M A TER IA L S A N D

F I N IS H E S
E R B UIL DIN GS DIFF E R…
SUBSTRATES 2: HOW OLD
INTRODUCTION
• Quite a while ago we were thinking in detail about substrates – the
underlying ‘skeleton’ of your building

• Interior Designers are often called on to make alterations to existing

buildings – but before you can start ripping out walls to create an open-plan
space you need to understand how those ‘bones’ can differ in an older
building

• This session will only be an overview – every building and every period has
different challenges….
ASSESSMENT

• The assessment building is an existing bungalow which is being converted to

a house by the addition of an extra storey

• We’ll go through the underlying construction and the implications for the
assessment during this lecture…
FLOORS
FLOORS – NEW BUILD
• Ground floors are typically solid
• Concrete slab sitting on the ground
• ‘Beam and block’ usually with insulation
and screed
• Screed is like a fine concrete made
with sand and cement and water
without aggregate (pebbles)

• Upper floors made of timber

• The first floor of the house will be like this
 OLDER GROUND FLOORS
• Relatively recent – most frequently solid as for new-
build

• If a ground floor sounds hollow when you walk

across it, or you can see floorboards, it will probably
be a timber floor similar to a timber upper floor
• The main difference is that the floor joists will
be sitting on small brick walls sitting on a
concrete base or sometimes on the ground
– these are called sleeper walls

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/advice/advice-by-topic/climate-change/energy-efficiency/insulating-floors/ accessed 26/2/15

OLD GROUND FLOOR CHALLENGES…
• Old solid floors may have problems with dampness – check for
signs like a damp feel, staining of finishes, mould

• Older timber floors will probably be finished with butt-jointed

floorboards; these are likely to have shrunk a little with age,
leaving gaps between and at the edges at the skirtings
• The floor should be ventilated underneath, so these may be very draughty
• Insulation for floors has only been required for about the last 25
years so older floors are likely to be cold
• English Heritage have produced some useful guides for
energy efficiency in historic buildings

http://www.sheepwoolinsulation.ie/applications/ground_floor.asp;
http://www.dailyhomedecorideas.com/decor-ideas/georgian-nevertheless-cozy-house/ accessed 26/2/15
 PERILS OF DAMP!
• If there is damp in a timber floor
there is a risk of rot
• Wet rot – requires relatively high moisture levels
• Problematic but can be resolved by cutting
out and replacing affected timber and
stopping the source of dampness

• Dry rot – still requires moisture, but not

as much as wet rot
• Spreads readily through timber and also
through masonry walls
• Much more costly to get rid of
• Irrigation with chemicals goes well
beyond the last patch found
• All affected timbers have to be replaced

http://connstaruk.blogspot.co.uk/; http://www.dryrot.biz/smell_dry_rot.htm accessed 26/2/15

 ASSESSMENT IMPLICATIONS
• The REAR of our bungalow has had the floor level
reduced by 300mm to give a better relationship between
house and garden, and more generous ceiling heights than
the original dwelling
• This part has a concrete ground-bearing slab floor
• The FRONT of the bungalow is an existing timber
suspended floor
• You need to be careful with the specification of tile/stone fixings
because there may be some movement, so flexibility is important

• Underfloor heating will be more expensive and less easy to install

here, for example…
WALLS
 MODERN WALLS
• Lightweight blocks, 100mm thick
• Timber frame
• Finish will be either:
• Plaster – gypsum-based, mixed on site and trowelled onto the
wall in 2 layers, a 9-12mm base coat (also known as scratch
coat) and a 3-5mm finish coat, polished smooth
• Takes quite a long time to dry but give a good hard finish
• Can’t be used on a timber frame

• Plasterboard
• Quicker and less expert installation, but not as strong for fixings

http://us.sheepwoolinsulation.com/images/app_gfloor_pic2.jpg http://www.walshandwhite.co.uk/Plastering.html accessed 22/2/15

 OLD SOLID WALLS
• Normally constructed in brick
• Considerably harder than, and stronger to fix to than lightweight
blocks…

