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?

 

 

 

 

[tetris]

Right, it's supposed to be a dry day today, so I'll just chip the peeling stuff, clean and paint over.

[Iceverge]

On 05/10/2026 at 16:52, tetris said:

I suspect you don't recommend running any services through the floor void?

 

Rodents chewing on them and freezing in the winter would be my worries. 

 

An alternative might be to resort to a ground bearing slab and

services through the insulation. You could do UFH then too if that's what you fancied. 

 

On 05/10/2026 at 16:52, tetris said:

read up on ventilation.

 

Lots to read but the basics are 

incredibly simple. You just need something shoving air into the house 24/7 or sucking out 24/7. Intermittent fans don't work in practice . 

 

Whole house MVHR does both and recovers some of the heat but you'll get most of the benefit of fresh dry air by just sticking in a PIV or central extract. The price has been jacked on these recently but they're just a fan and a pipe l.

 

https://amzn.eu/d/09i5gdyD

 

Stick that somewhere sucking out of the hallway to outside at a low speed running all the time and the house will dry out much cheaper than running a dehumidifier. 

 

On 05/10/2026 at 16:52, tetris said:

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?

 

"Breathable" means about as much as "eco" or "green". 

 

Its typically used to sell stuff of higher vapour permability like lime and woodfiber.  Meanwhile other stuff like gypsum and mineral wool also has reasonably high vapour permability. 

 

What you want to avoid in your situation is any foils, plastic membranes, vinyl paints etc and layering them in such a way to trap moisture. I wouldn't worry too much about cement based pointing. Make it fairly sandy and it won't trap any moisture. 

 

Cheap trade contract paint would work fine but you'll need a few layers.