zoothorn

@Onoff @joe90 you can see the pretty whopping hole, aa battery here etc, also the thick render layer im prizing off below it. So its right to take all this layer off, i mean i havent gone ott and shoulda left some of the firmer stuff on? It mostly tapped hollow. But of course i didnt think that was to do with the void behind, rather than the surface 'popped', which is fairly idiotic, but par for course for me.

@Onoff that gun looks the biz. But i did buy a cheapo two ended mini pointing trowel thing.. will have to do i think unless those guns reasonably cheap, dont expect so. Yes that gap you referred to in that pic you put up.. are the ones in q. Better pic here ?

Yes get this.. the gap does go quite deep, so if mortar filled would go in then fall down.. i guess i admit. So use so of the lime mortar to fill this trench? No new mix needed? Better pics coming up.. thx Peter

Hi Peter, ok that makes sense. I can cross 'how to paint over' once done.. I dont think its straightforward tho, re. paint. What would you do at the reveal areas? IE now Ive removed 3-4cm layer of old whatever mortar stuff, Ive now got this bad 1-2cm gap from stonework to jams. If I just repoint these reveals, gap isn't closed at all. Foam in.. then plaster or something? Or should I be putting back a thick 3cm of render/ mortar whatever it is, back on these upright reveals, including underside of lintel stones?

Peter Im mulling over idea of leaving as stone, mainly cos i cant understand how else to do it/ not getting this render- mortar thing. So from my pics, you can see the walls are half just decent enough stone at best perhaps, half craggy crap tho (apart from the good lintel stones).. do you think this is decent enough to leave as stone? And of course then, I'll just have the odd situation of exposed stone in the porch, but rest of house/ the majority of (and continuation of the same walls) white. Won't this be odd?

@Ferdinand thanks for the tune.. they're not dancers they're athletes jeepers!

@Onoff but its only the lintel stones faced decently enough to do the natural idea- these would look great yes.. but the rest is craggy stuff uneven rough faces, bits n bobs fill.. it's just not gonna be a looker (pics), & it'll not be in unison with white cottage. even just the lintel left 'exposed'. So I need to white it, but keep the stone contour. (friend whose an amateur builder just said 'no just render over the lot', as its inside.. but won't jump to his opinion before here). I defo need to put stuff on the reveals to cover the void, not just repoint here, so a good inch+ back on here. So should I use standard render/ mortar, plus lime (I'll likely buy bags now, use ^ friends mixer & drive it over, give him the 1/2 bags left.. 88m in fuel for 3x £30 of ready mix tubs is too much I think).. & just use this as the render and also the repointing mortar? or am I barking up the wrong tree.. Im still not on board with mortar/ render difference.

Ok thanks @jfb that's reasurring.. but I am seeing only crumbly mud as 'mortar' between all the stone: extremely disconcerting tbh, but, surely all the soft grey mortar ontop, none of it should be left in/ I gotta remove it all, however deep it goes.. right? I'm still a bit confused about re-pointing, and rendering. At 1st the idea was to repoint, altho I was also finding & pulling off a popped layer on the stone faces too (thin 3mm render? covered by a 2mm of sprayed-on 'seal' lightly-knobbly surface lord knows what.. I find this over whole of outside old shell). Then, the re-pointing original idea sort of increaced to a good inch of (I assume) render around the reveals/ up to the frame was soft too. So I was repointing, with lime mortar (yet to buy tubs of ready mix). Now what I'm doing Ive no idea! repointing -and- rendering? with the same lime mortar stuff.. or two different things.

@PeterW crikey I hope the frame's not holding it all up.. but could be if its 1830. possible it is original I guess. So just pull all this reveal mortar/ render off? as you can see it leaves a void inside the frame, its a good inch of it. The stone in some areas is nice, like the lintel area here, but most all isn't really suitable for being left natural, the faces are just not good enough really/ alot of hodge podge sharp fill slate & river stones. So the idea is to white it all, to blend in with rest of house. I do have some damp (yellowing of the lower 2ft, main wall & reveal either side of door) now whether that's bc this render Im pulling off has trapped it, or, whether I just have rising damp here (I suspect so) I'm not sure. So how I'll be able to paint this I'm not sure either.

Im digging in a good 3 cm at the frame edge here.. and generally, often 5 cm deep on the wall faces.

@PeterW or @Onoff Im back on the prep for this, but removing so much/ going so deep to get the grey soft mortar out, Im getting concerned. As you can see here. On the door reveal 3 sides there's a good 1/2" of soft mortar layer on the surface, just pops off.. im getting the heebies taking it off under the lintel area especially. Is there anything to worry about, or just crack on, not worry about depth and ammount im removing? None of the stones are shifting, apart from a few small thin packing slate bits, but how the lintel series are being held in.. omg. thx zh

Ah yes good idea- I have a few of those vg irwin clamps, recommended on here for my cabin project.. I use for work now. I'm picking off all my porch rot today in meantime.. a fair old bit of it too.

Im keeping the dalek, tho it does look like he's a bit over excited. Walnut whips & Linda lusardi.. your giving your age away! I gotta get the thing up with the door on then, just myself. Tubby tubster should've told us his was a '03' as I bought it after watching the clip.. no '03' on his box just gl-250. Maybe I can ask Vaillant guy next friday to lend a hand for a few mins.

Ok roger that Declan, that's sensible advice I'll do that. Means im scuppered for a job looking at the walnut whip dalek for a few days tho.

Cos its warmer, so im not freezing my c*ck off, and damn thing behaves above 4* so i can sleep. Otherwise id moan like a cow.

Yes I think so, I just wondered if you could decyphr what these figs mean.. Im really thick like this, as you know by now.

Ok so the min fitting is 553mm.. max is 562mm. How does this figure then? cant get my head around what size the placcy frame is likely to be.

That's a good idea by Peter.. understood, I mean if I get the nogs in & one a mite too tight.. urgh that's alot of moaning then. The joists are bound to be not pararlelell. I'll cut my pB along joists for now up to 762mm & make the pB rectangle hole, until hatch here. Semi prep. Thanks for the sketch btw.. gives me confidence. I have 9mm birch ply.. so can line each joist side ready too.

NO. It is WALES. It is superior to britain with all those english pigs spreading their mucus.

ahem.. for wales. that's all they do here see.

so fattie fudge's is the 03? on his box it just says 250. anyway cant complain @ 20 flippin quid. but I can still moan.

Is pocaster doing one of his 'funnies'? @Onoff just bought the manthorpe gl-250.. so can get all work done ready for this. £30 posted is pretty amazing. No idea what difference is between 250 and 250-03 (the one you linked to orginally) except £8 afaict. Tv fatso fitting the 250 so going with him.

Thats a good point. Ok will go for the gl250 562 mm x 726mm fitting.. shouting at me 'sensible choice' this one, usually is being your 1st suggestion too. So before i order, let me get this right: ive seen the youtube clip, fatso drills thru frame into joists/ easy. So all i got to do, is add two nogs to create my 'ends' of the fitting hole (726mm apart) ? And clean / trim up the pb up to them of course. Is this right? And are these added nogs muggins weight proof, can i sit ontop of a corner here for eg?

No PIR offcuts Declan. Id think this idea is do-able for me, but alot of work, & the hatch board bit to get too, paint the lot too.. might equate to same cost as Onoff's suggestion which if easy to fit.. seems perhaps the best & simpler option. thx I was just going to trawl the site for a smaller one: great ok this now makes sense, but why not insulated like the other one I wonder-?

@Onoff you really shoulda gone to art school.