Development Finance

This post was written early 2004. At this point I was going through the acquisition stage for a medium sized public house with the intention of converting to flats, the difference being that instead of demolishing the existing building, I planned to restore the original facade of the pub and create luxury internal flats with a victorian theme. The build cost would be higher but a good fit with my experience. This plan was in response to the growing opinion at the time that there were too many 'glass and steel' new builds. My opinion is that anything that deviates from the norm in property achieves a premium.

So here's a quick summary of whats going on with this deal... in list format

There are 8 players;

1. Me, the developer.

2. My solicitor

3. RBS

4. The surveyor

5. The agent

6. The vendor

7. The vendors solicitor

8. The vendors other buyers

There are many players and many motives here but I've grouped them through loyalties. My solicitor is obviously working for me but there is a 0.001% chance that he will run off with funding. True - it has been known to happen. This is amplified if the solicitor is a sole practitioner, which my firm was but i didn't know till i had progressed too far down the deal. You don't really want your solicitor to be a sole practitioner, banks will not send big money to sole practitioners. Find out if your solicitor is a sole practitioner and if he is, bin him and find another one.

Some tell tale signs of dodgy sole practitioners; 

- small offices
- based out in the middle of nowhere
- very disorganised
- very fussy over fees
- very cheap

In a word, don't use a sole practitioner. But if you do, like I did then they will have another firm that they use, unnecessary hassle.

If your starting out, find and build good relationships with a capable solicitor.

RBS

So, RBS is on my side at this stage, my side as in they will let the estate agent know that finance is available who will in turn calm the vendor down, in reality RBS is waiting for the surveyor to be paid for at which point they will have you up against a wall. Be aware. I should also point out that in this case the estate agent was a complete clown. If you come across an incompetent estate agent, walk away from the deal. Regardless of how good the deal looks.

Incompetent agents will end up costing you money, when this deal didn't work out I was down to the tune of about £7K.

Solicitor

At this stage I have also committed to paying the solicitor, believe it or not you can get the solicitor to do some work for you (field a call or two from an idiotic estate agent) and pay them when you are absolutely sure that you want the deal.

Vendors Solicitor

Solicitors are basically pit bulls on leashes, and a good property solicitor will be able to tell the other side to behave - in no uncertain terms how. It pays to have an experienced property solicitor who will be able to do this and who doesn't charge by the letter.

Surveyor

You should also be very wary of dodgy surveyors - at best they get paid for copy and pasting reports at worst they persuade a bank to give you unfavourable terms in the finance package and then pass on the deal to their preferred developer (ie someone who gives them a backhander). Sad but true. End of.

Vendor

Vendor in this case was being unreasonable. But fair play to him he was very worried about the market bottoming out, didn't have a clue what he was doing and thought he could bully his way through the situation. In the end he sold the deal to another developer, which was a sad day for that street, the east end, the building itself and the community. But he got his money, so fair play.

The Estate Agent

A experienced agent translates as money saved. If the agent at any point displays any incompetence be sure to walk away from the deal - hard to do sometimes but best in the long run.

The Prince of Wales

Here is a picture of a pub that I eventually devloped around 2007. the reason why I chose it was becuase it looked different to the rest of the pubs in the area.

Well just so you know what I consider to be an absolutely gorgeous pub heres a picture, the aim is to develop this from an old unwanted bar into high end luxury period themed flats to retain and rent out.

In the east end around the middle of the last decade this particular area was seeing an influx of young arty types who unlike the originals of 1994 who moved into the brick lane area, actually had a lot of money. And just so you know were very interested in renting accomodation for high money. The long term plan was to retain for about 7 years and then flip it.

Building with lots of character

Street view

Liaisng with Bankers, Surveryors and Builders

This post details the first report that I wrote to obtain development finance.

Prior to this I had been buying and selling property through normal mortgages. At this level of property development its important to try and convey passion into the report, ultimately the bankers are looking for someone they believe can do the job and will be far more likely to trust a developer who genuinely cares about the area and has an interest in the architectural landscape.

Proposed Purchase of 124 Globe Road, London E1

Details of the Property:

A former public house offering over 2,200 square feet of live work space. The property is arranged over four floors and has a garden to the rear and balcony to the first floor. Internal proportions lend themselves well to a versatile future interior. Currently arranged as ground floor former public house encompassing the whole level, lower ground floor used as storage, with first and second floor arranged as two two bedroom self contained units.

Details of the Location:

Globe road is within a short walk of the following tube stations and bus routes: Stepney Green, Bethnal Green and Mile End which makes easy access into the city and central London. It is an up and coming area close to Queen Mary University and Roman Road Market.

Plan of action for 124 Globe Road in Summary:

Point 1
Achieve change of use from A4 use to C3 use (residential)

Point 2
Apply for planning permission to demolish and create 12x 1 and 2 bed flats then sell on the plans to a developer or undertake ourselves.

