A new member in Devon

[ian33a]

Hi everyone,

 

In May of this year my wife and I moved from a mid 20th century house in the middle of the south east sprawl to an old property right in the centre of Devon.

 

We've never owned an old place before, well not this old. The front middle of our place was built in the early 1700's, the rear middle is Victorian and there are 20th century extensions on each end. It's in more than reasonable condition and was extensively updated about 20 years ago. Now though, much of what was done then is tired. Luckily though, it retains much of its old character and has, thankfully, escaped listed status.

 

My current project is to overhaul the hydronic underfloor heating system and its this which helped me find this forum. 

 

I'm sure that, once the heating is sorted there will be many other projects requiring the gathering of knowledge.

 

Ian

[Roger440]

Welcome. Pictures, we need pictures!

[Bonner]

Sounds like a fascinating project! Our last house was an 18th century cottage. Although there is much to be said for modern construction, I do miss the character and charm of an old house.

[ToughButterCup]

Hello, welcome!

Can I make a suggestion? You do absolutely nothing for a year - maybe two - while you look at what the house does - and doesn't do.

 

How cold is it in winter .... hot in summer ... drafty is it in westerlies.... how much electricity does it take to keep resonably warm .... how shaded is the roof .... where might you put solar PV.... what does the sparky say about the wiring ... what state is the roof in .... cold roof - warm roof ? 

 

In other words gather some data about it. Then you can set priorities. If you're feeling invincible, ask @SteamyTea round for a totally biased opinion on what you might like to do first   ( hint : data, data, data)

[SteamyTea]

Welcome.

 

1 minute ago, ToughButterCup said:

If you're feeling invincible, ask @SteamyTea round for a totally biased opinion on what you might like to do first   

Move to Cornwall.

Moving to Devon from the SE is like being a little bit pregnant.

[Moonshine]

13 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Welcome.

 

Move to Cornwall.

Moving to Devon from the SE is like being a little bit pregnant.

 

Nah, they wanted to stop before people started to talk to so strangely they couldn't understand them 

[SteamyTea]

6 minutes ago, Moonshine said:

 

Nah, they wanted to stop before people started to talk to so strangely they couldn't understand them 

People shout here, all deaf.

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

...

Move to Cornwall.

...

 

Have you seen the prices there? 

Any road oop ducks, I'll bee 'long drekly ....

[SteamyTea]

8 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

Have you seen the prices there? 

Yes, we have the highest prided water and sewage, Indian and Chinese food, electricity.....

[ian33a]

Thanks all, great replies!

 

I was born in South Devon but moved away with work about 35 years ago. My parents and my brother remained there and it was something of a plan to relocate westward once we retired. It didn't have to be Devon - anything which took us away from a busy road and which gave good value for money in housing cost was viable. When we sold and bought, competition was fierce and we offered above asking on this place because it ticked most of the boxes : a lot of house for the money, on a quiet road but not down a long narrow lane, in a friendly village, unlisted, able to get a reasonable broadband speed, plenty of workshop space, bigger living accommodation than we already had and manageable garden/land (not much to ask then!).

 

We wanted something with a bit of kerb appeal and, looks being subjective, to us, it has that, and so much more.

 

 

This picture is taken from the lane outside. We've since discovered that the front grass was, in olden days, the mill pond. To the left of the property was an overshot water wheel. The wheel pit is still there, as are a few metal fittings for the wheel. Sadly, the wheel is gone. The section to the left of the door was the former commercial mill. The front door was a later addition. The living quarters were between the front door and the end of the front roof section. The two storey bit at the end is my office and a bedroom above (added in the 20th century).

 

The back is more plain - as is often the case.

 

We had decided to try to be patient regarding upgrades. We wanted to find our way before extensive work took place. Already aware that it wasn't to our taste, and only partially functional too, we decided to update the main bathroom very soon in. The house is very much a hybrid so we were able to have something modern but with a nod to the past and are very happy with the outcome.

 

Unfortunately, the chimney sweep ran a mile when an asbestos flue was discovered. So we had to shell out for two new chimney flues, the front chimney needed to be rebuilt (as the render was damp) and we decided to upgrade one of the wood burners at the same time. Then, when we wanted to fill the oil tank, the driver refused to fill it on account of UV damage and hairline cracks. So we needed to have a new, this time, bunded tank. Then we've had issues with the underfloor heating - mostly sorted now by me. 

