Over 50% of our work as specialists in heritage , period and listed buildings is related to fireplaces.
Inglenooks are great fun to work with and offer the potential to become the focal point of a home, but just as much impact and pleasure can be gained from the sympathetic treatment of a smaller fireplace.
There is something special about a fireplace, even better if it has a real flame, but just the shape of a now blocked off fireplace can enhance a room and form a true focal point.
The role of our fireplaces has altered though the years- once simply a ‘hearth’ in the centre of the floor with a hole in the roof to let the smoke out( if you are lucky!)-in other words, originally a totally functional thing ,which through centuries of evolution has become both functional and aesthetic- a place in the house to sit by in comfort, be it a labourers cottage or a grand house, most of us share the essential attraction of warmth, the crackle and aroma of logs burning.
Fashions come and go and with it fireplaces are altered, Blocked up, removed, reduced and rendered over , but if you look hard enough( and know what to look for) there will be clues that can lead one back in time and reveal glimpses of that original ‘character’.
It often falls to us as specialists to sensitively unpick the various changes in the history of a fireplace to arrive at a solution that seems right for the client and the house-This is the fun part!
Starting from what we have in front of us the aim is to work with the client and the property, its materials, building techniques and styles , bringing our practical experience into play so that together we can identify what is desired, practical and affordable.
Often at this point there will be input from Conservation Officers as much of our work is to listed or scheduled properties- Conservation Officers have the best interest of the property in mind and have the overview of the local area they work with, bringing a wealth of local knowledge ,for example, similar local architectural features ,or indeed informing you that your property has features unique to the area.
We will begin our work with an initial survey to assess the structural implications of ‘unpicking’ later additions/alterations. This is crucial and takes experience- one has to try to understand why builders did what they did – we all know that this can sometimes be a challenge in itself!
Usually though there is a logic to their input –a wall to reduce the size of the flue or fireplace is unlikely to be a structural element , but a wall underpinning a damaged beam of course is a different matter!
The survey will inform the likely age of the fireplace, which of course need not be the original age of the property, this dating through the clues left behind- brick size, mortar, hearth remains, beams and other features such as the scars left by ranges being cut into the brickwork, all in the context of the rest of the house can help to build a picture of the house through time.
Once the survey is complete we can move to the stage of how much/little needs to be done, but it is essential to let the house ‘speak to you’- listen to the clues that it has left and use them as a guide to achieving a solution that sits comfortably with the house and the client.
So, is it to be conservation, restoration or re design?
These three loose categories are useful as a guide:
All three in their own way, represent the ‘story’ of the property- its journey through time and the people that have cared for it- some approaches take it forward at a pace, others more slowly.
We encourage client input of course, but more than this , should the client want to have a
‘hands on ‘ approach, we can offer training and guidance as part of the service.
Conservation:
Simply put, it refers in this context to preserving what is presented and no more.
It might be an important feature, a fireplace or the whole property that requires this approach, the concept is the same-minimal intervention- that is doing only that which will preserve the material, aesthetic and function of the feature, only taking action if by not doing so the feature will suffer significant damage or loss. Any intervention must be in keeping with the structure, but should also be recognisable as an intervention too, so that it is not confused in later times with the original- honest and yet distinct, in keeping with the aesthetic- buying it some time.
Restoration:
In this case it is essential to have identified the features that might have been there, the clues left behind in subsequent alterations , the aspirations of the client and the thoughts of Conservation Officers if the property is listed- quite a task, but if you get the basics right then the rest is so much easier and satisfactory!
Restoration is a ‘best guess’ in many cases- it is where our experience of period properties and traditional building techniques comes into play. It can be a challenge, but it is always very rewarding.
We have to work with what we have in terms of client brief and the clues from the house to bring about a solution that works and is in sympathy to the original or the period that the client is aspiring to get to.
It could mean a complete restoration from uncovering the blocked up fireplace to inserting a reclaimed bressemer beam, bread oven, re pointing and laying a reclaimed hearth using local materials such as pamments, floor bricks or stone.
I think restoration is my favourite – it requires skill, detective work, experience and yet allows for a little creativity too!
Re- design:
Is exactly that- taking the elements that are significant to the client along with the features of the property and using these, coming up with a new ‘twist’.
Often an interesting challenge, but an opportunity to put my design degree to work!
Modern living can have its advantages- the ugly bit of an open fire is the cleaning out next morning- a modern gas or electric fire needs none of that, but can present that all important comfort appeal and focal point in the room.
Some modern design, especially Scandinavian ,can be stunningly simple and elegant, taking the period home onto the next stage in its long story.

