Case study: 67 West Street, Harrow on the Hill

This house is in the same road as our office. The clients came to us with a damp problem and we went to inspect, to look for the normal, obvious signs on period properties. Upon arrival we found that the whole face of the building had been covered with a non-breathable paint and had been subject in many appalling brick repairs and pointing over a very long period of time, prior to our clients owning the house.

It was felt that the first place to start was the removal of the paint, to expose the brick work underneath. This is an exceptionally difficult job to quantify and execute. To create the fairest assessment of works, it was agreed that we would carry out a local test patch to ascertain the viability. Although it was exceptionally difficult, the brick that was uncovered was a very unusual and rare brick on Harrow on the Hill and a program of works was agreed, to completely strip the front of the house and to rake and repoint the front of the house, with lime mortar. We decided to pick out the arches over the windows, with a light tuck pointing. At the same time, it was agreed we would overhaul or replace the sash windows and redecorate the front of the house.

The works started and the job proved even harder than we had expected. We had our skilled team working for over 3 weeks, literally cleaning brick by brick. The entire building was then raked by hand, before being repointed in a lime tint chosen by the client. The roof was overhauled and we fitted our seamless aluminium guttering in satin black. The house was skilfully decorated and the sills were improved, using specialist filler. When the scaffold came down the impact was nothing short of outstanding. One local estate agent we know said that we had added £10,000 to the value of the house, as it now looks, like a perfect period piece.

We are specialists in the exterior renovation of Victorian and Edwardian properties. It is not an inexpensive project. However, in terms of value and improving the appearance of your home, as well as insuring its longevity by respecting the original materials, it is hard to think of a greater return on investment, especially if we can actually increase the value of your home.

Please talk to one of our expert team today, to secure space in our time table, as the diary fills up quickly.