Where to buy proper floorboards?

[skipdiver]

Yep, first house was a Victorian terrace, next three were 1930's Semi's and the latest one a 1930's end terrace, so i have got quite a bit of experience of what you are up against and a ton of experience working on all types of houses for my customers. Not so bad when it's someone else's as they are footing the bill for materials and paying you for the work as well. Plus you get to go home and leave it at night. I'm currently working on my nieces 1970's detached and it has been bodged to such an extent that myself and my brother, who is the decorator, are having to strip everything back and start again. It's costing her a packet and that is with favourable family rates for the labour. She wanted Little Greene eggshell paint for the doors and wardrobe doors i have just made and fitted for her and a 5 lt tin cost £96. I nearly passed out when they told me the price.

 

[MikeJhn]

Panic over, in the 1980/90 any building that had a change of use planning application for an Old Peoples home would have been subject to a thorough investigation for the presence of Asbestos, if you delve deep enough you should find a "Clean Air Certificate" issued by whowever was contracted to carry out the inspection, they would be a certified Asbestos inspection company, this would be on file with the Local Authority.

Mike

 

[LFS19]

Yep, first house was a Victorian terrace, next three were 1930's Semi's and the latest one a 1930's end terrace, so i have got quite a bit of experience of what you are up against and a ton of experience working on all types of houses for my customers. Not so bad when it's someone else's as they are footing the bill for materials and paying you for the work as well. Plus you get to go home and leave it at night. I'm currently working on my nieces 1970's detached and it has been bodged to such an extent that myself and my brother, who is the decorator, are having to strip everything back and start again. It's costing her a packet and that is with favourable family rates for the labour. She wanted Little Greene eggshell paint for the doors and wardrobe doors i have just made and fitted for her and a 5 lt tin cost £96. I nearly passed out when they told me the price.

Yes well as you can see I have zilch experience
I make furniture as a hobby but am certainly considering training to be a joiner.

My uncle is a joiner, and has saved a significant amount of money in the past because of his ability to do most things himself and bypass the labour costs.

This house is the family home; we've lived in mostly modern houses but the big problem is size.
With five of us the modern, smaller houses were just too short on space.

These older houses are of course better built, but it's certainly doesn't feel like it when you're shelling out left right and centre.

How long have you been a joiner?

 

[LFS19]

Panic over, in the 1980/90 any building that had a change of use planning application for an Old Peoples home would have been subject to a thorough investigation for the presence of Asbestos, if you delve deep enough you should find a "Clean Air Certificate" issued by whowever was contracted to carry out the inspection, they would be a certified Asbestos inspection company, this would be on file with the Local Authority.

Mike

Oh right, I'll have a look for that mike, thanks.


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[LFS19]

Can't seem to find a clean air certificate in the package so I'll check with the council.

I'm not altogether sure when the house changed over from a private dwelling.
A couple bought the house in 1983, and The records state "continued use of elderly people's residential home" at that time, so I'm not sure how long it had that status before those owners.

Would this sort of test go to the lengths of checking plaster?

Thanks




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[MikeJhn]

Its an invasive test, by drilling into surface's and taking samples, in days gone by if any Asbestos was found it would be removed, in modern times 2000 onwards the Asbestos would be contained in position and noted in an Asbestos register, the area in question would by highlighted with stickers to warn of its presence.

You are extreamly fortunate to have any documentation on your premisis, it was not until the advent of the CDM regulations in 2004 modified in 2007 and 2015 that these sort of portfolioes (Health and Safety File) became standard for commercial premisis, it was not until very recently that they became obligatory for domestic premisis.

Mike

 

[LFS19]

Its an invasive test, by drilling into surface's and taking samples, in days gone by if any Asbestos was found it would be removed, in modern times 2000 onwards the Asbestos would be contained in position and noted in an Asbestos register, the area in question would by highlighted with stickers to warn of its presence.

You are extreamly fortunate to have any documentation on your premisis, it was not until the advent of the CDM regulations in 2004 modified in 2007 and 2015 that these sort of portfolioes (Health and Safety File) became standard for commercial premisis, it was not until very recently that they became obligatory for domestic premisis.

