I loved everything about this and think the end result looks fantastic. Perfect pad for a single lad.
Also, I learned a new phrase (from the beginning) when he said of the dead poet “popped his clogs”.
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Taking down and reusing the stone seems like the cheapest option. Though I wonder how much more it cost to build around the existing structure (and repair/redo the walls - it’s unclear to me how much stonework needed to be redone there). Could come close…
I thought that looked new, but yeah, maybe so…
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But why do that? The walls were largely sound and just needed repointing. Having done this myself, to very similar granite stone walls with lime mortar, I can tell you it would by a very long chalk (pun intended) have certainly not been cheaper to demolish and then reuse the stone to build anew. Pointing ain’t cheap but it is a fraction of what you are suggesting.
I think the roof timbers did largely remain, some tiling was needed and some of the stonework on/around the roof was redone. Again, relatively cheap compared to rebuilding above the top of the wall, which I’m pretty sure he did not do.
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Oh, yeah. I grew up in Kansas. I know what sideways rain is like.
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That can not be possible. Leaving the stone in place, attending to surface defects and re-using is much less effort than disassembling a masonry wall in a manner that does not harm the units - the stones - fussy work, and then cleaning them for re-use, getting the old mortar off, etc. Just no way that is cheaper.
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This was a fun walk-through for me, as I aspire to do something similar one day. BUT unexpected bonus twist (and giddy shiver) at the end when he removes the film.
I may have an… attachment to removing the film from objects. 
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It’s tough but can get easier, I’ve moved countries 8 times though admittedly I have done a number of repeats so it is only 5 countries in total. 3-6 months is generally what we allow ourselves including selling of our existing home.
currently in the middle of move number 9, Sydney to Tokyo. Made a firm decision to move in Jan, Wife is checking properties in Tokyo as we speak while I am preparing the house in Sydney for Sale, we expect to move late June.
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Come home to a real fire. Buy a cottage in Wales.
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This would be the special Welsh enclave which is in the middle of Fife? Its actually in Scotland.
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It looks like a lot of the houses near where I live, although being in a city the land itself probably starts at £150k and the finished house would have been worth about £200k a few years ago (more like 3-400k today).
Note how all the new houses are built on what used to be the garages/shed for the existing Victorian housing.
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It might surprise people, but between these programmes - and those featuring the gruesome twosome of Phil and Kirstie AND the ones with Sarah Beanie AND the endless ones about French villas - Channel 4 does have other programming. Some of it is actually not about houses.
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Sideways? Amateur stuff - in Wales the rain can actually come up at you in an unending torrent of driving drizzle.
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Well, I mean…Kansas only exists in two dimensions, ya know.
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It’s a delightful, odd and charming little building. The roof, new windows, oak floor and staircase, and freshly pointed stone are wonderful. I would have much preferred the interior’s looking more in keeping with the exterior, more old fashioned.
We live in a late Victorian - Early Edwardian historic district in Detroit. Some “renovated” places around here were gutted and now have recessed lighting thruout, drywall/plasterboard, ugly shower stalls, ultramodern-looking sinks and doorknobs, etc ad nauseam. Walls have even been taken down in some so there’s an open floor plan.
People who love open floor plans, recessed lighting, painted woodwork, and almost science fictionesque porcelain fixtures should buy new houses.
People who love warm and separate rooms, elegant light fixtures and/or chandeliers, bare oak woodwork and floors, and claw-foot cast iron bathtubs should have access to the older homes with character.
Houses just make the most sense when their interiors are sympathetic to, not the antithesis of a home’s age.
New, angular houses look silly fulla mid-19th C antiques or replicas, but futuristic mid-to-late-20th C & contemporary/ultramodren pieces are perfect. And they should have sciencefictionesque sinks & tubs & toilets, too!
Esp the toilets.
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As someone who tried very hard to buy snazzy colorful tile, tile is largely held ransom by the professional industry. If you want to access that sweet Dal tile in period perfect Mamie Pink you better bring your professional decorator/contractor/etc. to the tile shop because otherwise it’s Home Depot off white subway tile for you. Rinse and repeat for all elements of the renovation.
My partner works in reuse and we are very fortunate to have the space to drag things home when they come in and sit on them for the year or two it takes to source most of the components. On the plus side I was able to do a complete tear out down to and through the studs, rip out and replace every fixture, re-plumb, rewire, and ventilate the bathroom for under 2,000 USD. Which is about the cost of that fancy tile I wasn’t allowed to buy.
I do not blame anyone for their horrible beige backsplash. Doing otherwise costs an extra arm and a leg.
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Glad you posted this.
A thorough article. I enjoyed it.
Was going to dig around for an article on the intentional obsolescence that Japan has fostered in its residential construction sector and (commercial and residential) real estate sectors.
My cousins in Germany told me that newly constructed residential buildings are required to last for~ 90 years (?) IIRC. If you live in Germany and are reading this, please factcheck me! Every time I visit, at least in Bavaria where I spend most of my time, I am impressed at the quality of construction compared with conventional, production-build residential construction in the U.S.
I like that this guy made a decision to make his home in an unused building (reduce reuse recycle: a win-win on conservation of materials and footprint), he enlisted family and locals in the trades (like that blacksmith job on the stair railing), and he has tried to keep his work respectful of his surroundings (cobbles laid in front, at the street). Well done.
That bad news about the condition roof, and the challenges at the beginning re: damp and the foundation, that was enough to chill my blood. Probably to be expected, given the building’s age and lack of occupants. But big money to fix. Eeek!
Many thanks to @Ryuthrowsstuff for those glimpses into the house renovation situation in Ireland. I have a friend who lives in County Offaly, near the Coole Eco Community, where she works on several projects. She too has mentioned the considerable red tape getting in the way of making progress. She had an architecture practice in Austin, Texas before she moved back home, and the contrast in obstacles and permits is… vivid.
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I actually went back to clarify my post. I didn’t mean to criticize individual homeowner decisions or aesthetics. I was talking about professional flippers/contractors, who - I assume - buy the tiles of a “clean” and inoffensive look in bulk, and just crank out spit-polish flips. It wasn’t so much that the choice was bad as much as I’ve started to see the exact same refurb everywhere.
I actually snuck myself into a 2-day free “workshop” put on by Schluter by pretending to be a contractor and learned some tiling, waterproofing, etc… There was a heavy amount of protectionism discussed and a palpable disdain for DIY**, so it would not surprise me at all if there were backroom deals to keep tile out of the hands of homeowners.
**Also a bizarre, but I guess not terribly surprising casual sexism in all the “humor” in the presentations…
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Impressive final cost.
I need to know if you have a Youtube channel for the work you did.
I am facing a bathroom reno myself, and it’s going to be down-to-the-studs for at least half of it, in our 1980s production-built Texas very small home. A snag: I have no place to stockpile scavenged materials prior to this job. My neighbors would flip out if I just kept it out in plain sight on our driveway. 
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