When it comes to renovating (particularly on older properties 100 years plus in age) nothing is ever the same.
Older Properties
Renovating older properties can certainly have its challenges particularly when we look at items such as doors, windows, ceilings, roofs and floors. Over time a property will move, expand and contract and things will become out of square and un even. During this process things such as doors and windows will become hard to open and shut and will therefore be planned and adjusted to suit the buildings current conditions. Other items mentioned such as roofs and ceilings will show signs of cracking and leaking.
However, when we come to perform a renovation its no longer a matter of just purchasing new materials off the shelf from the local hardware supply stores. Items such as doors will need to be custom ordered or off the shelf items will require major modifications to suit its desired location and purpose.
Restoring Wooden Floors
When we often look at restoring wooden floors the strains and sizes that were available some 100 years ago are surprisingly no longer available straight off the shelf today. Salvage yards are a good place to start looking for replacement pieces. If a strain of wood can be found such as oak the lengths may need to be cut to the correct width and planned to required thickness all these processes taking time and adding to the costs of a renovation of an older property.
Many older styles homes had or still have windows which use lead weights inside the cavity attached to a rope and use a cantilever method to keep the window open. Over the life of the house unfortunately the rope deteriorates and leaves the window inoperable. These items can certainly be fixed but it is quite labour intensive. Firstly, the sides of the window frame must be carefully removed which will give us access to the cavity. Inside the weight used in the canter living process will be found (as seen in picture).
Insulation When Renovating
Many of the older properties in South Australia which have not under gone a significant renovation will still have iron roofs as I touched on earlier in this post. These roofs are simply installed straight onto timber supports with zero insulation. Achieving a more energy efficient environment inside the property certainly becomes more of a challenge when we look at renovations on these buildings. There are internal insulation batts which rest on the gyprock or plater ceilings. This material can be replaced which is a great start. But if we are trying to achieve a reduction in noise and a further reduction in heat entering the roof cavity and warm air escaping the cavity a material called sisalation. Sisalation is a foil blanket which is installed between the roof sheets and the timber battens, another barrier contributing to the maximise the energy properties of a home.
When we look at renovating buildings no project is ever the same for the reason I have mentioned above. Nothing is ever the same and experience of knowing how to get around the challenges of each project is what has made the Mayfair Building Group a leader in renovations of all shapes and sizes.