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Thank you Lew , it is definately a breath of fresh air being here after 18 years in a semi .
gt , i agree , i do need to get some smoke bombs and see , although it looks as if all the chimneys not in use are topped with vented caps , and bearing in mind no one has heated it properly for 9 years , there is no smell of damp at all .
the astra is a 1.4 8 valve turbo lpg engine , i have a head gasket , but no new bolts and i don't know how many times i have re used these ones !
i simply have not had the time to fix it ,and i fear a cracked head .and cannot find another mpi head anywhere .
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Jul 23, 2022 10:02:15 GMT
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Morning Robert, it's been a long search with many ups and downs, so happy for you now you've finally moved in, looks like another epic thread coming up!
Having gone and had a look at the place I reckon it's just about perfect for you.
Re the damp, always suspect any water pipe, even that overflow, damp can spread a long way from a tiny constant drip over time, even upwards.
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Made it this far by serendipity and happenstance..
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,805
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Jul 23, 2022 10:17:53 GMT
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This might help, you don't have exactly the same terminals but I would assume the motor is internally wired in the same configuration. Never assume ! assumption is the mother of all 🦊 - ups(especially with electricity) Thats an excellent video for someone unfamiliar with motors follow that and you won't go wrong.
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Last Edit: Jul 23, 2022 10:21:34 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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qilin
Part of things
Posts: 18
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Jul 23, 2022 11:48:37 GMT
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Hi ivanhoew Here is a good word for you "Efflorescence". You have a case of efflorescence. In your picture it is the white marking on the bricks. The more porous the brick the more it happens. It is moisture and salts coming out of the brick. Looks like water coming in from the roof/chimney area The pointing suggests that it was/still is leaking. Happens after wet winters and as it dries out you see the white coloring. It is not as obvious on the outside wall so probably from the top.
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qilin
Part of things
Posts: 18
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Jul 23, 2022 11:52:21 GMT
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Another look at the photos. Possible efflorescence under the soffit at the top left in picture.
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Jul 23, 2022 18:38:42 GMT
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Brilliant work so far and beautiful house, Really looking forward to seeing future updates on this thread, Definitely bookmarked, Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.) BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.) BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,872
Member is Online
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Love a bit of old buildings. All the charm and same reasons we love our old cars. I shall look forward to following along.
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It's all very you Robert! (in a good way)
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Nuttier than squirrel sh...
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Little bit of tech info on the Astra as we like to keep the oldies on the road www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325235519441?hash=item4bb98c2fd1:g:owwAAOSwsd5itceq a bit pricey but they may take an offer Yours must be the 1.4SE which wasnt used very long in many models, the single point carb/injection head 1.4NV/NZ uses all the same gaskets head/inlet/exhaust so would fit but the valve sizes are different, the SE has 38mm inlets and 31mm exhaust comp ratio 9.8-1 on coil pack versions, the NV/NZ has 33.1 inlets and 29.1 exhaust comp ratio 9.4-1
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,089
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Fun On The Farm.glenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Jul 24, 2022 17:24:34 GMT
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Great stuff. I’m in. 👍
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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Jul 24, 2022 19:26:12 GMT
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Little bit of tech info on the Astra as we like to keep the oldies on the road www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325235519441?hash=item4bb98c2fd1:g:owwAAOSwsd5itceq a bit pricey but they may take an offer Yours must be the 1.4SE which wasnt used very long in many models, the single point carb/injection head 1.4NV/NZ uses all the same gaskets head/inlet/exhaust so would fit but the valve sizes are different, the SE has 38mm inlets and 31mm exhaust comp ratio 9.8-1 on coil pack versions, the NV/NZ has 33.1 inlets and 29.1 exhaust comp ratio 9.4-1 thats actually 4 quid more than i bought the car for in 2008 lol. yes gt that is the right engine , i fitted the 1.3s cam out of my mk1 van , and ported it , and it made 162 bhp on 9 psi , and i have been running 13 psi for the last 10 years with it .....