Starting the work:
Having a brief , the actual craft work of bringing it to life can begin.
The first is to clear out the debris- this can be considerable and so, so messy, but once out of the way real progress can be achieved.
We of course would ONLY use lime mortars- blended to suit the needs of the brief and also reclaimed materials unless a re -design calls for modern elements.
We source our lime products from various suppliers to the trade, such as Mike Wye and associates@,

http://www.mikewye.co.uk/mikeprices.htm

or Ty Mawr @ http://www.lime.org.uk
Materials brought to the property ought to be sourced locally if possible, should be sound, and in the case of bricks ,should be matching in terms of colour, texture, size and absorbancy.
The first priority is to ensure that the structure is sound and any element removed are safely taken out .
The brickwork can then be dealt with and beams etc inserted, cleaned up and a hearth laid- each project is unique and requires a bespoke approach- it takes time, skill and patience, but the results are always worth the wait!

Our extensive range of local contacts for reclaimed materials makes sourcing these a lot easier.
We also have close contacts with a range of other trades from painters and decorators to plumbers and carpenters, all sympathetic to period homes.
We have particularly close association with http://www.apmasonry.co.uk/AP_Masonry_Home.html
and regularly work together on our larger projects.

After care:
As members of the GUILD OF MASTER CRAFTSMEN http://www.guildmc.com/consumer/ , our work is regularly vetted for quality of workmanship and customer service, it shows that we have a professional approach and that we will always offer an after care service.
However, a lot of this is simple maintenance – we only use natural products- linseed oil for example and a quick wipe over every few months with a rag and linseed oil is all that is needed for many materials.

Woodburners and flues:

Naturally many clients want to have an open fire or a woodburning/multi fuel stove fitted and part of the process.
We can offer this to clients on request, so that a complete package from initial survey of the fireplace, through to fitted working fire in a restored or rebuilt fireplace can be achieved.
The fitters we work with are Heatas registered http://www.hetas.co.uk and can provide practical information and a range of stoves to suit your property.

If you wish to make an enquiry regarding our services for fireplaces and/or any other period restoration to your home , please do contact us through the website- www.specialist-brickwork.com and we will be sure to get straight back to you.

Steve Hills
May 2012

We had to bring the insulation up to standard and used a combination of a multifoil ( Triso Super 10) and Celotex @ 60mm,with plaster board over.

This got us over the problem of rafters that are thinner than the current standard, thus not giving sufficient depth to fit in insulation and retaining at least some of the roof timbers exposed.

The floor is to be carpeted and so a very good quality chipboard flooring was the most effective approach- the original floor boards were not up to the job- very wormy and thin.

We constructed a little en suite and set a reclaimed period window into the stud wall -it provides great ‘character’ and looks as though always been there- it cost no more than £10.00 at TW GAZE salvage auction !

The stairs are of ‘paddle ‘design-built to gain height quickly, they take some getting used to but do the job and save a load of space.

The final touch was to insert a couple of ‘conservation’ style Velux windows-they provide fantastic views,let in light and ventilation-just right!

Having cleaned up and treated all the roof timbers, those left exposed were given a coat or two of linseed oil.

In all the conversion is a great success, providing a very generous extra bedroom with en suite,adding value to the property and of course built in a way that is sympathetic to the period nature of the property,celebrating features wherever we can.

One such recent project has been to restore the original pamment floor to a Suffolk cottage.

There had been one of the infamous 1970s ‘makeovers’ to this lovely cottage,part of which had been to lift the original floor of 9”x 9” pamments and relay them (badly) in a cement mortar-they looked awful , but though covered in cement the potential was still there in the basic material.