Mike

Didn't know it was a rarity to have the information; the file I've got is about 50 pages thick of various documentation.
(Not that I understand a great deal of it )


I've just found a sheet documenting changes to the property.
The document states that the proposal for "continued use as an old people's home" was refused in 1979, and then refused again the following year in 1980.
Later on in that year though, another entry was made stating again as a continued use as an old people's home, and was this time approved with conditions.


I'll see what the council say; hopefully the certificate exists for the house, and the transitional period when the house changed from a private house to an old people's home was within the time span these tests will have been mandatory.

Thanks

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[Wildman]

what constitutes proper floorboards I wonder the problem that arises when replacing some is the difference between the imperial sized boards that were originally laid and the metric sizes now available. In days gone by all largish houses had different sized floorboards each plank being different. The reason was that they were all emergency replacement planks for royal navy ships in the event of a naval action the shipwrights could look up a list and know where to find an exact replacement for planks damaged in any particular hull. So materials also varied depending on what the ship was planked with.

 

[MikeJhn]

I don't think you are reading those documents correctly, in 1979 the refusal was for the single storey building for use as a garage and store,
In May 1980 it was the same application.
In July 1980 it was an application for a parking area.
In Feb 1981 it was for a boundary fence and gate. (difficult to see if the application is 1987 or 1981)
In March 1981 it was for retention of a caravan. (as above)

So the use as an old peoples home has never been refused, just some of the alterations proposed.

Mike

 

[MikeJhn]

what constitutes proper floorboards I wonder the problem that arises when replacing some is the difference between the imperial sized boards that were originally laid and the metric sizes now available. In days gone by all largish houses had different sized floorboards each plank being different. The reason was that they were all emergency replacement planks for royal navy ships in the event of a naval action the shipwrights could look up a list and know where to find an exact replacement for planks damaged in any particular hull. So materials also varied depending on what the ship was planked with.

Nice story, but never the less a story, a bit like Tudor cottages being constructed out of old ship timbers, just give this some thought, the only timbers that where used in buildings are those that where rejected for use in ships, we where a first rate sea fairing nation and would only use the best in our ships.

Mike

 

[LFS19]

I don't think you are reading those documents correctly, in 1979 the refusal was for the single storey building for use as a garage and store,
In May 1980 it was the same application.
In July 1980 it was an application for a parking area.
In Feb 1981 it was for a boundary fence and gate. (difficult to see if the application is 1987 or 1981)
In March 1981 it was for retention of a caravan. (as above)

So the use as an old peoples home has never been refused, just some of the alterations proposed.

Mike

Not sure what I'm not grasping here; maybe I'm having a thick moment

What is the entry for 1961 if this is the case? Is that part of the same thing?



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[MikeJhn]

1961 Was the approval of a single storey building, 1979 was the refusal for continued use as an Old peoples home and appeal.

Mike

 

[Jake]

That looks to me like:

1961 - Erection of the garage/store - refused

Nov 1979 - continued use as old peoples' home - refused. This application means the owner got caught having changed the use without permission. As there is (and I assume without checking was then) a 10 year enforcement limitation on change of use that means the use as an old people's home started at some point in the 1970s - probably coincident with a change of ownership at a guess so you might be able to work it out from that.

May 1980 - appeal against above refusal dismissed

July 1980 - continued use as old peoples' home and parking area granted subject to conditions

 

[LFS19]

1961 Was the approval of a single storey building, 1979 was the refusal for continued use as an Old peoples home and appeal.

Mike

Oh right, okay.

Thanks mike.


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[LFS19]

That looks to me like:

1961 - Erection of the garage/store - refused

Nov 1979 - continued use as old peoples' home - refused. This application means the owner got caught having changed the use without permission. As there is (and I assume without checking was then) a 10 year enforcement limitation on change of use that means the use as an old people's home started at some point in the 1970s - probably coincident with a change of ownership at a guess so you might be able to work it out from that.

