A cottage brought back to life in Kingston
From the street, this cottage looked tired: dark, stained render with cracks running up the gable, and white windows that were only just holding together. Up close, it was worse. Several of the sash window frames had rotted right through.
Paint alone wouldn't have fixed it. So we repaired the timber and the walls first, then painted.
The brief
- Full exterior redecoration of a period cottage in Kingston.
- Walls repainted, front, gable and side.
- All sash windows repaired and repainted.
What we found
The render had cracked across the gable and around the windows. Water had been getting in behind the paint on the window frames for years. When we started opening them up, the box frames and sills were soft right through. In one, you could see straight in to the sash weight.
What we did
- Cut out the rot. Every soft section of sill and box frame was cut back to sound timber.
- Spliced in new timber. New wood was fitted where the old had gone, so the frames are solid again rather than patched over.
- Resin repairs. Smaller areas, such as the sash rails, were rebuilt with resin and shaped back to the original profile.
- Filled the render cracks. The cracks across the gable and around the windows were raked out and filled before any paint went on.
- Painted the walls. The render was repainted in a light stone colour, transforming the cottage from the street.
- Painted the windows and woodwork. Sashes, frames, sills and the gable trim were finished in crisp white.
The result
The windows are solid again, the walls are sound, and the cottage looks the way it should. It's lighter, cleaner and one of the smartest houses on the street.