• BUT…Mortar and plaster were often based on lime as a setting

agent
• This makes them a lot softer than modern cement-based mortars which
are very hard, and gypsum plaster

• Screwing a fixing into a mortar joint is almost impossible to make

secure
• In the old days they would hammer a piece of wood into the joint and fix to that –
like an old type of rawl-plug

• On the plus-side, it is much easier to demolish the wall and re-

use the bricks

http://www.dailyhomedecorideas.com/decor-ideas/georgian-nevertheless-cozy-house/ http://www.dailyhomedecorideas.com/other-ideas/dilapidated-constructing-converted-into-a-stunning-home-featuring-exposed-brick-walls/ accessed26/2/15

 OLD TIMBER FRAMED WALLS
• Plasterboard was invented around the 1950s/60s…
• Before that thin timber laths (approx. 20mm x 5mm) were
nailed to the frame with open joints…

• …lime plaster, sometimes reinforced with horsehair, was

trowelled onto the wall, and it would squeeze between the
joins in the laths so when it set it would be fixed in place
• It is practically impossible to fix anything to a lath and plaster wall,
except where the studs are;

• the plaster has often softened over time, so it gets very crumbly;
• often the only option is to remove the lath and plaster and replace it
with plasterboard

http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/parging-pargeting.html; http://www.merrypad.com/2011/02/08/demo-day/ accessed 25/2/15

 MODERN USE OF LATH AND PLASTER
• In this project timber laths were used to
create curved plastered walls
• Unusual, but shows how old techniques can come
into their own!

http://transitionculture.org/2008/07/18/game-for-a-lath-a-traditional-technique-in-a-modern-setting/ accessed 26/2/15

 HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I CAN TAKE AWAY?
• The most important thing: IF IN ANY DOUBT
BRING IN A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, AN
ARCHITECT OR A BUILDING SURVEYOR
• This will undoubtedly cost your client less than a
catastrophic building failure!

• The ‘problem’ walls will be the ones that have

a structural function, i.e. they are directly
supporting some of the construction above OR
they are providing a bracing function, even if
they aren’t carrying vertical loads

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/existing-homes/extending/extend-remodel-terraced-homes accessed 26/2/15

 EVERYTHING HAS TO SIT ON SOMETHING!
• Look at the construction…
• Floorboards will run perpendicular to
joists

• The ends of joists have to have walls to sit

on (or they’d fall down)

• If you want to take the wall away you’ll

need to find another support
• Which is where the structural engineer comes in

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/existing-homes/extending/extend-remodel-terraced-homes
http://www.dailyhomedecorideas.com/other-ideas/dilapidated-constructing-converted-into-a-stunning-home-featuring-exposed-brick-walls/ accessed 26/2/15
 BRACING WALLS
• Part A of the Building Regulations

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/existing-homes/extending/extend-remodel-terraced-homes accessed 26/2/15

 CHIMNEYS ETC
• Chimneys will go all the way up the
dwelling and out through the roof…
they’re made of bricks…they are very
heavy!
• I can almost guarantee that at some time in
your career you will meet someone who
started taking out a chimney…at ground
floor level

• What do you think the risks from doing

this would be?

http://www.gallowsbrackets.com/Bracket-Information.html; http://www.stove.me.uk/images/Chimney-Sweepers.jpg; http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=56504; accessed 26/2/15

ASSESSMENT IMPLICATIONS
• The ground floor of the house is masonry construction: a cavity
wall of concrete blocks internally, and brick on the outside
• Fixing things like kitchen wall units will be reasonably simple
• The first floor is constructed of timber-frame to keep the loads
on the existing foundations lighter
• Walls will be plasterboard, unless you specify something else…think
about showers etc – do you want to tile onto plasterboard, or would a
different specification be more suitable?

