The Cottage Inn, Lynbridge, Lynton
This room "Mr Crick" will be available to be booked from 1st May 2022
There is no doubting that times are very hard indeed for pubs at this moment and to be truthful ours is included also but let's ignore the never ending financial challenges presented by Covid and the war, I thought it might be nice to show a bit of appreciation to part of our beautiful old pub, i'm doing much of the work myself with one extra worker so its as cost effective as possible.
When we purchased The Cottage Inn, well even before, when we started letting in 2015 there has always been a room that was filled with junk and was always "Just about to be done up, it has potential to be an absolute stonker of a room and I thought it might be nice to share some of the journey of restoration with you all.
So, what makes this room so special ?
Firstly its old, like really old, like 17th century old. and with this age always comes real quality that just isn't found in modern construction, i always feel buildings of a certain age are alive and have real deep souls, they are not part of our journey, we are part of theirs.
Secondly it has some really interesting architectural features, such as a round window, some very strange shape walls which will be kept and also a staircase within the room.
In converting this room the feeling of such an age must be felt but at the same time we must embrace the times and embrace the future.
Our first job is to make the room energy efficient, this means installing good insulation, another builder has already started this process but some time ago and the insulation is already out dated and will do little to help with energy bills which we face today so this will be removed and most probably used under the floors alongside an additional insulation where such high grade itsn't quite as necessary.
All materials used are links with red writing, simply click to see product
Insulation
The insulation I am choosing is a mixture of celotex slab insulation and multi foil, both are really good at keeping the heat in and could be used alone but when it comes to insulation the more the merrier.
Ceiling insulation is most important, we will remove all plasterboard and cosy wrap insulation and replace with 75mm celotex, all joints will be taped with foil tape, we will then install a blanket of multi layer insulation and batten over the top, so in total the layers will be as follows.
Slates
breathable membrane
air gap
75mm celotex slab
air gap
Superquilt multi layer
air gap
wooden cladding finish
There is also a flat roof section which the same combination will be used over with the exception that instead of slate above this will have ply wood and a rubber roof.
All walls are solid stone construction but we still want to add insulation to improve efficiency so there will be a layer of multi layer insulation, Batten uprights and then paneling.
For the floor we would like to add the first layer for sound proofing so we choose to use 50mm of Rockwall between the joists and recycle the cosy wrap as an additional layer. We will then be adding an over joist layer of multi layer insulation, and lay the 18mm tongue and groove chip board floor over, although the existing boards are not original they will be denailed and used in another room with missing boards to make up a complete set. Chipboard is definitely preferred here as it locks and glues together so it better for helping with sound transference between this room and the one below.
Its probably worth mentioning that under the floors and in the walls there will be no joints for water, heating, electrical or information cabling, this is to eliminate the requirement to lift the floor in the future because it could be a little tricky to get through the multiple layers.
The Finish
A traditional finish would I suppose be a plastered wall but we have been very happy with the finish that has been achieve elsewhere with wall paneling, it gives a really good aged look and was existing in many areas on the pub already, something I really like by doing this is that it enables us to add that extra layer of insulation which would not be there if we just replastered. It is also extremely hard wearing and easy to clean.
Ceiling will be plasterboard with a T and G slightly distressed finish to give an aged feel.
Heating
In order to be as efficient as we can this room will be plumbed onto the wet system and will have a radiator with thermostat on its own zone, giving us the ability to heat (fully) only the rooms which are inhabited at a particular time, leaving other rooms with basic heating fir airing only. This will be the same with the towel rail, set for specific times being used only when required.
Lighting
When we took over the Cottage Inn there had been downlight installed in many places, dont get me wrong there is a time and a place but downlight are really not for me, when I traded as an Electrician I was an advocate for less is more.
Im going with wall lights and table lamps on 5 amp sockets switched by the light switch by the door and by the side of the bed, we can find suitable lights on amazon, I will post a link when found.
IT
Like it or not IT is now as important as the lighting, possibly more so, for this reason we are upping our offering considerably, BT have upgraded our internet and we have opted for maximum speed, taking a jump from 26mbps to 695mbps with a wifi access point hard wired within the room for maximum connection speed, with SuperQuilt insulation I am aware that range can be cut so that is the reason this room will have its own access point.
There will also be a hard wired High speed Connection point for anybody who needs for business and an additional hard wired point for a smart TV, I am currently undecided on wether or not to hard wire satellite points as I feel they may be a thing of the past now fibre to premises is available.
All of our data is powered by a new hub which has recently been installed with currently 1.8km of data cabling under the floors, pretty Rad hey ?
I will write a separate blog on our Data system soon as im rather proud of it and think some people may find it interesting how far we have gone to ensure speed and reliability, also how little it actually costs to have a proper system.
Bathroom
At This stage I am planning a wet room with Altro flooring, I will not be trying to keep or enhance architectural features as there is none on offer and I believe simple is the way forward, good shower, toilet with a bit of space, somewhere to dry your towel and a nice mirror. Simple and easy to clean.
Windows
This room has a very unique window on one end, this window will be restored and decorated shut with security glass panels either side, we absolutely must take care of it and I believe the best way to keep it aging will and be heat efficient is to encase within glass, it will stop the weather getting to it and stop the dust settling on the inside, this may change but currently my thoughts, I need to check its ok with the planners. I can't imagine adding protection but still being able to view will be an issue.
The side window will primarily be used for opening and I am considering some kind of secondary glazing but will update in time.
So that is about all for this blog, my intention was to give an idea of what is planned and then offer updates throughout the process, if you feel you might enjoy seeing more about the restoration work we are doing please take the time to subscribe on the main blog page.
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