1950s bungalow for renovation

[tetris]

Thank you very much for your advice - and I am also in white PVC camp. Windows ordered, now it's just a small task of fitting them before winter really kicks off.

The suspended wooden flooring plan is pretty much what you described. I suspect you don't recommend running any services through the floor void?

There's a lot of brick walls in the original cottage (incl internal separator walls), which would have to be chased for the re-plumbed heating.

 

Will read up on ventilation.

 

Anyway, I've discovered a section of the external wall where I fixed a blocked overflowing gutter. The paint in this place seems to be coming off in sheets - there's a very obvious gap between the brickwork and the paint layer (composed of some (potential) remains of very thin old rendering + at least 2 generations of external wall paint).

 

What's the best approach here? Heat gun this section of the wall to brickwork, then cover with masonry paint? I've got a bucket of Fortress Smooth White masonry paint ready to go. Product description says "breathable".🤔

 

Also, is there a way to figure out what mortar I should be using to repair & fill gaps in the wall (e.g. from an old removed pipe where workies didn't bother filling the hole they created in the external leaf because it was behind some tall grass?)

It's definitely a cavity brick wall, but given the age (early 1950s), can I just use modern cement-based mortar as opposed to lime-based stuff?