It was decided to carefully lift them, clean off the offending mortar and if enough survived, to re-lay them onto a lime mortar, butt jointed (dry jointed- no mortar in between the pamments). The lime mortar,-sharp sand 3:1 ratio with NHL3.5 providing a sound bedding.

Click here for more on lime mortar

We applied several methods in the cleaning and eventually achieved the desired result by using a stone polisher and diamond hand pads from D K Holdings

As with many things, the preparation is the key- we took great care to set the bond out square and in alignment with the walls which caught the eye as you enter the room-the walls were not square at all!We had to pick one wall and use that as the starting point, bearing in mind that we were also re instating a hearth at the same time and that too needed to be square to the floor tiles.

This is really essential with dry joints as there is NO margin for error/adjustment as you would get with a floor that had joints, you can get into all sorts of trouble if the setting out is poor!

The end result looks great and the pamments from the house live on again in situ.One hiccup was that about 36 of them ‘disappeared’ very mysteriously and we found ourselves short.

Very difficult to achieve just the right match with pamments and any introductions would most probably have shown up like a sore thumb!

The solution was to cut 36 or so in half and use both sides of them. This is not recommended unless you have no choice, but for this particular project the pamments were thick enough to do this,especially as they were bedded into a lime mortar,rather than the original sand.The result is that no introductions were required and of course the whole floor matches!

The hearth was laid in ‘basket weave’ bond to match the one original patch of floor bricks found at the bottom of the stairs.

This floor needs to be left now to dry out for a few weeks ,then sealed ( we use either/or linseed oil and beeswax).the final thing will be to brush fine kiln dried sand into the ‘dry joints’ to fill any remaining gaps and the floor is good for another 100 years!

More on the loft conversion soon..

You can read about the the Lobby build and the period restoration techniques we have used in the design and build in the two part post

When a ‘period look’ is required there is no better solution than to re use authentic traditional materials.

We needed to create a lobby from nothing- the front door opens onto the street and the traffic noise, dust and weather could come straight into the home- nowhere to put wet coats and shoes, so a lobby was the sensible solution.

Two items, one from the clients garden and one from an auction, formed the design concept for the lobby- these have been given a new life and added to the period feeling of the home.

The clients had an old oak church pew which was in the garden,slowly rotting away. We thought it would become a lovely feature and functional item for the lobby and in fact it was the pew that lead the design and build.

The pew was taken apart, cleaned, the old rotten oak discarded and the salvaged sections rebuilt into a seat of the right proportions for the lobby-it looks great and importantly, we can see already that it will function really well as well as appearing to have been there for years!

Next was the floor of the lobby- tongue and grooved floor boards were the existing surface and we wanted something that was more ‘solid’, durable and pleasing to the eye.

First the boards were lifted and a marine ply sub floor laid- this added strength waterproofing and a great base to fix to.

We sourced the slate tiles from a TW GAZE Architectural Salvage auction- got them at a great price too. They are said to come from the floor of Kings College Chapel Cambridge and we have no reason to doubt this, they certainly have considerable age to them.

The tile were laid in a flexible waterproof tile adhesive onto the ply- setting them out was tricky- we had no spares to play with!

Once cleaned up and pointed with a NHL Lime mortar they will function perfectly and look in keeping with the oak pew.

The lobby door will be one re used from within the house, so that all the finish features will be of a period nature.

Now for the contemporary bit:

Having set out the main features we needed walls that would help to keep the heat inside the home and the noise, dust etc out.

SJ Specialist Brickwork building a lobby

The ideal solution was a stud wall constructed from treated timber and insulated with Extratherm board. Foam was used to fill any gaps ,stopping drafts and the whole lot will be clad with panelling in a period style.

The lobby is not complete just yet,but well on its way- we will clean up and point the tiles ,oil the pew,clad the walls and fit the door.

A ceiling will be set into the oak beams .leaving them exposed in part and a electric metre cupboard will be built, again from recycled furniture, probably a period cupboard front bought at auction for a song!

Our work building a new lobby

PART TWO FOLLOWS SOON!