• Are there any implications for fixings which you’d need to take into
account?
CEILINGS
 MODERN CEILINGS
• Ceilings in houses post 1950s will almost
always be made of plasterboard…
• Screwed to the underside of upper floor
joists/ceiling/roof joists

• All the ceilings in the assessment house

will be plasterboarded

http://www.jandjplasteringltd.co.uk/services/p1010436/; http://www.mlbuildingdirectltd.com/product/plaster-re-plaster-skim-wallsceilingper-sqm/ accessed 26/2/15

OLDER CEILINGS
• Prior to the invention of plasterboard there were
various fibreboards designed to do
the same job
• Often had to have relatively thin timber
battens across the joints and at intervals
across the ceiling, e.g. ‘essex boarding’

• Even older ceilings were lath and plaster, like walls

• Sometimes had fibrous plaster mouldings
like ceiling roses and cornices

• These have often deteriorated over time

• Fixings need to go through into a joist

http://mybuilder-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/2_thumb/447262_4e98d3bf17.jpg accessed 26/2/15

ROUNDING UP SUBSTRATES
• A wide variety of different techniques have been used over the centuries
• With historic or listed buildings it’s always worth taking advice
• Remember – don’t just assume you can take out any walls you want to!!
• If in doubt, ask
• Advice can come from:
• Conservation officers – historic advice
• Structural Engineers – which parts of the building have a structural function
• Architects – which parts may be structural or are likely to be
• Building surveyors – as Architects, but with a specialism in building defects
A QUICK NOTE ON ELECTRICS
DESIGNING ELECTRICS…
• You will need to think about where you want electrical sockets, switches etc
for your design

• Detailed design of the circuits would be by an electrician or electrical

engineer…
• …but if you/your client wants more than the bare minimum, YOU need to tell them
where sockets are needed

• This part of the session will give you a very quick overview of the basics
• And we’ll look at what you need to do about it (nothing too tekkie!)
 Sub-circuits

INCOMING DOMESTIC Distribution Combined in a

ELECTRICITY fuseboard
Consumer unit

Main isolator
Responsibility and
property of owner

240V/50Hz supply from the grid

Enters house at meter Meter
Installed by and property
of electricity board.
Switch required to isolate supply
Services fuse and
Consumer unit contains: neutral link

Isolation switch Incoming service

Fuses for each circuit OR cable

A separately switchable MCB for each circuit

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF DOMESTIC INCOMING ELECTRICAL SERVICE
FUSE BOARD ARRANGEMENTS

http://www.rcoombs.co.uk/safety.htm http://www.electrician2hire.co.uk/cm/fuseboard-replacement http://www.electrician-chorley.co.uk/portfolio/ accessed 8/1/15

RING CIRCUITS
By wiring power circuits as a ring main, it
is possible to use thinner cable (2.5mm
instead of 6mm) which is much cheaper
and easier to work with
Most houses will have a number
of rings, e.g.:
Ground floor; first floor; kitchen;
garage etc.

http://www.blc.lsbu.ac.uk/eservices/Module3/Module%203g.html accessed 8/1/15

 RADIAL CIRCUITS
In radial circuits the electricity
travels in only one direction
Used for:
Lighting (as shown)
High wattage appliances:
cookers,
showers,
immersion heaters

http://www.blc.lsbu.ac.uk/eservices/Module3/Module%203f.html accessed 8/1/15

 COMPLETE
SYSTEM

http://www.uwe.port.ac.uk/electrics/modern_systems/section2.htm accessed 8/1/15

 TYPICAL
INSTALLATION

• Simplified diagram of the

wiring of a whole house

http://www.uwe.port.ac.uk/electrics/modern_systems/section2.htm accessed 8/1/15

WORKED EXAMPLE

• Lights shown on a ceiling

plan, using a polyline to
show which lights are
connected to which switch

• Switch for cooker hood is

also shown
WORKED E.G. CONT’D
• Sockets are shown, indicating how I want them integrating into my tiling layout (tiling on door
wall not yet finished)
• I need to consider WHAT will need plugging in and WHERE will be the best place for it
• Light switch also shown
 STANDARD SYMBOLS

• This is the best summary diagram

I’ve been able to find…
• …not brilliant, and I’m not sure
about how good the source is, but the
content looks OK…

http://phonespeco.com/electrical-drawing-symbols-uk accessed 14/3/17

FOR THE ASSESSMENT

• Remember, for Materials and Finishes you ONLY need to do:

• The Kitchen
• ONE of the bathrooms
• ONE other space