Must we DEMOLISH our Irish Stone Cottage? EP028 

We didn't want to keep you waiting too long as we know a cliff-hanger can be a killer. There is more to share and we'll have a further update hopefully by mid-week.. Please bear with us as the editing can take a while. It's fun though, and we do enjoy making these videos. There's a lot of talking in this one... let's call it therapy, lol! Thank you as always for watching. We appreciate your kindness and support very much. ❤🏡🌲

Glad you're keeping the original house. You can never replace the elegance and character of that little old house. God bless your adventures.

Good for you guys following your heart…❤

I grew up in this kind of house. Built around 1824 - still going strong. The vast majority of these houses were built like that, so no need to worry. They're very robust because of the depth of the walls.

Don't worry what will be will be❤🎉

So pleased you are keeping it,, there will be a way round it. Keep smiling. ☺️☺️

I am SO glad you are not knocking it down!!!!!!!!!!!

The Old House is screaming at you, I have been here all this time and the rain and storms that Ireland is famous for has never washed me away, test me I am still square. Praise the Lord your not knocking me down!

2nd the glass corridor idea. Also the corridor could allow expansion/contraction flexibility between the old and the new. Plus you could get clearer history of the house and two spaces that are distinctly different. You could make a H shape and have an almost internal courtyard that may keep wind off or add to an outdoor inside feel. Good luck with whatever you do!

change the design? a seperate building joined by a glazed lightweight corridor?

Yay you’re not going to knock it down. I have faith in you both as Noel has a good head on his shoulders

That comment brought so much joy 'We're not gonna knock it down!' All the best on every decision you make ... So excited for you both! 🙏

So pleased with your decision. You care for the house and you will save it and know that your decision was right. The video shows what caring people you are. Best wishes.

It's a lovely, charming cottage, glad yous are not knocking it down ❤

Love your Certainty! It's a powerful manifesting force. ❤

I am so glad you are keeping the house .new houses just dont have the same feeling .

Thanks for sharing your dilemma..You loved that little cottage from the beginning, like your dream.. Good on you…it’s a keeper ..Watching from Oz…

Totally understand how you feel and I'm sure there's a way to manage the lack of footings. Keeping positive 🤞🏻

I'm no builder or expert but 100% with you guys on this. I also have little doubt that an engineer would come to my old cottage and say, "knock it down and build a whole new house, it would be cheaper." Sometimes it takes people from the outside to know the value of things that are taken for granted by people who've lived here their whole lives. You need to find people to do the work who understand and value the history of the dwelling the way you do.

We have an old house that had an addition added on sometime around 1965. We have never had a problem between the old and the new.

There are ways to properly insulate/damp proof stone houses and it’s probably worth the time and money to do it right so it doesn’t impact the new part of the house. I’m happy you don’t have to knock it down. Houses in the US are so ‘young’ that quite often it is cheaper to start over and working with traditional building materials is becoming a lost art. Just need to find the right people. 😊

We have gone through exactly the same thing, a modern extension on a 200 year old building on footing that are only about 6 inches deep. We love our new space and has complemented the old building and we have had no issues between the two, happy to send pics of the build. The modern extension is a rammed earth construction. You are only a custodian of old buildings. Keep up the good work.

Theres never sny foundations under those houses. Look at the condition of the walls in terms of their stability. Structural engineers rarely have a idea on older buildings.

Our hearts were breaking thinking the house had to go so very glad you are sticking with it stay with your dreams love from the oldies 👍🙏🤗🤗🌷🌹🌺

I'm with you and others. There is always a way xx

a wise decision to not knock the house down, it's built in a traditional way and will last a long time. We also have an old house of 1812 with a newer house attached and it still stands. I think you'll find a way to extend your dream house. We wish you all the best.

Yay! I am so glad you're keeping the cottage. The property just wouldn't be the same without the quaintness of that little stone cottage at the end of the lane. Praying that everything works out for you.

Bloomin good on ya, stand your ground !! 😊 I totally agree x

Woohoo, go for it , how exciting. Spring is soon here . Great to see the update . As you say it’s been there 100 plus years .

Could you consider, underpinning the back wall? You know like digging down under existing wall / foundation, and make a concrete footing, would it a viable option? Or if you are taking down most of the back wall get like a plinth build at the points where the support beams end to give that part of the wall the support neede to carry the load. Im sure you will find a solution so you can keep the old farmhouse

Oh no, what a bombshell. I am so glad you are keeping the original house. You will find a way to May old and new safely. Roll on the next instalment, cannot wait. Hope the stress levels have subsided.

I'm so happy about your decision! That old house has so much character. Sometimes entreprenurs are just too pragmatic and "coldhearted " about things. I'm sure you will find a solution that works, and a way to combine the old with the new! 😊

Glad you're keeping the house. Could you make the addition "appear" to be attached to the old house although it technically isn't attached - just have a pergola style hall between the two or something along that line?

Sorry to agree with your engineer, there's no foundation there, he has seen many houses like your one, i have also, it will never be like a new build and following your heart can empty your purse.

Well done. I am happy for your decision.

I just stumbled across your channel. My parents have a thatched cottage in Clare that’s around 400 years old. I have done lots of work on it and it also has a modern (1960’s) extension that’s never had any issues. I also work on my own home which is similar construction as yours. I can see that your house has been “upgraded” with concrete paths and likely cement plaster in the outside and maybe inside. This is likely causing the damp. Remove as much concrete from the house as you can and replace the plaster with lime. Make sure the ground level on the outside is lower than the inside and put a French drain with gravel around the perimeter of the building and that all will help with the damp. Also dig up the inside floor and put down plastic, but I assume you had planned to do that anyway. Best of luck, you really need to love these buildings in order to live in them.

