Over the top

Ever since we moved into Hillside we've been aware of a damp problem in one of the bedroom walls and ceiling. Traced to missing mortar and lead flashing on one of the chimneys, this should've been sorted by the builder at the start of the build...but he had other priorities. Finally this is being addressed.

He has now repointed the top of the chimney and replaced the missing bits of lead flashing. Hopefully that'll stop the water coming in. It's now a matter of replacing the damaged plaster which has 'blown', the salts have washed out of it and it is coming away from the wall.

Sorting out the wall isn't too much of an issue but the ceiling is. Both the original bedroom ceilings are 100 year old lath and plaster, and both are sagging and cracking, so much so that any trips into the loft create more hairline cracks. It's probably only a matter of time before they fall. And so it's time for the last package of work - to sort out the damp and the two ceilings.

We've decided not to trash the two ceilings, especially as the timber structure above is so lightweight and bowing that it would also need replacing which is a massive job. Instead we've decided to install new joists in the loft and suspend a new plasterboard ceiling from these, but below the lath and plaster, to provide a sound and flat ceiling in each bedroom. On top of the joists will be a new loft floor, making it a much sturdier storage space, and with the depth of the new joists we can fill it with surplus non-itch insulation to make the insulation up to the recommended 270mm. This should help significantly in reducing heat loss from the oldest, and least thermally efficient, part of the house.