Family chapel completed

The two images clearly show the final Lime mortar finish and the completed York Stone flooring.

The Finish really brings this historic feature back to life and the family are very pleased with the period restoration of their home.

The period restoration of the chapel is complete

More from us at SJ Specialist Brickwork soon as we continue our period restoration projects.

Part of our recent period brick work restoration has been the ongoing renovation of a what appears to be a chapel which we discovered hidden behind more recent masonry…………..

We have completed the final work to the ‘chapel’ and it looks just great!

So pleased that the original shape has been retained and how this feature, found bricked up, damp and forgotten for years is now an integral part of the home.

As members of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (The SPAB), we were keen to preserve it and that any works we did were completely reversible ,so that the original structure is still intact.

The membrane,supplied and fitted by Empire Property Services in conjunction with Triton has been a great success, without a membrane there would have been little we could do to stop the damp in this basement context.

Using haired NHL 3.5 lime mortar with a sharp sand aggregate as the base coat worked a treat to steady up the render and the haired chalk plaster from The Anglia Lime Company was a triumph!

The images will show that the York stone flooring looks as though it has always been there- the slabs have been given a light coat of raw linseed oil as a natural sealer.

We will often use reclaimed York stone as a flooring surface for our inglenook hearths ,rooms, especially kitchens,utility rooms and hallways- areas of heavy use. They add that special texture,scale and colour which enhances the character of a period home and they will certainly not wear out!

York stone can make an excellent patio area too of course!

The ‘chapel’ has been a pleasure to restore,a unique project and as always, during the course of the restoration we have learned something to add to our experience-one never stops learning!

On to the next part of the the project, laying a limestone floor to the room, inserting new windows and doors, a Juliet balcony and a new staircase!

Period mortars were often made up to local recipes using the raw materials from the area, so they vary a lot!

SJ SPECIALIST BRICKWORK have a wide range of sources for aggregate ,we will take the time to analyse the original mortar make up by taking samples and then blending our mix to suit.

The right aggregate will produce a mortar that functions as it should and of course looks just right once cured- the colour is critical, so often you will see poorly thought through repairs that stand out simply because the colour is so different.

Consider then, texture and colour, making up a sample, letting it dry and matching this back to the original.Consider also, the other ingredients such as chalk, charcoal and flint, all of which can be found in certain mortars.

The other factor that affects the mortar would be the lime.

Lime comes in two main forms:

Slaked lime ( putty) and Hydraulic lime ( NHL,which comes in different strengths ).

We will use our experience to select the appropriate lime for the job, but will more often than not use lime putty in our work, especially on the listed buildings that we restore.

Lime putty will vary in colour and texture and we will draw upon different suppliers again to achieve as good a match as we can.

When breaking down the original mortar for analysis you will often find lumps of slaked lime putty that have not been mixed into the aggregate-they appear as grey or white lumps in the mortar joint.

It can be difficult to match this, but one excellent slaked lime mortar that can be sourced for this type of finish is from Ty Mawr their course putty is a top class product .

Another supplier of excellent lime is of course Mike Wye and associates . Both companies are very happy to offer free advice on their products.

The putty to aggregate mix will vary, but on the whole around 3: 1 ratio of aggregate to putty is a guide.

Once cured lime putty mixes are very breathable and will certainly help to allow abuilding to function as it should as well as looking good!

Hydrated lime (NHLs)

These come in different strengths and again shades from grey to cream to white.

Unlike putty, NHL (Naturally Hydraulic Lime) will set in water- it is a different product entirely,behaves a bit like a modern cement, but weaker and is a very useful material for specific jobs.

We will use them where there is a definite risk from damp/frost wind damage or where we need a strong mortar to do a specific job, but will always use a putty if we can as this comes closer in our opinion to the original.

NHLs come in roughly 2 ,3.5 and 5 strengths, but will vary within this dependant upon the brand.

Castle ,St Astier, Singleton Birch and Breckweg all have different properties, colours , set times and strengths within the numerical guide range.

NHLs can be stronger than a putty mix, but the other side of the coin is that they can also be less breathable, so it will really depend upon the renovation /restoration project and within that the specific function required as to which one to use- that is where our experience is vital!