Point 3
If planning to demolish and rebuild 10 flats is not given then create extra square footage (in this case only requires building regulations and no planning application) by digging out the basement and works to both balcony.

Point 4
Review plan.

Point 5
After increase in square footage develop the ground and lower ground into two high quality luxurious separate units and develop the units on the first and second floors into high quality units.

Point 6
Sell all units on at a premium to Investment Banks, our client at the moment is a derivatives company based in Dublin with offices in London and New York.

Response to the above points;
Point 1
The property has already had a change of use from Public house (Class A4 use) to residential (Class C3 use). This was granted on 23 Nov 2007 and can be viewed online at Tower Hamlets planning portal application number PA/07?01965.

Point 2
In the first instance we intend to apply for planning permission to create 12x 1 and 2 bedroom flats. London Borough of Tower Hamlets Core Strategy and Development Control Plan RT6 states with regards to loss of Public Houses permission will be supported if:

"the loss will not create shortage of public houses within easy walking distance (300m) of residential areas and
following and active marketing exercise there is no reasonable prospect of reuse or refurbishment for an appropriate A Class use, particularly on the ground floor of the site"

There are more than 4 public houses within easy walking distance; and
124 Globe Road has been empty for a good while
so there is a good chance that planning will be given to convert.

The unitary development framework set out by the LBTH Planning has requested a need for more housing in the area, the conversion 124 Globe Road will see an increase from the existing 2x 2 bedroom flats to in excess of 10x 2 bed flats which is in line with the Strategic Planning policy for Tower Hamlets ST2.

If this is not achieved we will apply for planning permission to convert the basement and ground floor into residential. There is a strong likelihood this well be granted as the pub is currently arranged as 2 flats upstairs and has recently been given residential usage throughout (The whole pub has been permitted residential usage on 23 November 2007).

Point 3
Breakdown of projected costs to increase square footage from 2,300 to 2,775 achieved by works to lower ground floor and first floor balcony.

RIBA - £2000
Structured Engineering Fees - £1100
Insured UK Builder (Federation of Master Builders) digging out basement - £30000
Basic decorating, plumbing and electric costs - £15000

Total Cost to increase square footage - £48100

Point 4
Current price of 124 Globe Road is £300 per square foot.

Nearby pub (200m walking distance) sold for £521 per square foot Mile End Road E1.

In this instance the pub was a 2,300 square foot property recently sold at £1.2 by Symmon Smith Estate Agents. We believe it achieved a premium due to its location on Mile End Road.

A conservative estimate of the sale price after an increase in suqare footage of 124 Globe Road would be (2,775 square foot x £500) = £1.36 million.

Point 5
Apply for planning permission to convert the basement and ground floor into residential. There is a strong likelihood this will be granted as the pub is currently arranged as 2 flats upstairs and has recently been given residential usage throughout. (The whole pub has been permitted residential usuage on 23 November 2007).

Breakdown of projected costs for conversion into flats as Ground and Basement:
Planning application - £250 x 2
Building control application fee - £205
Building control inspection fee - £300

Plumbing
Max - £5000
Corgi registered (Copper and Plastic included)
Plumb in bathroom, shower and tray, hand basin and toilet through out including towel rail, and run necessary gas, hot and cold supplies to the new kitchen areas ready to be picked up by kitchen fitter.
Fitting of 2 Worcester Bosch boilers and pumps - £2000

Electrical testing report - £250 (to indicate the quality of existing electrics)

Electrical - Min £2000 Max £7000
NICEIC (minimum to include whole house fire alarm, entry phone system)
Dependent on electrical testing report rewire if required, allowing for 40 double sockets and 50 fire proof spotlights and associated kitchen, bathroom and living area electrics.

Carpenter - £4000
Hanging doors architrave and skirting throughout

Knock wall down between male and female bathrooms, checking if load bearing walls. Take out all the sanitary ware and tiles off the walls.
Plaster board all ceilings where required and skim with plaster to smooth finish.

Insured UK Builder (Federation of Master Builders) digging out basement - £30000
RIBA - £2000 (as above not to be duplicated from point 3)

Three months multi skilled labour 3 men - £12000

5-8 skips - (£170 per skip)

To complete ceilings decorating and tiling (£6000 materials including internal and external high quality paint and fire proof/water proof plasterboard where required).

