This country cottage residence situated in little birch Hereford, was in need of updating, while suffering from water ingress along with the deterioration of the internal masonry and decorative finishes. This was caused mainly from a lack of maintenance over a period of years, a combination of failing gutters, down pipes running out into the surrounding ground with blocked and collapsed drainage, water buts against the house walls without piped overflows in operation and high soil levels. A shed was positioned against the rear house wall with the shed roof pitched falling back toward the house and the rear elevation house wall was subject to the run off of water from the shed roof. There were also bricks missing that became obvious once the shed had been removed, revealing water ingress. The cottage was constructed of a solid brickwork construction and painted with non breathable paints

Repairs to the walls and pointing was carried out with lime mortars. Removal of the paint in the near future will benefit the
breathability of the walls, due to the high levels of the outside ground. A combination of materials were used in order to renovate the kitchen and bathroom and restore the decorative finish of the cottage including physical membranes, tanking chemicals, damp course proof injection, breathable and renovation plasters, timber stud work and plasterboard.

The bath was replaced with a shower cubicle along with a new toilet, the wash basin was in a reusable condition although the taps needed to be replaced and extracting fans were fitted to aid ventilation. The existing kitchen was carefully removed and refitted, completed with a paint finish and vinyl floor coverings and the Client was able to move back in to the property.

The decision to prevent the water ingress from the outside was to remove the shed and water butts, repair all the drainage, gutters and down pipes, lower the ground level and insert a French drain to redirect the water away from the cottage.