May 1980 - appeal against above refusal dismissed

July 1980 - continued use as old peoples' home and parking area granted subject to conditions

I see.
I'll delve a little further and see what I can find.
I believe the owners that had it as an old people's home bought the property in 1983.
No idea what happened before then other than that one sheet.

Thanks


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[skipdiver]

Yep, first house was a Victorian terrace, next three were 1930's Semi's and the latest one a 1930's end terrace, so i have got quite a bit of experience of what you are up against and a ton of experience working on all types of houses for my customers. Not so bad when it's someone else's as they are footing the bill for materials and paying you for the work as well. Plus you get to go home and leave it at night. I'm currently working on my nieces 1970's detached and it has been bodged to such an extent that myself and my brother, who is the decorator, are having to strip everything back and start again. It's costing her a packet and that is with favourable family rates for the labour. She wanted Little Greene eggshell paint for the doors and wardrobe doors i have just made and fitted for her and a 5 lt tin cost £96. I nearly passed out when they told me the price.

Yes well as you can see I have zilch experience
I make furniture as a hobby but am certainly considering training to be a joiner.



My uncle is a joiner, and has saved a significant amount of money in the past because of his ability to do most things himself and bypass the labour costs.

This house is the family home; we've lived in mostly modern houses but the big problem is size.
With five of us the modern, smaller houses were just too short on space.

These older houses are of course better built, but it's certainly doesn't feel like it when you're shelling out left right and centre.

How long have you been a joiner?

Coming up to 40 years and still learning.

 

[LFS19]

I've managed to find the land register papers but it only goes back as far as 1975, so I don't really have any information about the house prior to that time to decipher when it actually changed from a private house to an old people's home.

I've located a 51 page document entitled "additional pre-contract enquiries" dated 1988.
No reference to the clean air act, though there was a "commercial properties" section that required the owner to confirm the premises complied with the requirements of the local health authority and the health and safety at work act.
Not sure whether that is at all relevant, but that's all that was in there. Both confirmed to comply so far as the vendors were aware.
I also have three enquiries of local authority documents. The years are 1982, 1994 and 1991, but they don't have anything in there to do with air quality.

The council hasn't replied to my question about the clean air certificate so I'm still not sure whether the survey was done.
A fairly fruitless search unfortunately, however, there was one more thing I found:

A certificate and document from a company called damp guard (who were apparently specialists in rising damp, wood worm, cavity wall tie replacement , repairs and general building) did two and a half thousand pounds worth of work on the house in 1995.
There had been extensive damp and wood worm on both the ground floor and first floor of the house.

As I said earlier, the room I'm re-decorating had extensive wood worm, and many of the floorboards were replaced with hardboard; this being the document that presumably confirms what actually went on there though it doesn't seem to specify that room in particular.
As the document states, testing was done to the plaster for moisture.
They'd taken off skirting boards and hacked away at plaster too, though I don't know whether that was done also in the room in question.
If they had done that in there, then maybe it was them that applied the white skim I was concerned about beneath the skirting in 1995.


A fair bit work done to this house, quite interesting how often it's been altered.
Explains quite a few lingering questions I'd wondered about regarding the floors and so on.

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[MikeJhn]

"The Clean Air Act" is legislation and nothing to do with a "Clean Air Certificate" that has to be issued after any Asbestos removal, NOTE after any Asbestos removal, if none is removed then there would be no need for the issuing of a certificate.

Mike

 

[LFS19]

"The Clean Air Act" is legislation and nothing to do with a "Clean Air Certificate" that has to be issued after any Asbestos removal, NOTE after any Asbestos removal, if none is removed then there would be no need for the issuing of a certificate.

Mike

Oh right, I see. So the certificate isn't for having the test completed but for the removal of the asbestos if found.

New skirting arrived today so I think I can just put this to bed; looks like I should be in the clear.

Cheers


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[MikeJhn]

The Certificate documents the air quality inside the building after Asbestos removal, if indeed any Asbestos was removed.

Mike