Period Homes

[Redstart]

When in the UK I bought several magazines and one of them , I think it was Period Living, contained a booklet on country cottages. One of the houses featured was an old farmhouse that had been carefully restored; the owners didn't insulate or install central heating because they didn't think it was appropriate for the old house and said that wearing more sweaters, and suffering draughts and dust was all part of living in an old house.

I wish to disagree. It makes ecological sense to insulate our houses and make them low in energy use. I also think it's wrong to try and live in what is effectively a museum. If you look at how people really lived in the past, these period home "fanatics" would not want to copy the hens in the kitchen along with the beds and all the family members, all near the single source of heat. They wouldn't want the dirt, the non-flushing loos outside, the gazunder under the bed, having to boil up the water on wash day one day a week, and having to get washed in the kitchen sink.

I personally think we owe it to the original builders of the house to maintain the property and improve it (as they surely would were they here today) by insulating it, adding heating to dry out the old timbers and stop dry rot getting hold, painting the wood to make life uncomfortable for wood worm and adding inside, installing modern sanitation to remove the source of disease to the sewers or cess pit.

When we started taking the inside of this house apart to add the insulation (walls, ceilings, floors) we discovered it was much older than we thought, that the front had been added on later, that it used to have a really deep roof, almost to the ground, that it had had a smoke kitchen (for smoking hams and sausages) - the house told a story of it's existence since it was built in the early 1700s, modernised in the mid 1800s, and so on. By adding heating, insulation and modern bathrooms we are adding to that story, writing another chapter in the house's long history. I don't see anything wrong with this.

We have kept what was valuable, such as original beams, wall panels, the old wood burning stove, the old covered balconies, the old tiled ovens and even the barn door hinge that is now in the entrance hall - it certainly makes a talking point - because it is a lovely old house; however, most importantly, we have added a concrete "anchor" to stop the house continuing its slide down the hill and ensure that the house will last another 300 years. Without that modern technology (greatly frowned on in period house circles in the UK) the house would not have lasted even another 100 years, so we don't feel guilty about using concrete.

What do the rest of you think about period houses and how we should treat them?

[Serenity]

Hi Redstart, your house sounds very interesting and I quite agree with everything that you've said. Our house is not as old as yours (about 100yrs) and we are in the process of renovating it. During its life time it has not had a great deal of money spent on it and alot of "upgrading" has had to be done such as putting in central heating. We've stripped the walls back to bare brick and found the original pipes for the gas light, the first electric wiring in lead cable and like you I see what we are installing as another chapter.
I DO feel that is important to keep the spirit of a building as it was intended. It would be quite easy for us to end up with essentially a new house interior within a 100 yr old shell. I think that any improvements should enhance the character of a building and as much as some people disagree with using modern techniques sometimes it is the only feasable way buildings can be saved.

[lily]

Our house was built in the 1870s, we've also found some of the original lead cased wiring leading to the servant bells- no servants now though husband likes to fantasise. I understand that sometimes we can over insulate old houses as they were built differently from modern day ones and have to "breathe" I've been told too much insulation can cause problems such as condensation and damp, maybe it depends on what climate they're in?
Going on with the purist theme, there is a man who has built a tudor style house and kept it as traditional as possible. He has however compromised with some "mod cons", his wife describes him as rather obsessed. I think the point is to use some common sense

[Redstart]

I agree with you both. We have kept the character of our house as much as possible and have beamed ceilings, original panelled walls, the old wood burning stove up here (at least 100 years old and still working) plus the tiled stoves that the woodburning stove heat.

But we had to put new floor boards in - hardly any of the originals were left and what was left was in poor condition and I refuse to live without bathrooms! What was salvaged is being re-used wherever we can use it. And we were advised to insulate walls ceiling and floors. This has created no condensation but it is a timbered house so perhaps that makes adifference. We do have what is called wind-paper between the insulation and the wooden panels, this allows an exchange of air apparently but also helps the insulation to work (weird but it works). The house still has to breathe and the way the insulation and new floors have been installed ensures this. I'll try and attach a picture of the house to this posting.

[Redstart]

I forgot to say this photo was taken last summer when the builders were here giving us a new drive and converting the ground floor of the barn intoa double gargae. In the photo the digger is excavating for the turning area.

[Serenity]

Your house looks lovely, completely different in style to English houses. Is that a balcony upstairs at the front?

[Redstart]

Yes, the balcony is in the attic, which has so far been used as a store room (no evidence that it was ever lived in but clothes were dried in it); however, it will become a living room (with balcony) bedroom, bathroom and kitchen (for our son) plus another bedroom (a spare) for either he or us to use; the bathroom will be available to both bedrooms. That is in two or three years time - we have to finish what we are doing in the rest of the house before we start that.

Yes it's been a bit of learning curve having only renovated stone-built houses before.That green wall is tiled because that side of the house faces the weather and the weather side of timbered houses here is always tiled to keep the wooden frame dry. These used to be tiny little wooden tiles but before we bought the house these were replaced by these larger tiles.

That rear covered balcony you can see is where I grow my tomatoes!

[Serenity]

Your son is very lucky, the views from that balcony must be fantastic.
Talking of steep learning curves, this is a pic of our hallway at the moment.