Follow up work on the Alcoves

Posted on by

The Discovery of the alcoves / chapel in our latest renovation has provided a great test for our period brick work and Lime Mortar skills…………………

In The last entry on this fascinating feature……

We talked about uncovering the feature

Alcoves showing the lime mortar work

And how the membrane is in place and the first coat of plaster applied.

A membrane was needed as the feature is underground and really damp. It is now completely dry and is rapidly becoming part of the room as the works proceed.

From the outset it has been important to ensure the the works we did were well recorded and also ‘reversible’ in that nothing we do cannot be undone ,leaving the original feature as found.

Being a lime mortar specialist company , we naturally opted for a lime mortar rather than cement based. With this in mind we have used an NHL 3.5 lime mixed 3:1 with a sharp aggregate and just a little putty to enhance the plasticity of the mix.

To increase the bonding we mixed in a generous amount of cow hair

The lime and hair sourced from Mike Wye and Associates who we find a reliable and very knowledgeable company.

This ‘scratch coat’ helps to stiffen up the membrane and as it is an NHL lime will cure more effectively onto the membrane surface.We thought that a hydrated putty based lime would take a lot longer to cure as well as perhaps having less strength in this context of the membrane.(see pic).

The final stage will be to apply a coat of Anglia Lime’s haired chalk plaster ( Angia Lime Company, Fishers farm,Sudbury, Suffolk).

This wonderful plaster is as close as we have been able to get to the original mix- a creamy consistency, with a heavy dose of hair, it dries slowly to a beautiful finish – we are looking forward to this final stage of the plastering aspect of the project!

We have decided on a york stone floor for the feature- there was no evidence of any other finish and the york stone just looks right!

Oak issues!

As the property is at least 16th Century ,there is a lot of oak in the form of posts, beams and joists.

Exposed oak beams

oak Beams

Unfortunately it has been heavily infested with Death Watch beetle and also furniture beetle to a lesser extent. This means that some of the structural timbers have, or will fail and must be replaced like for like with reclaimed oak sourced from local suppliers wherever possible,Not an easy task -sounds easy until one wants oak of a given length, breadth ,in good condition and of course matching as best we can in colour and texture!

One of the best methods is to recycle the best bits from the oak we have removed-the beetles often follow the sap wood and this can leave lengths of heart wood untouched in the same beam. This oak is of course a perfect match as it is from the house.

The issues come when a long length is needed and we have to go shopping!

We have sourced some of our oak beams from Tw Gaze salvage auctions , but this is always pot luck- great fun though!

Another good source has been Heritage Building Supplies ,who stock a wide range of architectural salvage materials.

Cutting and jointing 400 year old oak is hard work as it tends to be as hard as iron, but really satisfying to see the building coming alive again using traditional practices blended carefully with some contemporary materials such as good insulation and Heraklith Board upon which we place the haired chalk plaster.

( more on this in later entries).

Inglenook fireplace restoration

Featured

Posted on by

We are frequently asked to restore Inglenook fireplaces and they can be really satisfying to take on as they are such a feature to a room.

Inglenook fireplaces, like all of our work, require a careful, patient and highly skilled approach-our craftsmen are used to working this way and understand that they have a great responsibility for the protection of our architectural heritage in their hands.

One such’ inglenook ‘was as usual, in quite a sorry state with cracks, patches and other damage to the soft Norfolk Red bricks,

Original brickwork revealed

Showing original brick work

along with a less conscientious addition of modern brick infills.

This one had been dramatically reduced in size to take a 1930s tiled fireplace, so the owner had no idea that behind it was an original large fireplace dating to at least 18th C and probably older.

The original fire was an open one of course and as is often the case the fire had eaten into the soft brick at the base of the fire back- this had to be replaced( see pic).

The original hearth had long gone except for a couple of floor bricks left in situ which gave us inspiration for the hearth design.

