14 West End roofline
1970 House soon after purchase. The original lintels and walls are untouched in this photo, but the materials are ready for the work that was carried out that summer.
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The work carried out in 1970
By 1970 the house was over 150 years old and the roof was settling as the thrust from the roof was pushing apart the tops of the front and back walls. There had been no element in the original structure to carry this thrust. So the walls were taken down to the level of the first floor windows, the window lintels replaced by modern reinforced concrete ones. To stop the wall movement recurring, new wallplates were added and the front and back wallplates were tied together with three substantial steel bars.
To keep cost down, the original rafters were re-used after treating with preservatives. The old rafters had acquired a permanent set which gave the rigdgeline the slight sag which has remained to the present day. The photos demonstrate that no further movement has occurred.
There is some extra reassuring evidence available. In early 1971 I plastered the gable wall (over No.16) and I was horrified to see a hairline crack appear in the new plaster. I now realise that such things are common when old structures are disturbed. Quite deliberately I have left this crack open to view. If you visit the house you can see that in 51 years the crack is there with maximum separations of 1-2mm. That is a good outcome!
Tie-bars added in 1970
1970 A photo taken recently by John German shows two of the three tie-bars added to the house in 1970 as an improvement in the original design which allowed some movement in the walls during the first 150 years in the life of the house. The massive wooden frame was added in 1976 to give free access between rooms past the central tie-bar.
14 West End ridgeline over 50 years
1976 House with work finished and with 6 years of weathering. The walls were taken down to the level of the first floor lintels and four r/c lintels replaced the old ones and then the walls were rebuilt above first floor lintels.
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2016 Tiles taken off to replace 1970 roofing felt with modern materials. The roof lights were not reinstated since the windows in the rear wall provide adequate light.
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2021 House in current state. The curvature of ridge still shows but it has not increased since the 1970 work.
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2022 House in current state. The curvature of ridge still shows but it has not increased since the 1970 work.
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