If you own a historic property, it’s likely that you purchased it for a reason or reasons, usually related to the aesthetics of the home. This means that when you renovate the house, you should keep in mind a few important historical details.
The exterior brickwork, sash windows, and exterior doors may all fall under this category. These historic home characteristics could disappear or get damaged over time. However, there are several improvements you can make right now to give your house the greatest possible look. The façade of the house is typically what most people would notice first and what genuinely gives the impression of a historic home, even though there are many intricate internal aspects that can help with planning out renovations on a period property.
In this article, we’ll look at the most popular methods for revitalizing a period property’s tired-looking exterior.
Refresh Exterior Finishes
You could desire to change the current exterior finish for a variety of reasons. If your property has stone cladding from the 1970s or 1980s, pebbledash, uneven bricks, or a combination of different exterior materials, you may remove them or, even simpler, cover them with another material to give your home an entirely new appearance. As it is durable and simple to maintain, cladding over pebbledash is frequently done, but it can seem fairly harsh, especially on boxy estate properties.
The simplest and least expensive solution is to just paint the house with masonry paint in a neutral color, like white, to help harmonize the various elements. You should budget for this to cost you a few hundred pounds. In the event that the original brickwork has been harmed, rendering the exterior walls and repainting may be a preferable solution. Or, cladding your home’s outside will significantly alter its appearance if you want to give it a fresh, modern look.
Here are some material types that you can use if you consider changing up your exterior finishes:
- One of the least expensive solutions is PVCu cladding. Price-wise, colored or wood-effect PVCu is comparable to the cost of plywood. It should last up to 20 years because it requires little maintenance and is simple to clean. A cellular core found in some PVCu cladding provides good thermal resistance.
- Epoxy, phenolic, or polypropylene resin is compressed with impregnated paper or wood fibers to create laminate cladding. It can have colored pigments added to the surface during curing, making a range of colors and finishes available. It is strong and scratch-resistant. It is not only essentially weatherproof but also quite simple to clean.
- Stone powder and top-notch acrylic resins are the main components of composite cladding, which is another solid option you can consider for this type of works. Color-enhancing pigments are also used in the production of this material. It is extremely weather-resistant and is simple to clean, mold, and install.
- Both modern and some older properties go well with wood boarding. While feather-edged boards can overlap and have irregular edges, shiplap boarding has straight tongue-and-groove edges. Softwoods like pine or spruce are the least expensive choice. Hardwoods like oak, chestnut, or larch can either be treated with a fire-retardant coating or let to weather naturally.
- Fiber-cement weatherboarding, being a composite material, is durable, won’t twist or warp with time, is frost-proof and fire-resistant, comes pre-finished, requires no upkeep, as an annual hose down will be sufficient, and they won’t rust or decay.
- Although pricey, metal is a low-maintenance and weatherproof material. To protect its finish, it might be delivered painted, powder-coated, aged, or coated. Steel is the most cost-effective material and should last for at least 30 years; lightweight aluminum is good for 40; untreated zinc weathers to resemble lead and should last for 50; and copper develops a verdigris finish and should endure for 100 years.
- Masonry paint is a quick and inexpensive technique to hide an unsightly, weathered exterior of a period property. Textured surfaces work especially well to conceal small cracks. It can conceal subpar or mismatched brickwork on historic structures and give modern homes a clean finish.
- Concrete render may cause dampness and rot, and thus shouldn’t be utilized with the lime mortar masonry of many historical buildings. Use a flexible, breathable, and easy-to-maintain silicon-based render. For new homes and over masonry, lime render might be an eco-friendly option.
When it comes to whether or not you would require a building permission to perform renovation-aimed work on your period home’s exterior, extensions may be constructed under permitted development using materials that complement the existing structure, but you will probably need planning permission if you want contrasting cladding.
One must always evaluate whether cladding will alter the building’s eco performance because Building Control at your local council will be concerned whether the house complies with thermal efficiency rules. Some will improve insulation, but it’s critical to keep airflow intact. If your home is in a conservation area or a listed structure, careful thought must be given to how installing cladding may affect the design and construction of your home.
Once you’ve set your mind on the material to updo your period property’s façade, you can also consider additional items of any building’s exterior design that may require your attention.
Utilizing Brickwork For Your Exterior
Repointing brickwork entails meticulously repacking the mortar that lies in between the bricks or stone blocks that make up the outside of your property. When you consider the money you’ll save on fixing dampness or other problems within the home, the cost of repointing brickwork isn’t all that high.
The majority of people opt to repoint brickwork by themselves. However, you’ll need the appropriate tools and be able to work at heights. This indicates that it is a task that is frequently better left to experts.
Repairing Wooden Sash Windows
Period homes often have large windows. It may be necessary to replace wooden sash windows if they have seen significant wear and tear or if they have been neglected over time. Modern timber sash windows can be replaced on a like-for-like basis, and these newer models will feature increased glass.
The majority of homeowners will try to use as much of the original materials from the historic home as they can. However, there are some situations where you might need to choose alternatives. If you prefer uPVC sash windows, which can survive the weather considerably better and perhaps offer a more durable and long-lasting solution, you can choose to replace your old wooden sash windows with new wooden sash windows.
Giving Timber Doors Appreciation They Deserve
A historic home’s distinctive feature is its front entrance. This might have elaborate glass surrounds that might draft. The front door could need to be replaced, and when doing so, it’s crucial to take your home’s security into account.
If your current door is quite ancient, it might not be able to offer much security. However, the beauty of the historical look need not be sacrificed in order to increase the security of your home. Modern timber doors can still have the traditional design while being much more secure.
Look Into Plastering, If Necessary
Period homes, specifically those that incorporate Victorian elements in its façade style, typically had plaster ceiling roses and cornices, and the level of intricacy varied depending on the status of the room. Plasterwork grew increasingly elaborate after reinforced fiber plaster moldings entered mass production because general tradespeople could create and install prefabricated moldings. And there are a few things you can do to repair the damage that time and outside elements can cause to plaster elements of your façade.
Surface stains, including mold, can be eliminated by dabbing the plastered elements with a solution of one part bleach to sixteen parts water. It is advisable to strip the plaster back to the original distemper if the fine detail of the plasterwork has been hidden by numerous layers of paint.
And this concludes our overview on what can be done to bring a fresh look and new life to your period property. These tips and ideas can enable you to renovate your property’s exterior and life the whole building a new life and raise property value while maintaining the charm and historical appeal that makes it so special in the first place.
