Opening a can of worms - renovating an old house

We knew when we started this project that there were going to be hidden expenses because our house was built in 1945. Whenever you start to renovate an old house you discover all sorts of issues that need to be fixed. I know because I grew up in a house built in 1914. For example my parents decided to move our front door so when the builders began cutting the hole in the wall we discovered that the house was mostly being held together by a very thick layer of plaster. The mortar between the bricks had basically turned to dust and you could now simply remove the bricks by hand, no sledge hammer required.

Well we are starting to find the 'worms' in our house.
1. The outdoor toilet, being used by the builders, cannot take the extra capacity. So it's well and truly blocked and the only fix is probably to dig out a our big bush and replumb the toilet, properly, into the sewer line. Sort term fix is that we've hired a porter pottie.

2. As expected the wiring in the roof is still the fabric covered stuff used in 1945. Lots of exposed wires and odd connections mean that we will have to re-wire the whole house in order for the house to be electrically compliant for a second storey because they have to seal the downstairs wiring into the new upstairs floor.

3. The water supply to the house is all 15mm pipe which is probably full of deposits and so is very narrow. So our pressure upstairs will probably not be great unless we redo this with 20mm pipe from the main line.

Ah the joys of an old house. However I wouldn't swap my old house for any new house. I love it's character, its big rooms, beautiful parquet floors, spacious garden and old world charm. Anyway new homes in SA are not built very well and where my house now needs re-wiring and replumbing after 65+ years new homes start falling apart and leakining after 10 years. So in the end being a home owner is a lot of work no matter how old your house is.





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