Used with selected aggregates it is possible to achieve a match to period brickwork with either lime product, but our first preference will always be putty.

There is a lot of information about lime mortars available on line, some very good indeed, but it can be confusing too, so if in doubt ask either the suppliers or craftsmen .

We are members of the GUILD OF MASTER CRAFTSMEN which is an assurance that our work is monitored, our skills vetted and our reputation excellent.

More on lime matters later……

All too often we see a period property with solid brick walls covered in a cement based render.The thinking used to be that the render would keep the water out and hence the inside dry, but far from it!

A cement based render unlike a lime mortar ,is not a breathable material and if you think about it, we produce a lot of moisture INSIDE the home-cooking showers,etc, even our breath creates moisture that has to go somewhere.

If the home has sealed unit double glazing, draught proofing and all the good ,sensible elements of energy efficiency, then where does that moisture go to?-you can install trickle vents etc-good ventilation is essential, but some of that moisture will attempt to escape through the walls and if there is a cement render on the inside and or out side, that’s as far as it will go-just sit there as a damp patch either as condensation on the inside or in the brickwork.

As soon as most materials become damp they loose their energy efficiency and the problems begin.

Moving to the outside, a cement render is a strong, but suprisingly brittle substance- it does not like being moved!

Period brickwork, especially with timber framing will move a good deal- enough to crack the cement render-you will often see this in a cement render of a few years old.

These cracks become the enemy as they do the reverse of the intended purpose- they will let moisture in the form of rain INTO the wall through the cracks, the softer brick will then soak this up and the moisture then finds it difficult to escape out through the render barrier efficiently- wet walls and worse than this if you have timber framing, wet timber, with the risk then if wet or ‘dry’ rot setting in.

Even 19^th Century homes can have timbers in the form of wall plates and window lintels built into the brickwork- these are then a t great risk of undermining the structural integrity of the property.

Cement render was often the ‘answer’ to all of the problems, fortunately most builders are more aware of the longer term issues these days.

Our approach is always to try to restore the brickwork if we can- we can carefully remove the cement render and once revealed we can assess the cost efficiency of restoration.

In most cases the client will want the brickwork restored, after all it has done a good job for many years and with the damaged bricks replaced and the wall re pointed using an appropriate lime mortar there is no reason why it should not continue to do so.

The wall can then breathe as it should ,with no barrriers the wind and sun can evaporate the moisture efficiently, the replaced bricks and the new lime mortar keep the inside of the walls dry.

A restored period brick wall is a joy to see and brings some of the original glory and that all important character back to the home.

However, there are situations where a lime based render is the best choice- this will be covered in part two of the entry.

Click the link to visit our main site and to contact us for a more detailed analysis of removing cement based render

Having decided upon York Stone for the floor to the ‘chapel’,we set about sourcing some reclaimed stone from TW Gaze’s Architectural salvage Auction.

We bought a pallet of stone, just enough to do the job, but they were in a bit of a state and in need of cleaning .

We take on all sorts of masonry and stone cleaning and restoration, so this is no problem to us and we knew from experience that underneath the old mortar stains there were some lovely slabs of stone .

We use a wide variety of cleaning tools and materials to restore stone and brick, in this case we made use of our wet grinder and specialist floor cleaning discs from DK Holdings ( http://www.dk-holdings.co.uk/ ), which make short work of stubborn mortar and can gently take out any chips etc to the stone. A final hand finishing and they are ready to lay in place.

The mortar mix is a coarse, sharp aggregate with an NHL 3.5 lime at 3;1ratio, leaving it quite a stiff mix as the stone slabs are really heavy.

Once cut to size and laid they are best just left for a day or so to allow the lime to begin to cure, then a little tending to the joints and cleaning the slabs brings out the best in them. We like to use only natural products and so to seal them when cured and cleaned, a final rub over with some raw linseed oil on a clean lint free rag and the job is done!

This natural oil may need topping up every few months, but nothing more.

York Stone Floor cleaned and laid next to the alcoves

The York Stone slabs laid