Our renovation journey began with a clear priority: tackle the bathroom first so we could get back into the house as quickly as possible. What we didn't anticipate was having to move five times in four months while the work progressed. It was quite the odyssey, but we were fortunate to have family, friends, and a couple of Airbnb stays to see us through the toughest periods.
We converted a smaller mid-landing bedroom into our main bathroom. This space needed some structural work – the left side wall required securing and strengthening, and several floor joists needed replacing. As we stripped back the layers, we uncovered fascinating glimpses into the house's history.
A Journey Through Time
Pulling up the old lino flooring felt like travelling back through decades. Each layered pattern told a story of a different era. Right back to the very first layer – which definitely wasn't lino at all. We believe this original flooring dates back to the 1860s and consists of hessian fabric with what appears to be a hand-painted or dyed skim coat. The craftsmanship was remarkable, and we even found thin metal plating used to cover holes in some of the floorboards.
An Unexpected Discovery
One of the most intriguing discoveries came when we lifted the floorboards. Packed tightly between the joists was dried peat dust, sitting directly on the plaster and lath ceiling below. The experienced tradesmen on site had never encountered this before. We believe it was used as a form of insulation, though by this point it was bone dry and presented a significant fire risk that needed addressing immediately.
Structural Assessment and Treatment
Despite showing signs of age, the floorboards and joists were in reasonably good condition. Only one or two joists needed strengthening. While we had them exposed, we treated them with a 3-in-1 wood preservative for added protection – you can see the distinctive green colour in the photos.
Once the joists were cleared and treated, the plumbers started their first fix, installing pipework for new shower, sink & bath. The original toilet was separate , (as you would see more commonly in France etc ) and we decided to keep it this way. Bathrooms are notoriously difficult to optimise from a design pov, so the more room the better!
We further strenghtened the floor by laying 18mm OSB, which provided a stronger, level surface for the 12mm concrete board that would follow.
Of course, nothing worse than a cold bathroom! So we had to insulate as best we could. Certainly, we had to replace the peat dust that acted as an insulation before. So once new pipework was laid out, we stuffed floor joists with Sheeps Wool insulation. We could only apply 100mm depth due to the limited joist depth from the plaster and lath ceiling below, but every layer of insulation helps.
This was a south facing room, with solid stonework of 600mm , so didnt really need massive work to bring it to a comfortable temperature. For good ventilation, which is critical for a bathroom, we installed a ceiling roof vent - essentially a vent with flexi ducting brought out externally through roof tile.
As mentioned in a previous post, the double glazed aluminium windows were installed about 20 years ago, and given budget constraints & performance there was no need to replace. However, the original lime plaster in this room was showing signs of dampness, so we stripped off and replaced with Diathonite 0.37 - an insulated cork based lime plaster, again from the Eco Building Co , and an absolutely amazing product for insulating old solid stone houses. This was our first time using, and we were so happy we ended up using wherever possible throughout the rest of the renovation.
Our next blog we'll cover the finishing of the bathroom & the Kitchen & insulating in general.
