Building Your Dream Apartment

Two tips for those who are renovating a dilapidated house

4 April 2018

Julian Caldwell

If you are planning to renovate an old, dilapidated house, here are a couple of tips that you may find useful.

Replace the roof trusses before addressing other structural problems throughout the rest of the house

If the property has been in a state of disrepair for a very long time, it will probably have a whole host of structural problems that will need to be tackled. Before your contractor begins this repair process, you should arrange for them to replace any damaged or deteriorated roof trusses.

Roof trusses are designed to uphold the roof materials that are layered over them. When they start to deteriorate, the weight of these materials can press down on the walls of the house. This strain can cause structural problems (such as cracks in the foundation and in the walls).

As such, if you fail to replace the roof trusses before fixing the existing structural damage in the rest of the house, additional structural issues are likely to develop whilst you are in the midst of repairing the older problems, as without functional trusses, the roof materials will continue to bear down on the walls and the framework of the house.

This could increase both your labour and material costs and extend the length of the renovation project.

Repair or replace the windows before doing any plastering

If the windows of the house are severely cracked or have holes in them, it is crucial to repair or replace these damaged panes of glass before you begin plastering the interior walls.

This has to be done because the room in which the plastering is being carried out needs to be completely dry in order to ensure that the freshly applied plaster sets correctly. There isn't much point in plastering if it won't set the right way. If you do not fix the windows prior to beginning the plastering process and a bout of bad weather occurs, rainwater could be blown in through the holes and cracks in the panes, onto the newly plastered walls.

This rainwater could not only increase the amount of time it takes for the plaster to dry but could also lead to it setting unevenly, with lumps and bumps forming on its surface. In this situation, you would probably have to tear down the uneven wall plaster and begin the process all over again. This, too, could increase both the length and the cost of your renovation project.

Share

Search