Rumpus Renovation

[frog_hopper]

Hi Everyone,

Our house is double story 70's brick veneer, with a "rumpus" area under neath that is not legal height (215cm).

The internal walls of the rumpus are single skin brick veneer and the infill slab was done after the house was built (and is so terrible it needs to be jackhammered up and replaced ... worst concrete job ever).

The double brick peers are ugly, and the termite cappings are at the top of the wall and I don't think there is a damp proof course.

Unfortunately the brickwork was painted, and is coming off in places - perhaps because the walls are not weatherproof?

We know that there are limitations with what we can do under this house (as it was not designed to be built in) but has anyone got some ideas how we can rectify the problem or make it as "habitable" as possible?

Ideas so far are:

* Remove paint from brickwork and repaint, or

* Bust up concrete and put down new slab (have to do this anyway) with moisture barrier underneath and sheet over the walls. Would need to put a termite reticulation system in place as this would cover up the termite caps, but no damp proof course could prove to be an issue here.

* Remove soil away to below ground level, paint with back tar, and put soil back to ground level.

* On the walls where there are no windows, we thought of having a series of cupboards as part of the wall, so that we can still check the termite caps.

Open to any suggestions people may have.

Thanks
Frog_hopper

p.s tried to attach pics but no luck?

[frog_hopper]

Here are some pics of the rumpus area ...

[frog_hopper]

Anyone got any pointers here?

[DvdHntr]

I would talk to a termite company about a better way to termite protect. Then think about installing a timber wall to give you a cavity. Can you increase the room height?

I don't think this would get past council otherwise.

[frog_hopper]

Hi DvdHntr,

Thanks for your reply - will talk to a termite company.

The only way we could get more height is to excavate down below the current ground level, but this would complicate levels where the stairs the the upper level start.

I don't think we will get it pass council, but we just want to make it relatively functional as it currently looks like an eyesore.

It would be good to get the advise of a builder, but until we get the plans drawn up no one will come and have a look. Catch-22 as we don't know what to put on the plans until we know what is possible (chicken and egg).

Thanks again,
frog_hopper

[silentC]

Neighbours across the road wanted to do this. The main issue was termite protection because they are in a bush setting. The Termimesh guy basically walked away because he could not guarantee the job - brick walls on strip footing with infill slab = invitation to termites. You might be able to protect it with a chemical barrier but I don't believe there is any way you can retrofit a physical barrier in your situation. I could be wrong, so it's worth asking the question I suppose - I'm just going off what the Termimesh guy told me in relation to the neighbours.

What I would not do is anything that covers up the existing termite protection, or allows the termites to bridge it. Putting in a stud wall that extends from floor to under floor of the storey above provides them with easy access. I have seen this in action. We had a house with the identical situation to yours. The house was single storey on piers. The previous owner excavated between the piers, poured a slab and then built a room underneath. The stud wall connected to the underside of the joists above. We noticed some drummy spots in floorboards one day, pulled up the carpet and found some termite activity. Further investigation revealed a stud wall with extensive damage, several other floorboards damaged and damage to various skirtings and architraves throughout the house. The first thing I did was demolished the room underneath to restore the original termite barrier.

The most important thing I think is to make sure that there are no hidden paths to the floor above. That means that you need to be able to inspect the ant capping. Unless you can get a barrier installed to protect from the lower floor level up, I would not even consider building stud walls.

[frog_hopper]

Thanks for your reply Silentc.

It appears that the only way forward is for a chemical barrier (we are going to bust up the concrete anyway), or otherwise don't build in any walls, or build in walls with sime way of being able to inspect the termite barriers.

I am not confident with the longevity of these chemical barriers - will see what I can find out and will talk to the termite guy.

[DvdHntr]

Try asking about Kordon.

[frog_hopper]

Hi Again,

Here are some pics of something like we were thinking of doing - painting the underside of the upstairs ceiling/bearers/joists white (rather than a roof as it is below legal height - to make it feel higher) and then putting some walls in .... but as suggested - I will follow up on the chemical barrier option first - otherwise it sounds too dodgey.

Cheers

[DvdHntr]

Just be careful of that as you are removing a ceiling diaphragm that may be vital in the bracing of the house and/or joists.

[frog_hopper]

Dvdhntr - rumpus ceiling has already been removed - it was added after the house was built. Had the asbestos guys round who stripped out the whole rumpus of asbestos. Thanks

[silentC]

I think you can cut an expansion joint between the infill slab and the strip footing and install Kordon. Definitely worth asking about.

[frog_hopper]

SilentC - when you say expansion joint, what do you mean? Thanks heaps.

[Theremin]

We had a chemical barrier installed in our previous place, for a similar situation. It cost about $1700 and from memory was supposed to last for 5 years. We had to put a 300mmx50mm strip of concrete right around the house to protect the chemical barrier. This was required to get it certified. This was in Qld.

[silentC]

when you say expansion joint, what do you mean?

Sorry missed this the other day. An expansion joint is just a gap in the concrete slab that allows for expansion. They usually put one in a large slab, or in places where cracking is likely to occur. You can cut it in with an angle grinder. In you case, it would just be to give the Kordon somewhere to go (it's like a sheet of material which is impregnated with a chemical that the termites don't like).