1930s Semi Refurb - Part 8 of ... (Edition: Hall, Stairs and Landing)

[dlockers]

Hi folks,

Me again. Priorities have shifted around a bit as we debate Part 7 (knocking the wall through into the living room). So focus has shifted to making a nice entrance way, as the new doors have been ordered (5-6 weeks they reckon).

I've had to take up some of the boards for the radiators to be fitted, and they essentially disintegrated. So I knew it'd be a task to get any more up without breaking them, but the plan is to PIR the lot, so up they must come!

I thought a good interim step would be to swap what boards I have with 18mm - first fix, so that I can happily get under them. Floor is likely to be the very last thing as I want the same wood floor throughout the entire downstairs.

Issue 1:
- An air brick that is skirting board height lol..



Issue 2
- And are these boards rotten?



Issue 3 (SOLVED?)
- A while back I posted about a damp issue on the wall. It looks like the wood frame around the door is leaching moisture in. I've taken the plaster off so high, and the wall paper basically came off with limited force. Annoying but luckily the plaster is good... I am suspicious as to why




(not my foot I swear)

Issue 4 (Whoever did this needed to put a Lotto ticket on, stat [the nail top right, not my precision cut])


N.b. track saw is god tier. No way I could have cut that board without hitting that gas pipe.


Fin, for today:


Plan is to:
* Get a vent brick duct so I can block the gap behind the skirting
* Strip all of the paper, at least in the downstairs section
* Sand the stairs

Luckily the 18mm board is spot on level with the majority of the old boards, however a couple of the joists are badly twisted. I think I'll have to untwist them to get a perfect level. Tips?

Edit: here is a before picture:

 

[dlockers]

How does the sub floor area look?

That's evidence of wood beetle, which occurs because of damp conditions.

Need more airflow under the house to the sub floor. If that air brick straddles the area around floor board height, try and cover up the but at floor level and make a wee duct to ensure it can ventilate under the floor boards.

Make sure all your air bricks are clear.

Also, if you have any gypsum plaster on the walls, that will lead to some damp issues on the walls. Like your last thread about the walls, solid walls need to breath, so a lime plaster is ideal.

If insulating under the floor, then ideally use something like loft roll (mineral/glass hybrid) for the cost and efficiency. Then if you can get under the floor, then staple a thermafleece membrane to bottom of the josts to hold the insulation in place. Plus that stuff is a vapour permeable membrane so will will allow slow release of moisture from the under floor but will protect the underside of the joists and stop wind washing from decreasing the insulation effectiveness.

Cheers Ad, appreciate that advice. I did spot a couple of wood louse as I was bagging up all of the builders rubbish from the "under stairs" side. Tonnes of the stuff. I've cleared all that out pretty well now.

Air bricks are hoovered thoroughly and as good as they are ever going to be.

For insulating under the floor, I am using PIR - I bought loads of the stuff around October time. Are you saying I should DEFINITELY get rid of the PIR and use loft roll?

Will definitely get a duct for the vent brick. Thanks.

Edit: how do you tell if it is gypsum plaster? I imagine the super thick lining paper is what stopped it breathing/caused it to come unstuck.

 

[dlockers]

Fyi I'd use p5 grade moisture resistant chipboard. If that's the cheap stuff for lofts it won't last for any leaks/spills etc.

You should read I believe nhbc has some guidelines on chipboard suggesting it should have noggins on edges. May not be necessary for your section and 300 joist centres to be fair.

For the vent you could try fit a telescopic vent? Depends on your dimensions.

Yeah this stuff is P5 moisture resistant. Tbh I am not totally sold but like I said, floor is last - so come a year or two when I lay the proper hardwood down, I can always swap this out. The main benefit was being able to take up large chunks at a time to run my ethernet/power/etc...

Will definitely be adding some noggins as I am tight on some of the joists. Also, obviously haven't glued yet (PIR to go down).

I have had a quick Google for vents but haven't found anything compelling. To totally eradicate the issue I am also thinking of forced ventilation? Possibly overkill...

hadn't you had concerns about the damp proof course being bridged outside the door and were going to ensure it was well clear, plus good rain shedding (fibre board & like) ,
does that needs to be fixed first and check moisture is reducing, ( does the surveyor need to be implicated, at all ? ) even though new door may have a upvc frame

cutting boards, I guess you had metal detected that gas pipe was there and floor board hadn't been channeled, say, to accomodate it.

Yeah I think it was Martyn who said the damp on the wall may be coming from the door frame. It looks like the previous door was wood all the way, so the wood just gets wet outside, and then leaches it into the house and up the wall. I've removed architrave etc. from this door so when new-door man comes, I'll make sure to supervise the removal of all wood so it is UPVC directly into brick.

RE: the pipe, I had no idea it was there. It is massive - presumably used to feed the (old and decommissioned) boiler and then onto feed gas hob. The track saw has a very precise depth measurement so I had no chance of hitting it.

 

[dlockers]

I also have a really annoying twisted joist. Advice? It seems properly solid. I am tempted to plane it level?

