
Services now hidden by door frame and only just visible at the far left top
The ‘mid coat’ covering the mess at the bottom and ready for lime top coat
Victorian black and previous finishes removed from the beams & posts
The floor of the entrance levelled with self-levelling concrete
The fireplace in Kling strip, a lime based poultice, to remove surface grime
Ready for the installation of the Esse
The worst damp in the house, took about 2 years to dry out. The original waste a hole in the floor
First the damp plaster was removed and a very time consuming hole cut through the 2′ thick flint wall for the kitchen waste
A damp proof course runs along this wall and behind the sink tanking applied
The larder was damp, blocked the windows and didn’t allow for flexible use of space
Surface mounted plumbing and a 50’s concrete shelf made for heavy duty removal
All removed, a year before tanking allowed the wall to dry
Tanked and plastered, note the change in plaster detail at the top of the window. Far more attractive than a dust trap shelf
The under stair cupboard
The new opening and frame, only a small amount of brickwork needed to be removed even though it’s a much larger opening
Ready for the fridge installation
With venting in a stair riser
Levelling the concrete subfloor with a, very noisy, concrete scrabbler
The mat for the under floor heating with both circuits laid. It seemed sensible not to heat the area in front of the fridge inlet vent
I can’t remember the name of this product, but it prevents movement of the stone
Magna Opus floor pattern
Given the damp I was keen to squeeze an extractor duct under this beam…
…and up again, a new brick sized vent replaced the circular one seen here
Showing the ducting at the top of the photo
And the ducting on the entrance side
Plasterboard covers the duct and ready for plaster
The only extractor on the market narrow enough to fit in the space
With a very ugly, heavy and intrusive lid
So I removed it and used the LED transformer connected to the remote to power my own shelf lighting
Then painted it in with the ceiling so it could sit back. Wires for speakers and shelf lighting
The plate rack in the workshop after gluing up
The sink cabinet ready for fitting
This wall had been painted with vinyl silk, stopping it breathing, it’s been removed here
And given a fresh top coat here
Scaffolding boards removed one can begin to see the quite nice detailing of this ’50’s addition
Electrical work hidden and a piece of wood cut in to retain the level
Space not seen since the ’50’s, I took a gamble with this and cut out the panel hoping to find space
It paid off and making just a 2mm cut was able to use the cut panel for doors, strengthened with the battens
Only the knobs & 2mm gaps a give-away
Beginning the removal of the scaffolding boards, grip filled and screwed to a possibly 16th century floor
Finally they’re gone!
2 walls covered the original lath & plaster in the bathroom
The lowered soil pipe, the first big job
From the outside
The holes filled with flint and lime
When I looked, I was surprised not to see a sill on this window
Just visible, the reclaimed tiles that rectified the problem
Both windows painted tidies up the exterior
The new temporary position of the toilet
And all the walls removed revealing what the room once would have been, a guest room for the Inn
Lifting the floor allowed access to the quickly repaired beam, possibly repaired in Georgian times
A view of the same old repair from underneath
Showing the old repair, notice the new(er) section misses the original mortice by some distance
Detail of the old repair
Removed in this photo
A tenon had to be cut to fit into the original mortice. Note the very shallow mortice to the right of it
A new piece cut in with a lap joint
Not the easiest marking out I’ve ever done!
And ready for floorboards
Looking at the end of the same joist from the outside
The old Inn room wouldn’t have had windows to the left of the frame main post
Many layers of paint and softwood covered up these lovely windows
Finally no bits of softwood or paint
Detail of the bathroom window
The gaps at the back of the sill beam I later filled with resin
The same windows from the outside with old paint removed ready for new
The bedroom wall with old plaster removed and a big chunk of concrete to the bottom left, creating damp issues
View of the original entrance to the room, there weren’t any stairs before the ’50’s
Close up of the original entrance door
Victorian black removed and with a coat of beeswax
The position of the fireplace finally makes sense
All the loose stuff removed the repair could begin
More concrete that needed to go to have the floor level with the top nosing of the stairs
Fresh base coat, still wet
The walls no ready for top coating and window restored ready for paint
The beginnings of the sofa, big boxing!
Skirted and painted
All the floor taken to the workshop for repair
2 typical boards
All holes & splits resin filled and missing sections added with the first coat of finish
Sound insulation added onto the ceiling panels and foam for impact noise added to the tops of joists & beams before laying the floor
The floor down and caulked
So much of the original floor was missing it was decided to carpet the bedroom
One can see where the walls are going to go
Ready for the new walls, taken from the bathroom
Walls going in, taken from the bedroom
This dog leg under the beam ticked a lot of boxes
Plumbing can now be routed through the new walls, these go up to the top bedroom radiator
Skinny cistern fits snuggly in the new wall which was also sound insulated
The dividing wall between bedroom & bathroom had to work hard
The aim was to be able to see both sides of the mullion which it necessarily landed on
Without skirting in this photo
And with skirting in this one
The bespoke unit for the bath plumbing mounted
Plaster-boarded and plastered
With door frames
And with new doors matching the old one in the top bedroom
Finally possible to get behind the boiler to repair this panel
Repositioning the boiler allowed the whole window to be in the room
Preparing for the wall hung basin
Old tap from salvage yard restored for the basin
The bath was a tight fit, the bespoke solution for the plumbing in the workshop
Bathroom panels ready for fitting
And the doors
The paneling made to tie in with the bathroom/bedroom wall
Just enough space for maintenance
Toilet hung and the temporary one finally removed
Multi-finish expertly crafted to look like lime
Beautiful lime plaster with oak, still wet
Cables for wifi & hifi routed into this wardrobe
Tidied up and with paint
Bedside lights and skirting added
The new position for the bedroom lights and radiator now installed
The final finish on the floor
And carpet for the bedroom
The top bedroom with old skirting, boxing & softwood around window removed
New sill to window and mid coat
New plaster gives a lift to the top bedroom
Which now curves satisfyingly into the window
Wallpaper added to the back wall as well as skirting matching the rest of the house
And a new radiator completes the heavy work, over to painting!
I’ve tried to keep the approximate order of these photos the same as the finished photos, starting at the entrance and finishing with the top bedroom. During the construction phase all of the walls and floor on the first floor were removed, so I’ve forgone chronology and tried to group similar items together. To see the photos un-cropped, click on them to view in a separate ‘lightbox’. To view photos before construction, click here and to see the finished project again, click here.
Like all old houses it’s been modified many times, even since the ’50’s. The brick walls that now surround the ground floor would have been due to timbers rotting, but the odd post still survives, like the one uncovered in the entrance. Originally all timber-framed houses had thatched roofs, but after the fire of London, all those in towns had to be removed. This had the unfortunate consequence of reducing the roof overhang, the size of which had always been a key design element in the long-term protection of these sustainable buildings. Protection from the elements and breathability was the key.
And so the exterior walls of buildings and their timbers, became more exposed to the elements. Beetle attack became rife and the North wall of The Pigeon House certainly reflects that, it’s almost completely been replaced. Hints of what was can be seen in the cupboard I opened above the stairs, the interior of which was left exposed. With the advent of central heating it is now possible to keep these old houses dry, which is the only deterrent to the beetle. Though impossible to say exactly what it would have been like, I’ve tried to expose and let shine those parts that are old and at the same time hide all the services that are actually essential to keep the house around, for hopefully, another 500 years.