Material Bathroom tiles - £2000
Tile the shower floor and walls completely for allowing for one border
Matching grout - £200
Standard adhesive - £150
Helo steam generator x2 - £1200
Control unit - £400
Pharo Showers x2 - £2400
Sanding original chevron floor over 3 levels - hire of equipment - £250
Kitchen - Carcass Selco or Wickes - £500
Kitchen doors from Urban Myth - £1000
High quality work top - £1000
Architrave throughout - £1000
Skirting 150 metre - £1000

Cost of building £80000 plus £20000 for contingency = £100000

Point 6
Sell all units in one sale at a premium to Investment Banks.
Properties in area are selling for:

£508 per square foot - Cavell Street, Whitechapel E1. One bedroom live work warehouse.
£627 per square foot - Berhard Baron House, Shoreditch E1. Newly built, two bed room dupled apartment.
£651 per square foot - Strype Street, City E1. One bed room second floor flat.
£513 per square foot - Adler Street. Three bedroom duplex.
£520 per square foot - Assam Street, Aldgate E1.
£564 per square foot - Jamaica Street, Stepney E1. Two bedroom freehold house also ensures a private garden to the rear.
£599 per square foot - Clark Street, Whitechapel E1. Two bedroom duplex flat.
£721 per square foot - Settles Street Mews, Aldgate E1. Two bedroom ground floor flat.

£588 per square foot is the average but we intend to make a high quality luxurious development which taking a conservative view will sell at £650 per square foot, which gives a sales price of £1.8 million.

Over One Year:
£660,000 Cost of Freehold
£34,644 Finance for 1 year
£26,400 Stamp Duty
£2,000 Professional fees
£100,000 Cost of Buliding plus contingency
£30,000 Selling Estate Agent’s fee
-------------
£853,044 TOTAL Expenditure

Expected Profit

£1,800,000
(£853,044)
---------------
£950,706

Our Experience:

In September 2007 we sold a 2,000 square foot property in E1 for £895,000 which was bought for £475,000 in February 2006. The build cost £60,000 mainly on bathroom, floors, kitchens and lighting with a nil increase in square footage. The project was completed on time and within budget. The above sale leads us to believe that there are high money buyers willing to pay good money for high quality luxurious builds in the area, most likely due to the proximity to the City and Canary Wharf. We have extensive knowledge of the requirements of differing types of tenants and home buyers in the area, ranging from traditional European gap year traveller to city executive. This experience has been gained from buying and selling and having a genuine appreciation for the are since 1995.

In Summary:

We have used our local knowledge to identify this public house as an AAA development opportunity.
We are using our knowledge of who will purchase the end product to build to specification.
We intend to use our experience of working with basements and knowledge of how to increase square footage sympathetically.

Sustainable house

This post details plans to build a luxury micro build. I'll build anything that is required but I believe that sustainability starts with reducing the amount of space that you think is needed to what is required.

I'm going to be building a small house this summer, when I write small I mean micro small.

It's a great opportunity to keep costs at an absolute minimum. The house is going to be hi spec but eco friendly and energy efficient. Most of the materials used will be salvaged where possible. I just don't buy into the 'fact' that a comfortable eco friendly dwelling needs to be expensive, just well thought out.

I'm going to post the thought process from start to finish and the construction time will be kept to a minimum, life is about living in a house not building a house!

What I have in mind is a natural stone clad front, the back and sides insulated on the outside and clad in cedar, a warm false pitch roof, natural lintols, gorgeous guttering, construct the window frames but buy in some beautiful leadwork glass. I'm going to knock up a simple but great functional kitchen and make use of air filtration units. Internally I plan to make the best use of natural light and aim for a hi spec interior. The overall price can be kept low..... when there isn't much square footage.

The key to making this a successful project is in the planning, sound construction skills and local knowledge.

I am not keen on timber frame

Paving

This post was written around 2009 and goes into technical detail on paving

Bradstone Aumtumn Bronze

It's difficult trying to compress everything I know onto a a couple of posts, so if there are any questions get in touch, that's what this blog is for. Ultimately I have found that with a reasonable amount of prep work you can avoid major issues and with a lot more prep work you can come away with a fantastic job.

These are composite slabs by Bradstone in autumn bronze. They look much better than the pics, as far as I am concerned most composites do look very good but when considering natural stone there really is only one that stands out. York stone. It looks fantastic and the reclaimed flags have a beautiful weathered look about them. York stone is incredibly hard wearing. I could put some pictures up but pictures generally don't do them justice. I could go on and on about york stone but if you have an appreciation for stone flags you know how gorgeous york stone is, there is just something about them, you really need to be in close physical proximity to get the real beauty of york stone.

Reclaimed York Stone

But these are composites and they look good, nowhere near as good as york stone but it should be noted that a beautiful finish isn't just in expensive flags, the beauty is also in a perfect finish. Remember to use a good sealer and when you need to reseal the flags don't forget to clear all the old finish off the face off the flags otherwise they new seal will not look even.

Considering the overall finish this is a great job, it looks great and will last years but when working with riven flags always be careful to make sure that any flags that are exceptionally riven don't end up in weak points, such as by the front door! ( Pvcu doors and windows don't look great)

Puddle

This area ended up being covered by the portico so this problem resolved itself but it is very important to make sure that slabs which are exceptionally riven don't end up being placed in key areas.

As far as sourcing slabs, its wise not to turn your nose up at manufactured stone, there are companies who are very established at making good composites, they can be used anywhere, if the sub base has been prepared specifically then you could quite easily drive a tank over these things, well maybe not a tank but most certainly heavy vehicles. Its all in the sub base and i will do a post on that later.