Lime Mortar mix for the Inglenook fireplace

The original lime mortar has suffered and many bricks were in a poor condition, but fortunately the bressemer beam was in good order, clearly, as is often the case, it had been something else before being used as a fireplace beam as there are mortices cut into it! (recycling is no new thing!).

Having cut out and replaced the damaged brick, the mortar joints were raked out, the wall washed down, cleaned and ready for re-pointing.

We are very careful to get as close as we can to the original ‘recipe’ of aggregate, lime and other additives. As members of SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) we take great care with any work to a structure,such as mortar analysis, as this attention to detail can make all the difference to a successful restoration.

For the mortar for this project we used a medium sharp aggregate, blended with some of the original lime mortar crushed down.

The lime putty was supplied by Ty-Mawr http://www.lime.org.uk/ we used their Coarse putty.

Pointing is a skilled job, lots can go wrong unless you understand the process, the materials and the need to ‘tend’ to the mortar as it dries. Done well it is the crowning glory, but bad pointing can be an eyesore!

The hearth had just a couple of original floor bricks left in place-these were enough for us to work on, but I suspect that the very first hearth was York stone, as a slab had been let into the floor in front of the fireplace.

This evidence gave the client options- earlier York stone or slightly later floor bricks as the hearth- they opted to keep the York stone slab, but put the floor bricks over it-keeping both features for the future a great solution!

The clients opted for the herring bone pattern, though there is no evidence that this would have been the one used( see pics)

The bessemer was cleaned back and given a generous drink of linseed oil, nothing more.

Restoration of the Fire brick hearth and surrounding Brick work

Inglenook fire place restoration

Overall the fireplace is a great success- the restoration from a 1930s tiled surround to its former glory allows the house to celebrate this lovely feature.

The clients are to install a woodburning stove once the lime has had the chance to cure and so the story of this inglenook goes on to another generation or so- job done!

another angle showing resoration

Restoration of an inglenook fireplace

Inglenook fireplace showing restoration to the hearth

Inglenook Fireplace

Posted on by

Our current renovation of period property involves restoration form top to bottom of the property. we have uncovered many hidden gems and the bricked up Inglenook fireplace is no exception.

Once we have cleared the bricks, the full restoration of the fireplace can begin.

Inglenook fireplaces are central features to many period properties and correctly and professionally restored will add so much to any property.

As work on the fireplace moves forward we will bring you more in depth reports of the fireplace restoration.

Latest renovation project – Period brickwork and features

Posted on by

Period Brickwork is a delicate business and the lime mortars we would use can be compromised by the weather…

Therefore we do not work in lime mortars externally between late Oct and the end of the serious frost in the spring. This is the time of  year when  we undertake the majority of our bespoke internal renovations.
At present we are the main contractors for a complete renovation of a very interesting period town house.
The property has had many phases of additions and alterations, a good part of it dates from around the 1550s, with ‘Tudor’ bricks and extensive oak timber framing.
There is a large Georgian section to the upper floors,built on top of the earlier phase, which might just coincide with a fire we think,which swept through the area.
There is a basement to the property and in it we uncovered an amazing  and very early feature which had been bricked in -looks a bit like a small cave,  lime rendered ,with small niches to two sides-see pics.
The current thinking is that it may well have had a religious function- the to niches are apparently the right orientation for an altar and ‘lady chapel’.
Anyway, a great feature to restore and quite a challenge too- will add photos and an update as we progress with it.
View of the alcove restoration

Have also uncovered an inglenook fire place,again bricked up which we will be restoring soon and to one upper room an interesting oak framed window,which we will be restoring.
The clients are very keen to restore the property, bringing out as many of the relevant phases as practical, but also bringing the home up to modern standards of comfort- a real bespoke project which takes time & understanding of traditional building techniques,skill and patience!

Welcome to our blog

Posted on by

Well, I never thought I would be doing this, but it demonstrates that you never stop learning!-new adventure in this Blog-no idea where it will take me and I am sure mistakes will be made, but that is all part of the adventure,so here goes! Continue reading →