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Jul 25, 2022 12:24:39 GMT
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Chimney looks like it's had recentish attention, tile hanging is unusual I'm guessing it's hiding something unless it was the builders trade mark, my sister's house has a similar weird damp spot. All we can come up with is that the wind drives rain down the unlined chimney and over the years it has gradually leeched soot through. Once the log burner is lit it tends to dry it out but it comes back eventually. It's also got the same style bird cowl.
Can you stick up a decent photo of the barge boards - at first glance on my phone they look older than you would expect for the apparent construction of the house.
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qilin
Part of things
Posts: 18
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Jul 25, 2022 16:19:42 GMT
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The roof has had work done as mentioned the tiles on the chimney are an attempt to hide or cure a problem. The rafters in the picture look like a newer timber than the purlins. The material between the rafters does not look original. It might be possible to find out from neighbors if work was recently done.
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Jul 25, 2022 19:28:43 GMT
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Chimney looks like it's had recentish attention, tile hanging is unusual I'm guessing it's hiding something unless it was the builders trade mark, my sister's house has a similar weird damp spot. All we can come up with is that the wind drives rain down the unlined chimney and over the years it has gradually leeched soot through. Once the log burner is lit it tends to dry it out but it comes back eventually. It's also got the same style bird cowl. Can you stick up a decent photo of the barge boards - at first glance on my phone they look older than you would expect for the apparent construction of the house. Thanks DR , the roof was completely renewed about 7 years ago , i was lucky enough to talk to my new freind spencer ,who worked on it .the barge boards and all the gutter stuff was made of oak , copying the original pattern from the 1860s/70s. the roofing chap who came and climbed all over it last week , told me it had been done with really thick slates , top line undersheeting and all lead was good and v well done , he was impressed .
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Jul 25, 2022 19:45:45 GMT
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Well , some more progress has ocurred . A heavy rain fest over the weekend enabled me to do more observation on the leak problem . you can see water on the white painted chimney here .. might be condensation ,but also a bit of twinkyness here where chimney meet outer wall .. a thermal camera picture of the chimney .. shows the water not pouring down from the top , but spread in what may be a pattern corresponding to the 3 chimneys in there .. i am thinking more and more the pointing is letting in water , a strong wind was blowing straight at the end wall , and its osmotificating into the whole structure . we decided to tear off the paper in the main bedroom .. and underneath the paper was a sticky brown gook , i think maybe someone tried to seal the wall with pva , and it was definitely damp . found our second signature on the wall , the first was in the living room and 1955 , this was a little earlier .. 1920 ! noice . in other news , the painting of the living room , has highlighted the damp in there , and we realised the outside shed was higher than the damp proof course ( that we discovered) so the old tin shed had to go .. full of stuff.. cleared out and deconstruction .. in the gulley beside the house found this .. capped at one end with a vintage fairy liquid bottle .. should get that all gone this week . today i was intent on fitting 2 light pelmets , and getting out there , however ... i fitted the first in the pantry , the light worked and all was well . then the one in the living room , and pop , went the trip .took that light apart ,all looked fine .in the end , it was the pantry light that was doing it . 5 hours later , and numerous chewed wires later ..here's one .. i now understood why the wire to the kitchen extension electrics was pulled out of its fuse ...also why he had cut several holes in the pantry ceiling ... SQUIRRELS ! i realised the junction box for the entire 5 different lights for the kitchen , had been mounted on a beam , then the ceiling put up after it , and the problem had to be isolated so i cut a hole in the one good ceiling in the whole hs ! the hole on the vertical previous owner had cut , and chock blocked his merry way . in the end the junction box was fine , and i found ,with a confusing set of experiments , that with a bulb in the first light .. and a bulb in the pantry , it was a success... if i put a bulb in the second light along , it was trippsville arizona . so my best guess now is , the cavity above the insulation in the kitchen roof , is full of happy squirrel pooh ....and they have chewed the wire between the lights .i hope , i can get that wire out and replace it through the light holes in the ceiling ...time will tell . got a good big flash off the chock block that nearly made a V shaped hole in the roof apart from all that , i spent sunday afternoon in the rain, digging out blocked drains , and learning how the water flows here . oh and the great bloke in the farm over the hill cut the field down , and its a huge improvement . laterzzz ! regards robert