The slabs will be found at most builders merchants. The likes of Selco carry these but no natural stone and Travis Perkins do a good range of natural stone. Specialist places such as Rock Unique down in Kent are very good but unless your after something very niche your first stop should be Travis Perkins for natural stone. The composites will all come in a standard thickness and natural stone wont, generally the rule of thumb with natural stone is to put the face with the greatest width sunny side up (that's the way its supposed to be) Sandstone from India can sometimes be refereed to as Indian York Stone but i don't think it looks similar.

Another reason to use composites is that they come will all manner of features, for example the circle squaring kit. This can be a great feature when combined with good quality fencing and some stone bricks for a wall. Its always a good idea to keep your eye out when on site for natural materials that can be reused rather stuck in the skip to fill a landfill somewhere. It is very difficult to cut a natural stone slab, well its not difficult to cut it but it is very difficult to get a smooth natural edge.

You will need gloves to handle these slabs and be careful how they are stacked on site, these should never be stacked in a way that a slight knock can bring down 7 or 8 slabs propped up against 1, its not big or clever! Site safety should always be paramount and not just for people working and possibly living on the site but also for break ins.

So, if you are thinking of having a paved area then you will most likely follow this plan of action;

1. Investigate: Look at different designs, theres lots of info on the net and in manufactures literature.
2. Place order
3. Prepare sub base, I will do a post on this but its a vast topic. Generally its only wise to get the flags in as close as possible to the time they need to be aid - no pint cluttering up a site.
4. Wheelbarrow slabs from site entry to where the flags will be placed, you will need gloves and a good wheelbarrow. Store flags appropriately.

In summary,
Its absolutely unacceptable for there to be any puddles on paving. Riven slabs may cause very slight puddling but not for longer than about 20 minutes after the rainfall has ceased.

Same puddle, different angle :-)

Floors

Technical post:

I am bouncing a few ideas around at the moment, coming up with new features that I would like to achieve on future projects. Polished concrete can look great on floors, work tops and just about everything. Also by the sounds of things they can be pretty cheap. So if it looks great and is cheap then the labour costs will most likely be high. That said, I prefer floors to have been 'alive' at some point, wooden flooring or natural tiles, but will try a polished concrete floor and see what happens.

So how to use the skills I already have to replicate?
The most challenging technical issues that spring to mind are as follows:-

An uneven base will require lot more sanding and can be time intensive and sanding costs will be high

How to prevent the floor from cracking?

Introducing colour, stains or dyes or other glass, fibre optics?

Reduced water in the mix will increase strength but will reduce workability, admixtures?

Sealers must be used to lock in and protect the finished floor.

Seehttp://periodpropertyrestoration.blogspot.com/2010/01/work-cement-on-site.html

So in a word, there's lots of info that needs to be looked at... my post is a start.

Winston Churchill

A post that details work on the restoration of a house with an interesting history

The Floor, original to the house, had been sanded many times in the years before my feet walked on it. Will have to be replaced next time as this floor will most likely be too thin to take another sanding. In all honesty it would have been cheaper to have the floor ripped up and replaced new than to restore it. I just didnt have the heart to do it, Churchill himself walked on that floor. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the floor - quater sawn flooring, very good because its resistant to moisture and shrinkage not 100% but still. Plus the decorative effect is absolutely gorgeous - really lights up when the sun reflects from it. The option was there to obtain quater sawn for the extension side from a guy at Brook Brothers timber but the cost was prohibitive. I lacquered it with BonaKemi  and then a few coats of traffic. Looks beautiful.

This is almost the exact pattern on the ceiling as it was before i ripped it out the original. I didnt take a picture before i ripped the ceiling out so i had to recreate it from memory. Regency plastercraft supplied the mouldings, the circles were the priciest part as new moulds have to be made up. The ceiling rose is original. The mouldings are stuck to the ceilings using normal white tile adhesive and screws, the plaster is scored for better adhesion. I avoided problems by ensuring that the plasterboard ceiling that we put in was level. Beautiful ceiling and easy to do


Stunning egg and dart recessed niches detailed in the right hand side of this picture. They were originally made to order which says something about the previous owners. I remember having a conversation with Stevensons of Norwich, a company with plastercraft experts - they didn't believe it was an egg and dart recessed niche until i sent them a picture. I had these niches restored by using a hourly paid Polish guy. I could not get this quality by using anyone other than an hourly paid guy.  I added the egg n dart mouldings to the wall. I reproduced the whole look of the adams style fireplace with the egg and dart recessed niches either side in the extension later. People tend to have really high skirting these days in this kind of property but i am not a fan. Have to mention the stunning Farrow and Ball paint, looked like velvet on the walls but was very chalky.


