Leslie Cornell Building Restoration Ltd were engaged to undertake full sympathetic restoration works to this 18 th Century detached stone and Cob Grade II listed cottage in St Agnes.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes 1

The Client engaged us to complete a Pre-purchase Assessment of the entire property to assess the overall condition, as well as addressing their concerns of the condition of the Cob.  This was undertaken to provide the Client with as much information as possible prior to exchanging contracts.  Our Client decided to follow our recommendations and instructed us to undertake our proposed works, and more.

The first step in this project was for our Client to apply for Listed Building Consent for the works.  We assisted our Client with the Listed Building Consent application by providing them with comprehensive method statements for each of our processes.  Listed Building Consent was granted by Cornwall Council and our works commenced.

Prior to any of our Lime works, we first had to remove the existing cement wash pointing, cement-based render/plaster and non-breathable paint applications, both internally and externally.  It was also evident that a bitumen tanking system had been introduced to the internal side of the stone walls.  The removal of these applications enabled the historic walls to start breathing again and allow any moisture build-up to escape from the stone/Cob structure and dry out.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

External Works

Cob/Stone Repairs - Once the existing non-breathable materials had been carefully removed and stone cleaning had been completed, we assessed the condition of the substrate and carried out Cob repairs and Stone repairs where required.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Lime PointingTo maintain the breathability of the stone, we introduced an appropriate Natural Lime/sand mortar pointing application to the joints of the stonework.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Lime Rendering - To maintain the breathability of the Cob, we introduced an appropriate Natural Lime/sand mortar 3-coat render application.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Mineral Paint System - All of the newly introduced Lime render applications will be painted with a 4-stage Mineral Paint System. Mineral Paints have breathable qualities and, as such, maintain the breathability of the Lime works.

Land Drainage - It was noticed on our initial site visit that in places the external ground levels were higher than they should be. These higher levels and the topography of the surrounding land would attract moisture to pool and soak into the base of the walls, further hindering the breathability of the cottage structure.

To alleviate any moisture becoming trapped at the wall base, we removed all vegetation and installed a French Drain System to all elevations of the cottage.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Rainwater Goods and FaciasThe existing guttering, downpipes and facias were of modern plastic, and not all of the guttering was sitting as close to the slates as it should. The inadequacy of the gutter system was providing an opportunity for rainwater to miss the guttering and run directly down the walls. This failure will have a detrimental effect on the breathability of the building, which ultimately could cause failure of the substrate and damp.

We removed the existing rainwater goods and facias, and installed replacement facias, cast-iron gutters and downpipes to divert rainwater away from the walls.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

LintelsOn inspection, the existing external and internal lintels were undersized, both structurally and to modern day standards.  We removed the ineffective lintels and replaced them with adequately sized Green Oak lintels.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Internal Works

Lime PointingOur Client chose to have some of the internal external walls Lime pointed. To maintain the breathability of the stonework, we introduced an appropriate Natural Lime/sand mortar pointing application to the joints of the exposed stone.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Lime PlasteringThe remainder of the internal walls were plastered using an appropriate Natural Lime/sand mortar. A 3-coat Lime plaster application was introduced, with a Lime Putty finish. Following the appropriate drying times a 3-stage Mineral Paint System was applied to the newly introduced Lime plasters to maintain the breathability of this historic building in Cornwall.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Slate FlooringOn our Clients request, we introduced a slate floor to some of the internal ground floor.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Internal Mineral Paint System - All of the newly introduced Lime plaster applications have been painted with a 3-stage Mineral Paint System. Mineral Paints have breathable qualities and, as such, maintain the breathability of the Lime works.

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

Stone and Cob Listed Cottage St Agnes

There has been a lot of hard work and passion involved in this restoration project in Cornwall, and we are extremely proud of the completed works.

If you have am Historic Building Restoration project in Cornwall that you would like to discuss, please Contact Us.

Listed Building Restoration Specialists Cornwall – Cob and Lime Specialists Cornwall – Traditional Builders Cornwall – Breathability Specialists Cornwall – Damp Walls Cornwall

 

 

 

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Contact us

Leslie Cornell
Unit 13/14 St Austell Bay Business Park
Par Moor Road
St Austell
Cornwall
PL25 3RF

Tel: 01726 337577

Email: cornellcob@outlook.com