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Last Edit: Jul 25, 2022 20:14:17 GMT by ivanhoew
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Jul 25, 2022 23:05:29 GMT
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,089
Club RR Member Number: 64
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Fun On The Farm.glenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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Jul 25, 2022 23:40:42 GMT
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The problem with sealing the wall is that old bricks and lime mortar are porous, and if you seal the outside then the only way for any water that finds its way in to get out again is through to the inside, particularly if the walls don’t have cavities. You need to find where it’s getting in and stop it. If it is soaking through the wall then you need to find a solution that still allows the wall to breathe. Consider maybe either dry lining the inside of the wall with battens and insulated plasterboard to give a gap for air to circulate behind the boards, or more extreme, weatherboarding that outer gable. However, before you do anything that drastic, I’d be looking closely at the flashing around the chimneys, as it only takes one misplaced soaker or cracked slate to cause an issue.
It could also be a blocked chimney preventing air circulating and drying things out. If the fireplaces are sealed, and the chimneys capped, then that can cause issues, particularly if a house is left unheated for an extended period of time.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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the three chimneys on the oozing wall of despair are , a) capped with a lid with holes around the edge for ventilation . b) same c) the rayburn chimney , open with a grid for birds and a top for rain . like so .. listening during windyness i can hear the air in the two front chimneys .. today i hope to get the metal plate off the rayburn up-pipe and see if its blocked with soot ...
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Jul 26, 2022 12:15:14 GMT
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I don't think the silicone sealer stop the wall from breathing - it just restores the bricks waterproofness - a bit like waxing a car.
I'd also be looking at the brickwork/pointing above the slates on the chimney.
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Jul 26, 2022 19:54:04 GMT
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I agree mark , i asked the roofer to have a good look at it all and he said its all fine . re sealant , from what i have read , i need to ensure the bricks can breathe , so best thing to do it re point the wall with lime cement . Today was productive day , i drove 40 miles and picked up a vacuum cleaner , and used it to clean out the rayburn combustion chamber , its all a bit chockers in there .. back vents on chamber ... flue 3 ft up from deck of cooker.. pondering buying 20 quids worth of flue bushes off ebay versus having a man in to do all 3 chimneys. the lights now work , i pulled the faulty one out a ft , cut it off and it now works , odd. v gave the sitting room another coat of white , and also did a huge bonfire .(in the garden) i forgot to say , in stripping the walls we found a selection of paper.. here we a playfull yet innocent floral design , circa 1901 , chosen by lady maud for her country retreat ,bought for her as compensation ,After basil was caught hobnobbing with the upstairs linens maid .bronwyn. next to that , a yeah baby survivor of the swinging sixties , designed by rudolph von spankenhouser , a famous austrian artist living in the southbank area of london , majoretively off his onion on a cocktail of lsd ,amphetamine and ice cream . thirdly , a gag making canvas textured margaret thatcher era wallpaper , with all the charm of a dead mink in a boot , and coming a poor third in the competition for the nastyest wall covering ever , only being bealen by mould and "maize prison" last we have that old "how are we going to cover the cracks in the walls " paper , wood chip ...probably the most scraped off walls paper ever . oh and by the way , in case you were wondering how tiniy was the gap i had to get in to change a wire on the hidden junction box .. it was between the beam and the bricks , and that was after veronica, and then i, had bashed off two rows of bricks . hasta luigi . regards robert
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