Love this arch, restored it to its former glory, just got the Polish guy to sand it down and restore it using tetrion filler. You can just about see the stunning leadlights. I used Tenby and Penny of Walthamstow to make some great reproductions for the extension, he still thinks he over charged me but what he doesn't know is that his products are world class. There is a lesson, you have to be able to recognise talent. Prices have been known to double if your in the wrong postcode. That bay window is so gorgeous, someone suggested i take it out to create a bigger space but would have been disastrous, the bay window is the beauty of the room and is a feature, i built the extension round it. In a room of that size its ludicrous to want to increase the size. Nevermind, later on ill do a blog on space planning, using light and a few other tricks.

This picture gives you more of an idea of the effect of this room. Winston Churchill sat in that corner back in the day at a few conservative party meetings. I don't agree with his policies but it's a selling point. I am trying actually to get the property as locally listed - which is a fairly big deal, it will help when it comes to valuations.

I should put a note in about the coving, all original to the property and was a pain to have restored around that fireplace. I will do a full blog on the coving in this property, absolutely gorgeous and says so much about the political and cultural climate at the time.

The humble wheelbarrow

Wheelbarrows are very important to groundworkers. A poor wheelbarrow with a deflated tyre will make a groundworkers job very difficult and most likely double the time required to finish works.

The carcass in itself has to be of good quality construction, poor quality wheelbarrows will fall apart after less than a few months. A good carcass will last for years - main stress points being the joints of the two legs to the carcass and holes forming in the carcass.

As with most things the difference between a good quality wheelbarrow and a poor one is the price - i have found that on the whole the more expensive ones at builders merchants are good quality - usually costing around £20.

The other key factor to a wheelbarrow is the wheel - this must always be kept inflated - its much harder to move a fully loaded wheelbarrow with a deflated tyre. Keep the tyre inflated and you will find that even a fully loaded barrow will bounce a long.

Also when on site the wheelbarrows path will be pretty much the same - usually one route - from delivery point to where the work is being done. A good way to prolong the life of the wheel is to make sure that there are no sharp objects like nails in the path of the barrow and also when pushing it up a ramp make sure that the ramp is fully integrated with the floor level so as to avoid a stress point for the wheel.

Its also important to keep a wheelbarrow clean.

In summary buy a good quality wheelbarrow and it will last for years and keep a bicycle pump handy for the tyre.

Mixed use development - Gas meters

This is a picture of a u16 gas meter external housing, they cost about £300 including carriage. They are only available online. Its industrial size but that is required for a u16 gas meter.

And the U16 meter itself

The u16 is the biggest gas meter available. They are quite rare and you generally wont see one. I made the decision to move it outside as in my opinion its not good to have a gas meter inside. The two reasons being

1. Very small chance of build up of gas

2. The people who read the gas meter - its not nice to have people you don't know command their way into your home so that they can read the gas meter.

These are the decisions that experienced building professionals with extensive knowledge of large period properties will know to consider.

The gas meter was moved outside by a corgi registered plumber. The main costs will be for the industrial gas meter housing which comes to about £300 for the housing alone. I decided to get this housing because even though very pricey it would have cost even more to make something up. Gas meter housings are not this expensive usually - they normally cost for normal size meters about 30 pounds from any builders merchants , a bit more for the recessed ones - they prices is due to the industrial size gas meter on site.

Coving - How to put up

Also known as coving.

This post will give you a general idea of how to avoid some of the pitfalls commonly made when putting plaster coving onto a skim background.

The first thing you need to do is make the intention - the intention to do a good job. Its at this point that the job your about to do will succeed or fail.

Secondly choose some plaster coving - be aware that if the coving you choose is very intricate its going to be a lot more difficult when you come to finish the joints.

Now the trick is to make sure the skim coat of plaster on your ceiling is perfectly flat near the walls, otherwise you will have an unsightly wobbly wavy top edge on the coving - and thats the bit that stands out the most - if the wall is a little bit wavy its not too much of an issue as its the top edge that cathces the eye the most  (thats probably the most important thing you need to do when putting in coving).

Using the straight edge as in the two pics below to highlight where the plaster has 'got a belly on it'

Get a marker and cross where the skim coat of plaster needs to be corrected. Then correct it with multifinish or filler. This process is known as 'feathering out' and is cheaper to do with multifinish - you can save yourself a lot of hassle if you let the plasterer know that you will be putting coving in and that you need a ceiling that is perfectly level near where the ceiling meets the wall.

Its at times like this that if you know the plasterer he will do a good job, if you dont know him and have no experience he will not leave you with a level ceiling even if you have asked for one. You will end up paying more money to have this corrected so it pays to get someone good to have this done 'right first time'

To get level coving with minimum hassle (and thats the key - get the job done perfectly with minimum hassle) you will need to ensure that the ceiling joists are level way before the plasterboard ceiling is pinned to it. Its tricks of the trade like this that ensures a smooth running job and a beautiful finish. Level joists mean level plasterboard ceiling which in turn means level beautiful coving without hassle. Its all about risk management, make it easy for everyone by getting a straight level.