 

[dlockers]

Vent example here: https://www.lbsbmonline.co.uk/teles...gbqRh0BPbEni3u1CRruZrCv985kP6VS0aAo5vEALw_wcB


For the twisted joist does it impact your flooring? Over 100 years it will twist, and if it's anything like my floor plumbers over the years will have smashed out the noggins to stop it twisting.

Top man, couldn't find those vents with my Google-fu.

Yeah one of the twisted joists is pushing it up to create a bow, and the other is stopping level with the kitchen floor. I don't think this place has had much done... the lad lived here for 50 years -- I can see 1930s wiring, and then 1970s. I think he had central heating as a "one-er" sometime in the 80s so this is probably the first time the boards have been up. I found old match boxes from the 1930s!

 

[dlockers]

You are overthinking it, dont worry about it.

It creates a high spot for the boards, is the issue.

Re your boards id try and save what u can and spray it.

Yeah after this faff I agree lol.

 

[dlockers]

Re your boards id try and save what u can and spray it.

Do you really think this is necessary?

 

[dlockers]

Yes trim it if its excessive (assuming under 5mm shouldnt impact it) . Depende on your final surface finish. Tiles it would matter, carpet it wouldn't really matter so could leave it.


I have read similar before btw re celotex, vapour barriers (when used in roofs) etc so it's worth reading about celotex as floor insulation. I have seen it so must be possible but read up on mitigations

It's probably a mm or two, but enough to make a lip. Hardwood will go over the top so definitely needs to be sorted.

I'll do some Googling on the PIR beneath the floor, but I believe I'm okay due to vent bricks/ample ventilation?

 

[dlockers]

Spraying? Definitely

Looks like you have sand and cement render, usually a bit more forgiving with damp.

Pipes looks like iron, not a gas pipe is it?

Yeah gas to the hob.

 

[dlockers]

Progress today - managed to knock this out despite a 10am lie-in and a kids birthday party.







Not perfect, but the back of it has definitely been broken. I have bough the shellac based Zinsser stuff which would have stuck to the gloss tbh. Debating whether I try and fill some of the imperfections or leave them...

And of course, for every progress - there is an anti-progress:

 

[dlockers]

Have you used the primer before? It’s very watery and dries mega quick. I always do 2 coats and apply mega thin with a tiny bit at a time, it can easily end up everywhere dripping

No, thanks for the warning - I thought that was just the water based stuff.

 

[dlockers]

To be honest a decent wood like that (after sanding it's not so dark!) I'd consider oiling it /similar rather than paint?

Yeah possibly - however the hallway is super dark, so part of the intent here was to paint it glossy white to try and brighten it up a bit. Will consider though...


Plan has been refined into critical path:
* Get sparky in to swap consumer unit
* Strip wallpaper/first fix prep the walls
* Fix pipework boxing - I might strip this off to lag the pipes as well (every little helps?)
* Build stair cupboard
* Caulk/fill gaps in wood
* Final sand on any spots I've missed/imperfections
* Prime walls/mist coat
* Prime stairs
* Paint ceiling
<I expect by this point I'll be getting updates on front door installation date>
* Get front door fitted
* Fix plaster around door / mist coat it
* Paint

Depending on how long the door takes I'll whack the PIR under the boards, but I don't want to go OTT here as I need access for CAT6 to the living/dining room. Maybe I'll put a drain pipe in to act as a cable tray or something.

I'll probably finish my door handle job upstairs as well, just need to swap the master and the "current" bathroom knobs/handles to match the other two rooms.

 

[dlockers]

Re that nail close to that pipe
I hope you removed it!It may be ok atm but it `could`rub through the pipe sometime
I would be removing it asap

A new gas pipe for the hob will be going in when I do the kitchen so I am not checking my luck at this stage, but possibly

 

[dlockers]

Requirements:
Outrageously big
Too high
A bit bowed

So I set to work on the shoe cupboard:

1. Many middle class shoes and a specification document:


2. I had B&Q do most of the big cuts (1.6m x 0.25m) so set about with the router to make some recesses for the middle bits:


3. Lines up well (I do not own a Ducati)



4. Ripped down one of the 1.6m offcuts to create a base:


5. First fix, clears skirting - good:


6. Glued and screwed:


7. It stands!



8. Base attached. I screwed up the middle tbh and the shelves are quite a bit different from left to right (5-7mm?). I should have it square then measured the shelves. YOLO


9. Fits good

10. Fin. Annoyingly I wanted to get at least 73-75cm from the staircase but I am 73.5mm without the doors. It isn't noticeable to walk past right now, but I think when the doors are on it may be (as it'll be 1/2cm smaller than a normal door frame ~71cm).


It'll get clad in MDF and skirting board around the bottom sides/front. Doors will pull open hinged at the bottom with some special shoe cupboard brackets to hold hopefully 6 pairs per cubby.

This may just serve as a prototype --- as at £45 it wasn't a great expense. I'll live with it for a bit whilst I do other jobs and learn what works best.

 

[dlockers]

Possibly overstated the MDF there - I meant just for side and top so I don't have any screws visible. And the doors!

 

[dlockers]

Sparky came. No dramas, we extended the board so that the new CU could tuck right in.

I can now lay a subfloor under the stairs and seal all the draughts - then build a cupboard (y).