TERMITES, graffiti and rotten foundations were only a few of the problems that historic Exeter Cottage faced before the Historic Houses Trust's Endangered House Fund acquired and began to restore the Glenwood property in October, 2008.

An open day on Sunday, February 21, from 2pm to 6pm, will give residents a unique opportunity to admire the work in progress and to ask questions of the project's conservation architect, Alan Croker, and the manager of the Endangered House Fund, Richard Silink.

Mr Silink says that what are actually two cottages joined by a walkway were built with vertical slabs of timber secured straight into a trench.

Builders used hydraulic lifts to raise and level the entire building and to repair damage caused by the damp ground.

``From the ankles down the building was in a poor condition,'' Mr Silink said.

``I used to describe it as at risk every time the wind was more than five knots. It was slowly and surely sinking into the ground, so we gave it a new set of feet.''

Experts involved in the restoration will next turn their attention to the interior, but its present empty shell-like appearance still leaves much to be observed. It was first believed that the cottage was built between 1810 and 1820, but workers uncovered in a key part of the structure wire nails, which did not become popular until the late 19th century.

Once finished, the 3000-square-metre farm will be sold to a private owner. With room for a vegetable garden, orchard, pets and the cottage itself it will be a prize residence.

``It's a very early timber slab house on a big block which is very rare in the Sydney basin and becoming rarer,'' Mr Silink.

``You can't build character and it has that lovely patina of age to it.''