The cost of renovation vs new re build in England must take into consideration no vat on new build. If there is that benefit in Ireland your engineer might have been considering that too?

I know people who flattened a 200 yr old house because someone told them it “had no foundations”. They also knocked an old stone granary. They hadn’t moved in two centuries and somehow between their engineer and themselves, they managed to not come to that conclusion. If we knocked every house that doesn’t meet best practices of today, we’re going to lose a lot of old buildings.

❤❤❤❤❤ i enjoy watching you. I think you will make a good decision. After all, this is your journey taking us along.❤❤❤❤❤

Underneath the surface, there is beautiful stone work unique to that house which can never be replicated. Knocking the house down is not an option, never was. I follow several folk on YT who are renovating similar Irish cottages and believe me your's is in far better condition than theirs. There is always a solution and I'm sure you'll find it.

Wow, difficult considerations and decisions! Glad you went for keeping your poor old little gem.

Have you seen the old Cary Grant, Myrna Loy movie , Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House? My husband and I built a house 30 years ago and this movie always makes us laugh. I highly recommend it.

We have a stone cottage in Wales with boulder foundations and a lot more crooked walls than yours. It’s fine! You need to know about lime and traditional building materials and the best mix of new and old. I have feelings of trepidation that the size and cost of this is going to get out of control. Just how much room do you need? That extension looks huge! Also find the builder that has a history of building what you want. It’s easier than trying to persuade a regular builder used to doing bungalows to build in character.

Look up Geobear( think that's how it's spelled) inject concrete type substance underneath house.

Have you looked into the vacant house refurbishment grant? I don’t know if it would work for you (as there are time limitations, and you would have to retain at least some of the original house.). There is up to €80,000 available if it’s suitable which although paid only after the work is done, could help you.

What about a sort of under pinning type of foundation block either side where you are going to open up the wall, with a couple of upright steel support beams to take the weight of the lintel and roof at that point ?

Another British couple doing up an irish cottage 😊, i follow 3 on RU-vid already , four now 😊,, how many have moved to Ireland to live in cottage s, it seems like more and more each day 😊

Breezeway between extension and old house? In China the Forbidden Palace is not affixed to footings or nailed together so it can move. Didn't fall down even in and earthquake. There is always a way.

you could still open the side of the house as long as the weight carried by the beam is evenly distributed back over the original footprint of the wall. i.e. installing a steel frame with a beam at the bottom as well as top? OR attempting to strengthen the existing foundation with a concrete ring beam of some type. OR just build your extension as a separate house with a separate footing and them make a semi flexible coupling between two buildings (only door sized not the whole wall) Lots of non standard construction options which will make your engineers eye twitch lol

Phew. The character is what you chose it for. Change the structural engineer as he isn’t a good fit if all he can say is knock it down. You want someone who wants to conserve the heritage. ❤

Can you cut down any trees in your forest to turn into lumber for construction of your addition? Are there alternative ways or primitive ways to make concrete?

So glad you're not knocking it down. Split the two buildings so the old isn't supporting the new in any way. Obviously, I'm not an expert, but there must be a way to have both.

My great aunt doll lived in tooting in London her house was built on mud had no foundation at all and there were never any problems with it no cracks in the walls nothing like that. Every house I've known with foundations always have cracking walls. Glad you're going to keep what's there it's a pretty cottage.

Do you have enough property to keep house as is? ... fix up existing footprint & use it as a guest house and build your new house on property.... you could live in it as you build your new dwelling and have a wonderful guest house....we have a small guest house on our property at our Canadian cottage and it makes for a better visit for both us & guests....my husband & I also use it for ourselves when we need alone time from each other as our cottage is small ❤

Can you not dig around the outside and inside and add concrete to reinforce the foundation stones that are there? It's not that unusual with old stone houses.

it'll be there for another 100years or more! please don't demolish it! look into moving walls for inbetween the buildings, think it's a Japanese idea, it's a beautiful old cottage find someone who appreciates the old buildings & who can work around the foundations everyone wants to see the old girl renovated :)) please; you have lots of supporters i mean it's been standing all these years! thanx for sharing

Have you thought about underpinning that load bearing back wall?

Yeah, no knock down.

What does the local planning authority say? Will they give you a demolition permit?

Good decision

Engineer shold come up with a simple plan that works for all that saves the house Your goal will come true

With a lifetimes experience I'd knock it down, if you can afford it, remember the property will never be what you fell in love with so make it your own dream.

Why can’t you have a small stone flagstone terrace between the old and the new and set it up like a sunroom with 2 glass(large) windows floor to ceiling…

You sure will ❤❤❤❤

was wondering where yall were , the irish homestead is going to use a glass wall between two sections

Cottages don't have foundations just stone walls buit into the ground ,, mines like that, anyone builder would rather knock then fix up ,, but thousand s live in them or do then up 😊

Is underpinning an option.

I don't doubt that it would be cheaper to knock it all down and start over, but that totally ignores why you decided on buying this place to be your home. People who want to build a brand new house buy an empty plot of land, not a one hundred year old home that they want to save. I think your structural engineer is looking at it more clinically than you are. Take your time and get it done the way you want it to be done.

The Engineer is dead right! You would be throwing good money after bad ! It would be a lot cheaper and you would have a better insulated house and better foundation!

Apply for the €70 grand grant your get it but don’t touch the house until you get it Believe it or not you knock that down that will cost you more then you think we have done the same thing down south Get yourself a second opinion

Knock it down it's a piece of shite all you got is four walls with no foundation and no floor dept it's cheap to build the walls and you will have a nice house for not throw good after bad

❤