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Airey house (pre fab)


Royboy
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Hi 

im in the process of buying a pre fab house that had the slabs removed in the 80s and bricked up with certificate.

what I was wondering is what the internal walls are made up off ? They seemed like stud walls when I gave them a tap but apparently they have steel beams in them for the load bearing ? I was wondering if anybody has taken these walls out before ? Is it even possible ??

and also I’m going to fit a new kitchen and was wondering how you attache the cabinets to a stud wall with out them falling off ?

cheers  

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7 minutes ago, Delboysparky said:

Good idea !

 

2 minutes ago, Fisheruk said:

That is not an Airey house. How the load bearing walls remain will depend on the improvement scheme.

search PRC homes, you should find some details.

It’s what the original owners daughter calls it . I have had a look but not had much success, I’ll have another gander cheers

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I’m not sure what type to be honest, it was built in 1950 and bricked up in the 80s,

its never had Centrel heating and has its original bathroom in ! 

Ive not got keys yet so unsure of things until I start ripping it out. 

If it’s to much trouble to remove walls I won’t bother, I’m just trying to do a bit of research on it 

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when you get the keys, get up in the loft and look at the top of the walls and see what they are made of. Could be brick and block, brick on outside breeze bloke inside? The plasterboard may be dot and dab(glued) onto the blocks, which leaves an inch or so airspace behind the board, giving the impression it is hollow, if tapped.

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5 minutes ago, silver pigeon69 said:

when you get the keys, get up in the loft and look at the top of the walls and see what they are made of. Could be brick and block, brick on outside breeze bloke inside? The plasterboard may be dot and dab(glued) onto the blocks, which leaves an inch or so airspace behind the board, giving the impression it is hollow, if tapped.

Cheers pal I’ll do that, can’t wait to get my teeth into it ?

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39 minutes ago, Royboy said:

Where would there be asbestos ? The last house I renovated I took up the original plastic tiles that where in the kitchen and they apparently where asbestos ! That’s why you shouldn’t mess with things you know nothing about !!

All I know is there are a couple of streets of those houses about two miles from here, very close to where I used to work, and they belong to the council (mostly). About ten or more years ago the council systematically gutted all the houses, about three at a time. They moved the families out and the asbestos strippers went in. That's about as much as I know about the subject, I wasn't personally involved but I used to drive past and saw it all going on for months.

I found this

 https://survivingmesothelioma.com/mesothelioma-risk-from-vintage-prefab-homes/

Edited by Vince Green
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1 hour ago, Vince Green said:

All I know is there are a couple of streets of those houses about two miles from here, very close to where I used to work, and they belong to the council (mostly). About ten or more years ago the council systematically gutted all the houses, about three at a time. They moved the families out and the asbestos strippers went in. That's about as much as I know about the subject, I wasn't personally involved but I used to drive past and saw it all going on for months.

I found this

 https://survivingmesothelioma.com/mesothelioma-risk-from-vintage-prefab-homes/

I’m not 100% sure but I think these house had all the concrete removed but I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks for heads up ?

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I am a little out of touch about the status of Airey houses since I retired over 10 years ago. Airey houses were constucted post war with an inner framework of reinforced concrete columns with internal stud walls and clad externally with concrete panels, a method known as ‘non traditional’ construction. Unfortunately, the standard of design and construction was so poor that the framework and cladding fixings was prone to corrosion that in the early 1980s Airey houses were “designated defective” by the Government, meaning they were unmortgageable and people who bought them under the Right to Buy scheme we’re entitled to force the Council to buy them back. These houses became virtually unsaleable except to a cash buyer.

After considerable research, A number of repair methods were proposed that were acceptable by some lenders if they had a recognised repair certificate but were not acceptable to others. Most lenders would not consider the mortgage unless the other half of the semi was repaired as well, some even wanted 50% of the houses in the road, to be repaired! Just rebuilding the outer skin did not cure the problem. The situation was a bit of a nightmare.  The general feeling amongst surveyors was that demolition and rebuilding was the best and simplest option. Since these houses were often built on generous plots, it was not uncommon  to buy a semi cheaply  for cash, demolish it and build a detached house instead.

I do not know how far your purchase has got, if it is in the early stages, it is essential to get a copy of the repair certificate and check with the lender that they will consider a mortgage on an Airey house with that type of certificate before proceeding any further. If this sounds a pain, remember these houses have a poor reputation and you will need everything to be in order, otherwise you will not be able to sell the property easily in the future.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There is a lot of official info and research about Airey houses on the net.

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I had a stud wall in my last house in a utility room where I fitted some kitchen units. I marked the top line of the units and cut along the line for the width of all the units and about 12” down. I took that section of plasterboard out and replaced it with 1/2” ply which I screwed to the studs. Mounted the units onto the ply which was hidden by the kitchen units and was solid as a rock. 

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6 hours ago, Cosd said:

I had a stud wall in my last house in a utility room where I fitted some kitchen units. I marked the top line of the units and cut along the line for the width of all the units and about 12” down. I took that section of plasterboard out and replaced it with 1/2” ply which I screwed to the studs. Mounted the units onto the ply which was hidden by the kitchen units and was solid as a rock. 

Good idea ? I’ve also come across a metal rail that’s like one long unit hook, you screw that to the studs ?

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