So anyway there will always need to be a little bit of feathering out and this part of the job should be worked into your routine when putting in coving. Heres a pic of coving and the feathering out that was needed.

Next thing to do after everything has been feathered out is to hold up a piece of coving and pencil in the outline, this will give you an idea of where the coving will sit. Once you know where exactly the coving will sit and can see it marked in in pencil - score it with a stanley knife but be careful not to come outside of the outline of where the coving is going. If you do it will just mean a lot more and unnecessary work for the decorator which could have been easily avoided.

Once the outline has been scored (dont go overboard or anything - just every couple of centimeters) brush it all off and make sure its dust free really brush it off so that not a single bit of dust remains (this helps with the adhesion) Now with a brush put pva glue on the dust free scored areas , depending on which pva brand your using, dilute as required. Here is a pic of ceiling which has been scored, pva'd and ready for coving.

Your coving should be on site and the odds are high that it will have been laying around for a couple of days (always make sure you store the coving on the floor or so that its completely supported, otherwise it will bow) the lengthscome in 3000mm and may be very brittle which is not the end of the world just means more hassle when decorating the coving. Always give the coving a really good soak with a hosepipe the day before your due to put the coving up - soaking helps to give it more flex.

Now get some cheap white adhesive (has to be white, stains less and hides well) and put it on the backs of the coving - only where the coving will make contact with the walls and the ceiling.

Quick note about adhesive - its all about drying times and drying times are governed by the two substrates being stuck together and the rate at which water evaporates. If the water evaporates too quick then the adhesion will not be strong, that's why i like to slow down the drying process by wetting the coving, this also has another effect detailed a few paragraphs above.

Corners have to be mitre cut dont worry about not having a perfect joint, the filling in at the end will join it all together and its probably quicker in the long run to cut rough and fill (but ensuring its level)

Now is the time to get out the sandpaper and filler and regret why you chose to put in fancy egg and dart coving because its those joints which will take the longest :-)

Heres a pic of some finished plaster mouldings on a ceiling, this was done done using the process above. I kept the original ceiling rose but had to put the rest of the ceiling with moulding in new. The original ceiling was in the old lathe and plaster, i pulled it down because overboarding wouldnt have been level. I recreated the exact ceiling from memory, its very important if putting in new mouldings to keep with the status and period of the house.

Quick note about coving, there are companies out there who will replicate old coving. Regency Plastercraft on Southbury Road in Enfield are very good. Ive found that the old coving  is rock solid and very difficult to remove, dont bother trying to take it out , the labour cost will be too much, just get the decorator to restore it and it will look perfect. Old coving was built to last, you cant get it off even with a hammer drill.

Typically expenses arise when using non standard mouldings, ie the mouldings that need to be made up, for example in the picture of the plaster mouldings on the ceiling above the expenses arose on those two circles that had to be specially made up. The straight lengths are stock items and therefore not expensive at all.

Note the process would be different if you were putting coving onto painted walls - the thing to be aware of when putting coving onto painted walls is that you must be careful not to let the coving stick to the paint alone.

Footings

In the foreground of this picture you can see reinforced concrete running across the trench - this was part of a WWII shelter that was built.

This corner of the foundation proved to be the most challenging - nearby trees, sub standard soil with sulphates present, clay, high water tables it was all going on here :-)

Coving

I absolutely adore plaster coving , its gorgeous and fairly easy to put up if you know how. A picture of a delivery from Regency Plastercraft of Edmonton.

If the coving gets too dry wet it with a hosepipe, dont be afraid to get the hosepipe on it and give it a really good soaking - that will give it a bit more flex. When ordering plastercraft , take a measure of the length you would like to put coving on add 10% and try to get a good price. Have it delivered, its easier.

Ceilings with coving look far nicer than without, that's easy to see even from the unfinished pics below

Leadlights

Its very important to get in touch with good local repairers here

More often than not leadlights wil be in bad condition broken panes and bowing are usually the main problems - with antique leadlights, since the glass is not manufactured anymore - broken panes can be hard to replace  - this is why its crucial to get the best local knowledge in - the repairers i spoke with had stocks of this antique hammered glass - not a lot but they would actually keep it because they knew it would be needed to replace broken panes. In fact the guy i found to restore the panes had actually repaired the house next door when they converted it into flats.  Although its important to note here that you can sometimes find great antique leadlights down old markets like the sunday market in brick lane or even old doors - i will write a post on that later.

You will most likely find that on certain doors that are used a lot namely front doors the leadlights will bow in the direction of the door swing, they are only held in place with lead came - the worst bowing can be repaired but on the whole its not the best idea to do anything about the less serious bowing. Leave it to the repairer to decide.

Its better to get in professional repairers who work for firms rather than the ones who moonlight - they both have access to the same antique glass but the ones who are working for a firm will take more care when repairing the leadlights.

