Category: stripping out

Well, we are pretty much done in terms of the stripping out of the existing properties. Both number 8 and 10 are now pretty bare. There aare a couple of things left to do here and there, but the bulk of the stripping out work is done. The images below show the current state of both of the interiors of the properties.

I took these photographs as proof that building work has commenced. Once work starts, it is possible to get an exception from paying council tax. Class A exemption (which applies to most major building work) can last for up to a year.  Since there are two lots of council tax to be paid, this is a significant sum of money.

The letter that I received a few weeks ago from the council asked for evidence that the building work had commenced, so that they can grant us Class A exemption. I am not sure what constitues “evidence” and, since they don’t seem to answer the phone in the council tax department, I have assumed that some photographs will do. I emailed them to the council today, so only time will tell (assuming that they respond better to emails than a ringing telephone!).

As you can see we have pretty much reach rock bottom as far as stripping the building back. We will go a little further once the major contractor is appointed and the roof is removed. It will just leave us with the four exterior walls. From that point onwards, we are just putting everything back!

You can still see the serving hatch, although the kitchen has long gone. There were two bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom.

Downstairs in number 8. You can just see the end of the soil pipe sticking through the wall upstairs where the bathroom used to be. And yes, that is a hole in the wall to next door (number 10) where the beam used to stick through into next door. The two ends of the beams had been bolted together.

Downstairs in the lounge of number 10. The fireplace has been taken out. The floor beams that supported the floor upstairs have been removed. You can see the ends of the beams (oak) to either side of the fireplace.

Downstairs in the kitchen (or what used to be the kitchen) of number 10. The upstairs floor beams have been left in (for now) as they seemed to be in much better condition than the others in either of the properties. However, they may not be in good enough condition for the building inspector!

Before we start, the fireplace in No. 10 is very similar to the fireplace in No. 8, so this time we know what to expect.  The fireplace surround is made up of stone blocks.  Very 1970’s, although I suspect it isn’t that old.  The fireplaces are actually small inglenook type fireplaces which have been bricked up so that the opening is much smaller.  Small enough to fit a gas fire.  So the job at hand is to remove the stone fireplace surround and then dig out all the rubble in the fireplace.  This good news is that No. 10 is closer to the skip than No. 8, so we don’t have to take the rubble as far.  The other good news is that we have some planks that means that we can barrow the rubble straight into the skip rather than using plastic tubs.  But it is still time-consuming and it is amazing how much comes out of a smaller opening.  The rubble is mainly old bricks, mortar, some rather nice Victorian tiles and a smashed up cast iron fireplace that had been put up the sides of the chimney to make it smaller.  All mixed in with a fair amount of soot.  What I didn’t inhale, I wore.  Yuck.  It took two baths on Sunday night to get rid of it all!  Still, it was a job well done and a job that we don’t have to do again – that was the last of the old fireplaces that need to be removed.

The fireplace in No. 10. This was probably all the rage 30-40 years ago, but it has to go. There is a TV stand constructed from the same material to camera left. It comes apart fairly easily (with the aid of a sledge hammer) and all of the stone will make it’s way into the dry stone wall in the orchard. As long as the sawn edges of the stone do not face outwards, no one will know. Except you, of course, as you read it on this blog.

The fireplace surround all gone and the contents of the inglenook emptied out. There must have been 10 or more barrows of rubble in there. All mixed up with 200 years of soot.

The original fireplace revealed. The two sides are stone slabs on end. The top is a stone slab laid vertical between them. The hearth is made up of flagstones. Like the rest of the floor, although much of it has been covered up with a sort of asphalt material. Presumably, to keep the damp out.