 

I wanted space for a decent workshop. The house came with a three car car port - brick on three sides and open at the front. I infilled that to have a triple workshop. This had to be done quickly because all of my workshop equipment was otherwise out in the open!

 

As for the rest of it, well, in the south east the mentality was always "now, now now". It hasn't taken long to relax into a mentality of "soon, soon, soon". Toughbuttercup is right, it is good to wait and see. I built myself a to-do list with 42 items on it. A few were couple of hour jobs, most were couple of days jobs. Some of the shorter jobs were fun to do and gave a great sense of satisfaction. Other jobs, such as repoint all of the mortar on the cob, will take weeks and can wait until I have the time and the skills to do it. The house wont fall down in the meantime so, no big deal. Equally, all of the facia boards need doing. They appear to have been stained and the stain has worn off. The wood isn't rotten and, with a decent quality scaffolding tower, next year, I'll deal with it.  I look at my to-do list and my wife worries that I'm beating myself up over the size of it. I'm really not. I just need a list to that I can remember what needs to be done, not to make me do it. 

Could we have gone further west and bought, sure. However, even on the Devon coast, let alone the Cornish peninsula, house prices are daft, totally daft, and value plummets. We can be at the coast in 45 minutes from here. We can wake up in the morning, fling open the curtains and there is a magnificent visual vista from our window. Nobody overlooks us. The nearest neighbours are 50 yards away and there is virtually zero chance of the view being interrupted as we are surrounded by a flood plain (only a small bit of our land floods - never any buildings!). Just open fields and a river. In our previous place we had 14,000 vehicles passing each day. The lane outside may manage a hundred or so. A car passing at 7am is considered the rush hour! Totally magical.

 

One final thing: we saw this place back in February and decided to buy. It was a bit of a whirlwind as it was an open day and we had two other places to see in Somerset on the same day. The area we saw in February seemed nice but dormant. When we moved in in May it had utterly transformed. Beautiful green rolling hills, fertile fields, green forests, Dartmoor visible from the garden. A walking and cycling dream! We feel very fortunate to have moved here. 

 

... and we can get to Cornwall really easily too if we wish! 😉

 

A quick aside - I have notifications turned on but is there a way to get email notifications if people reply to threads that I am following?

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by ian33a

[ProDave]

That looks very nice.

 

I would be wondering if there was any chance of reinstating the water wheel, even thought the pond has gone, is there still a stream passing by to feed it?

[ian33a]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

That looks very nice.

 

I would be wondering if there was any chance of reinstating the water wheel, even thought the pond has gone, is there still a stream passing by to feed it?

 

It's something that we have considered Dave. Sadly though, the leet which originally fed the pond has gone and so has another stream shown on old maps. It would be fantastic to have a wheel back there but goodness knows how much it would cost and how much it would cost to get it there and install it. 

[saveasteading]

I don't know about email alerts to threads. Someone else may advise. 

 

There are emails to alert re any private messages (which i only use if it appears sensitive). But you could 'follow' members who regularly discuss the topics of special interest, or who are generally interesting or entertaining.

[Jilly]

Gorgeous. You are very lucky to have got the house of your dreams. 

[ToughButterCup]

 

On 23/12/2022 at 09:26, ian33a said:

....

I wanted space for a decent workshop. The house came with a three car car port - brick on three sides and open at the front. I infilled that to have a triple workshop.

.....

 

Christmas came early for you then eh?

Triple bay workshop: if I had one SWMBO would never see me ever. (She's praying for one too 😐) I mean just imagine the sheer bliss of putting a tool down and then a few days later see it still lying there.  Space for a work-surface just a bit bigger than 8 by 4 and having space to walk round it ..... gotta stop now - envy is ugly. 

Enjoy it. And Christmas.

Ian

Edited December 25, 2022 by ToughButterCup

[SteamyTea]

18 hours ago, ToughButterCup said:

8 by 4 and having space to walk round it

With a mighty circular saw in your hands.