Cement for concrete basics

Well soon enough im going to be writing about my favourite part of the build. I especially love the groundworks. Before then you need to know a bit about cement and concrete - so everything you will need to know about cement and concrete to prepare you for groundworks.

A brief history of cement;

In 1820 Joseph Aspdin discovered that when he ground up the limestone and clay and heated it, then added water to the resulting ground up powder, he found that it hardened. He decided to call it Portland Cement because he was a business minded guy and the majority of the building work at that time was done using a type of stone quarried on the Isle of Portland which is off the British coast. The accepted view is that his mix looked like portland stone but im doubtful.

Applications in order of importance as defined by me

To make a good general purpose concrete mix;
one shovel of cement to two shovels of sharp sand to three shovels of max 20mm aggregate.

To make a good paving concrete mix;
one shovel of cement to one and a half shovels of sharp sand to two and a half shovels of max 20mm aggregate.

To make a good foundation concrete mix;
one shovel of cement to two and half shovels of sharp sand to three and half shovels of max 20mm aggregate.

If your using ballast, its a different story. Ballast is an all in mix of sharp sand and aggregate. It is more common down south then it is up north. Im not that keen on ballast - its never the same, each ton bag is always different plus theres never enough 20mm aggregate. Rubbish because your never assured of a consistent strength of concrete, but used because its convenient - a factor which has an amazing ability to corrode good building practise, a factor which is driving most building innovation. . .Ask your project manager if he uses ballast. If he does think twice about hiring him. If he mentions ready mix...thats another blog.

In all of the mixes above, dont put too much water in the mix - water will reduce the strength, just use enough water to make it possible to place it and to compact it.

Since I'm writing of concrete its only fair to add a bit about admixes;

SBR: Has a lot of benefits main benefits are when doing a screed that's going to end up as a tiled floor - the SBR in the concrete that is the screed, will become a tiny bit flexible, so when the underfloorheating goes in under the tiles its just better because the screed will flex a tiny amount when the UFH is turned on and it wont breakup. I usually use SBR its inexpensive and has many benefits.

Dustproofer and Hardener: Not that important its basically used to seal a concrete floor, you end up with a hard wearing non dusty surface. I suppose it is cheaper than concrete paint, which costs a fortune. If you need to finish a floor where the visual aspect is not important use this instead of paint. Plus with concrete paint technically you shouldn't use it till the concrete floor has been down for 6 months minimum.

Waterproofer: I wouldnt leave it to an admix to waterproof concrete, if its going in a render its a different story.

So of the above which brands to buy, well they are all pretty much of the same, the main distinction being branded or undranded, I personally would go for the Sealocrete products and as far as PVA goes buy Unibond 10litre stuff then water it down - works out far less expensive thant the 2.5litre unbranded stuff. As far as the waterproofer, i will discuss below. The real major issue / screw up that will occur when on site, the absolute main reason why failure occurs is because some bright spark isn't putting the right amount of admix into the mix. That's the main reason why the admix will fail to do its magic not because of brand.

So which waterproofer? Sika is in a class of its own, far far far better than any other waterproofing product on the market. And its a lot more expensive, unless you know where to buy - If you need it for a big job, go Travis Perkins and buy the 25litre ones - will set you back about 100quid but well worth it.

I should mention that not all admixes work well together. For example, lime makes a render more workable, sika makes a render waterproof but if you are adding lime to a Sika render it will have a negative effect on the waterproofing abilities of the render. And sika at 100 quid/25 litres you dont want the waterproofing capabilities diminshed in any way. So dont get into the habit of throwing everything in to the mix - always check the data sheet. Or call the tech helpline.

Im gonna mention all the different types of cement; to be honest the important stuff is above but here we go

General purpose cement - Used for most applications
Premium cement - Lighter colour and has improved workability offers slight protection from freeze-thaw attack
Rapid cement - High strength NOT early setting!
Fastset cement - Sets hard within an hour, its suitable for fixing posts
White cement - Used for decorative purposes but also has high strenght
Sulfate cement - Use this below damp proof course where sulphates are present in the soil

Stick with general purpose cement.

This blog is getting really big and im probably at risk of losing your attention, thats why i wrote in order of importance but since we are talking of concrete i must put in a note about A142 mesh.

Its a mesh that reinforces foundations, ill post more on this when i discuss the foundations.

Work / Gypsum

A quick note on gypsum;

Gypsum is in my opinion one of the building blocks of civilisation, excuse the pun. Seriously though for me it ranks alongside timber, the wheel and the internal combustion engine. I should do a post about that.

So gypsum; its a non mettalic mineral found in rock form. It can be white, grey, pink even almost black. The magic thing about gypsum is that it contains water which is dry, scientifically known as water of crystallisation - this solid water will not blink an eye till it gets heated to 100 degrees centigrade. At which point it will become water vapour.

