Over at Holton St Mary we have made further repairs to the timber, more savolit boarding and scratch coat plastering. 

Here's the latest in our mini blog series about period properties. This week we are featuring Georgian Properties, which were built between 1714-1830, during the consecutive reigns of Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV.

Georgian properties were built to be spacious, with grand proportions. Many Georgian properties were built in identical rows over three or four storeys. It was common for the owner and their family to occupy the first and second storeys, which had tall ceilings and windows, and their staff would live on the top storeys, which had smaller rooms with lower ceilings and smaller windows. Windows were commonly sash windows. Georgian properties were built around garden squares, as the houses didn’t have their own gardens. A famous architect of the Georgian period was John Nash, who designed the original Buckingham Palace. London boasts many other Georgian properties as does Cheltenham, and the famous royal crescent in Bath is a magnificent Georgian Building.

Georgian buildings were typically symmetrical, and had huge, main doors, framed by white, stucco-rendered pillars. The bottom floor was commonly rendered, and the rest of the building had exposed brickwork. Later in this period, it was common for the entire building to be rendered. The render was commonly painted white or cream. The exterior would be flat and symmetrical with a balanced interior layout.

Another common feature of Georgian properties was a bricked-up window! The reason for this was that there was a window tax levied on homeowners between 1696 and 1851. The more windows a property had, the bigger it was, and therefore the richer the owner was. To reduce the amount they had to pay, many homeowners at the time bricked up some of their windows, and many were left like this after the tax was lifted.

In 1784, a tax on bricks was also brought in at the rate of 4 shillings per 1,000 bricks. This tax was to pay for wars that were being fought in the American colonies. Some people tried to get around this by making bigger bricks so that they would use less, but the government simply changed the rules and stipulated a maximum size for a brick! The tax was finally abolished in 1850, as it was classed as ‘detrimental to industrial development.’

Georgian interior design features included alcoves, columns that were Roman-inspired, and carved statues. Colours such as greens, mauves and pinks were also common, as were the use of swags, ribbons and garlands as decorations. When restoring a Georgian property, you can make use of the traditional features by enhancing high ceilings with bold lighting, niches and alcoves make great storage solutions, and hunting round salvage yards can yield items that will help you maintain the traditional character. 

We have worked on the restoration of many such properties over the years and are happy to help if you are thinking of embarking on a project restoring a Georgian property.

Progress is coming along nicely at Holton St Mary. We have worked on more elevations. Timber repairs have been carried out and treated with 5-star Cuprinol wood treatment. The building has been insulated with 100mm Sheep's wool insulation and boarded with 25mm Savolit boarding. It has a scratch coat of lime render below in preparation for the lime plaster.

This week we have started a new job in Leavenheath - complete renovation of a Victorian Cottage. A couple of weeks ago we started a mini blog series about different types of period properties Period Properties - What are they? so this seems a good point to expand on that and tell you a little more about Victorian properties. Victorian Properties are those that were built in the reign of Queen Victoria, so from 1837-1901.

In Victorian times, the population of the country more than doubled, so more houses were needed. Therefore Victorian houses were often built out of necessity. The brick tax (more about this in the blog about Georgian properties) was abolished in 1850, and once this was removed, construction of many new homes began.

Victorian homes were commonly made with smaller bricks, and had large bay windows. Many of the houses were terraced, and built on narrow streets. They were often close to factories, to provide housing for the increasing number of workers in the industrial revolution. Many of them were built back-to-back with no garden or proper sanitation. By the end of this era, more decorative styles were common, and builders often added flourishes to houses depending on the wealth of the owners. 

Victorian homes were often one room wide with a narrow hallway leading off to different entertaining rooms, or they were often just simple two-up, two-down houses, unlike the spacious Georgian homes that preceded them. Common features to look out for on Victorian properties are coloured brickwork, high pitched roof, a brick porch, bay windows, narrow hallway, and a fireplace in every room. As far as interior decor went, many had dark furniture and wooden floors. Patterned wallpaper was common, and elaborate design details were included if the owners were wealthy. By the end of the century, red brick and terracotta were commonly used.

If you are renovating a Victorian property today, look out for original features such as traditional coving, skirting boards which were originally painted white, and fireplaces. Reclaim yards can provide some fantastic pieces. 

Back to the property that we are currently renovating...

The work we will be doing includes structural work, new windows and joinery, roof work, drainage, pointing, all internal alterations and upgrades, new heating system, re-wiring, and overhauling the rain water goods. As always we will keep you updated as we progress!

Our job at Holton St Mary is progressing nicely. We have removed the sand and cement render and repaired the building's timbers and applied wood treatment. 

We have put in new, bespoke sash windows, replacement and casement windows. We have also put in sheep's wool insulation and savolit board, both of which are eco-friendly. Sheep's wool is a fantastic natural insulation material which is able to absorb and release excess moisture and as well as this, it has great sound-proofing properties.

This week we have completed the job we were working on in Aldham. We put in a new driveway, carried out pointing of the patio and pathway, put on new garage doors and side gate, repaired and lime plastered the property, installed a French drain, and then did lime wash decoration. We painted the masonry with Earthborn paint, which is environmentally friendly, and great for older buildings as it allows the walls to breathe. It looks fantastic, as you can see!

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While some of the team take a well-earned summer break, we thought we'd use the time between updates on our latest projects, to do a new series of blogs on different types of period properties. As you all are aware, here at K.E. Jones & Son Building Services, we specialise in period property, but not only are we highly skilled in renovating existing period properties, we can also build new properties in the style of older houses. 

Here in the UK, we have a love of all things 'vintage' and 'antique' so it's no surprise that period properties remain highly sought after. Essentially, in the property business, a 'period home' is a home that was built before the First World War (pre 1915). You may also have heard the terms 'Edwardian', 'Victorian' and 'Georgian' when it comes to properties. These names refer to the ruling monarch at the time. We had four consecutive King George's who reigned from 1714 right through to 1830. Any properties built during this time were Georgian. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901, and properties built during this time were Victorian. The Edwardian era was somewhat shorter, as Edward VII reigned from 1901 to 1910. The observant amongst you will have noticed a gap in the years - between 1830 and 1837 King William IV reigned. This era has not been given it's own stylistic description.

Over the next few weeks we will be posting a blog about the types of period properties listed above, their key features, and what to look out for when renovating them.

Following on from last week's blog, we made repairs to the timbers at Holton St Mary, and we are now in the process of installing sheep's wool and savolit board for insulation. Sheep's wool is great as an insulator as it is a high density material. It is also one of the only fibres that has a naturally high nitrogen content, which means that it is flame resistant and self-extinguishing. Sheep's wool is also able to absorb and release excess moisture. It also good for sound proofing. It is a great natural and sustainable insulator, 

The savolit boards that we are using are natural panels made of wood fibres that are compacted and used as an alternative to plasterboard. They have a high resistance to moisture and frost, which as we discussed in a previous blog about damp problems in period properties, makes them a fantastic product to use in these buildings. They are also strong, and able to flex with the building, and like the sheep's wool, they have a low environmental impact.

Last week we told you about our new job in Holton St Mary. We are making good progress. We are removing the render to expose the timber structure. Once this is all off, then repairs on the timber will commence. More pictures to follow!

This week we started a new job in Holton-St-Mary. We will be removing the rough-cast render, replacing casement windows and box sash windows. The property also requires repairs to the timbers, and then lime plastering and decorating. We will keep ypu updated on our progress over the coming weeks.