Facade restoration in North London
Whole-elevation programmes: cracked masonry stitched, mouldings and cornices reformed, defective render cut back and rebuilt, then finished so the front reads as one building again.
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Stone and brick restoration in North London
North London is largely brick: Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Islington and Camden, larger villas around Highgate and Hampstead, and long stretches of stock brick out through Barnet, Southgate and Enfield.
Most of the work here starts with pointing. A great deal of North London brickwork was repointed in hard cement during the seventies and eighties, which traps moisture in the brick and shears the arrises off the face over time. We rake that out by hand and replace it in a lime mortar matched to the original, so the joint stays softer than the brick around it.
The rest tends to be gauged arches, bay fronts and parapets that have moved, along with soot and pollution on the elevations closer to the main roads. We work on listed and conservation-area buildings throughout the boroughs below, and we are happy to look at a facade from a few photographs before anyone comes out to site.
Areas covered
- Islington
- Camden
- Highgate
- Hampstead
- Crouch End
- Muswell Hill
- Finchley
- Barnet
- Southgate
- Enfield
- Stoke Newington
- Holloway
What we do here
Repointing
Cement pointing raked out by hand and replaced in a lime mortar matched to the original mix, with the joint profile kept true to the building rather than smeared over.
More on this serviceBrick cleaning
Paint, graffiti, carbon and organic growth removed with the gentlest system that works, so the brick face and the mortar are left intact.
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Portland and Bath stone frontages cleaned with low-pressure conservation systems - DOFF and TORC - rather than anything that opens up the surface.
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Worn thresholds, sills, copings and window surrounds repaired in matched mortar or indented with new stone cut to the original profile.
More on this serviceStucco and rendering
Hollow and blown sections cut out, re-rendered, ruled to the original lines and painted in a breathable finish.
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Talk to us about your project.
A few photographs of the facade are usually enough for us to understand the scope.