Now that's a really crucial part as to why gypsum is used so widely in modern building practises, well actually its been used throughout the ages in building practises for its many differing properties and who knows maybe in the future some bright spark might figure out a new application for it. But before that happens take as a current example drywall also known as plasterboard - plasterboard is made of gypsum sandwiched between two sheets of lath (paper). The gypsum in the plasterboard will not exceed 100 degrees centigade until all the crystalised water has been released as vapour. Hence the fire retarding properties, even if the room is at a temp far higher than 100 degrees centigrade, the plasterboard wont exceed 100 degrees centigrade. Once all the crystallised water has been released as vapour, your buggered but on the whole it will give you have about 15 -20 minutes of fire protection depending on the thickness of the gypsim in the plasterboard, which is more than enough for fire alarms to kick off and give you a head start.

So in summary gypsum offers great fire protection.

Also, gypsum rock can be ground up and heated until most of the water has been removed, btw this 'calcined gypsum' was used by the egyptians as cement and by a lot of other people for a lot of other things. The reason why it was popular amongst our ancestors was that it really didnt take that much heat to calcine gypsum. Anyway, if water is then added to calcined gypsum it forms a plastic mass known as plaster of paris this can be moulded into any desired shape after which it will harden and retain that shape - it returns to its originl rock like form, the only natural substance that has that property, no less than amazing. Another form of gypsum is selenite - selenite is transparent and was used by the greeks in their temples as windows. Sweet.

Believe me reader gypsum pops up everywhere, i am not kidding. Its an invaluable mineral that's been crucial to building throughout mankinds long history. I am very surprised that it is so unknown, i mean if everything we know of went tits up in a big way, along with your Ray Mears survival skills pocket handbook you would really want to know about gypsum.

Adams style fireplace

This is an Adams style fireplace, they were popular in the 1700's and made a come back in the 1900's, really went out of fashion at one point but came back in the 80's and coming back into vogue in about a year - how do i know? i see them around, i saw one in the backdrop of an interview with Barack Obama by some upscale journo - you need to keep your eyes peeled, theres opportunities to learn everywhere as far as trends and fashions go in my opinion its all to do with political climates and the economy but thats another blog. These fireplaces have a very elegant look about them, in this room the fireplace complimented the coving really well. If you have any info about these fireplaces id love to know. Not too much info though, i would love to but dont have the time to become an expert. Just the odd snippet of info would be much appreciated. Good point actually, i do not set out to be a restorer of period properties, I like to renovate them as far as my budget allows and to the extent that i believe my market can see. The very capable English Heritage do restorations - they do it for their love of the past. I am not them, so please dont criticise my work saying its not a true restoration, Im a realist and unfortunately the budget is my boss. I say that but sometimes you make exceptions.

I had a guy make up an exact reproduction of this in MDF for the extension, Elegant Homes fireplaces are good. They're based in Woodford and Walthamstow. The guy who runs the place is a little bit mental. Make sure you are not to far from the door if you go to see this guy.

New build

This is the roof of the summer house, i went a bit overboard really. Those are 6x2 treated. Btw, 6x2 doesn't always mean exactly 6 inch's by 2 inches its regularised down due to different cutting procedures basically it clocks in at about 147mm by 47mm, differs a fair bit. That only really impacts with joist hangers.

AA timber merchants in Ilford, a very well organised well run organisation run by a very nice guy called Paul. Your better off going down to a timber merchants and picking out timber, what you basically want to look for is straight lengths no bananas! everything comes in differing sizes, 2.1m 4.2m and so on. Basically timber these days is all mass produced and its all crap compared to what they used maybe 50 or a 100 years ago. That's of no concern really you use what you have access to. I used to send my orders by fax to this guy and his driver would bring them round, there's a post i should write about delivery's by the way. What I'm trying to do is not just give you technical knowledge but also trying to inform you of how to gain good local knowledge quickly.
So the keen eyed amongst you would notice the fact that there is insulation which has been covered, saying this would cause condensation and mould in the living space below since the condensation will have no way to escape when you cover insulation with ply on top. See blog on air filtration units

You may also notice that the roof looks heavy, its all 6x2's and a lot of them normally 4x2's and not as many. Now here's something not all of you will be aware of the wall plate that the joists rest on is made of concrete not 4x2 and i used a raft for a foundation :-)

Lessons to be learnt, you don't need to use 6x2's and you actually don't need to use so much metalwork but was having a lot of fun with this roof. If you wish you can send the plans to a roofing company who will build all the roof off site and deliver to you. I dont really see the point, sure its quicker but the roof below could take a direct hit. I suspect that as time goes by there is more and more pressure to create buildings cheaper and whats happening is that the cost of materials wont necessarily go down so the cost of installation has to be speeded up. What i find is that building regs are accepting more and more less quality. I had a building inspector just take a peak at this roof and he passed the entire building on the spot.

Bottom line is that new builds will no way last as long as buildings built in the past, not unless i was responsible for the new build.

I will do a blog on wood, hardwood, softwood and how to recognise good timber.