This project entailed the removal of render from the front of the property and then a detailed & multi-faceted repair of the brickwork as well as the installation of handmade oak framed windows.
Removing render is a physically difficult process and the brickwork beneath can be damaged as a result. This project required the approval of the Local authority conservation officer and once this obtained, the clients removed the majority of the render themselves with care and diligence.
The brickwork underneath the render had been affected to some extent. In some cases, some of the fire skin or face of the bricks had been lost, yet in others, the render was removed with no collateral damage. As a result of the removal of the render and the effects of inappropriate repair, the brickwork required various types of repairs:
Cleaning
Brick replacement
Turning bricks around
Pigmented repairs to repair lightly affected bricks
Insertion of stainless helical reinforcement
Rebuilding sections of brickwork using a carefully sourced brick
Patch repointing
Natural pigment colour washing
Cement render and removal. The grey discolouration is left by the render.
Cleaning of any traditional material requires caution and testing to ensure the correct equipment & procedure is adopted. Some methods such as sand blasting were not considered as they will often cause damage to the substrate, stripping off patina and surface material.
Here, high pressure, low output steam cleaning was used in conjunction with hand cleaning. The aim here was to remove a coat of cement left behind after the render.
This was largely successful and paved the way for the brick repair phase which included patch lime pointing & prevention of moisture ingress bearing in mind that elements of the original timber frame sat behind this brickwork. Once complete, the use of natural pigment colour washes carefully matched to the brickwork enhanced the natural colour of the bricks.
Modern built sections of brickwork were removed, and lime-built work inserted. Window reveals were also reconstructed as they were both incorrectly repaired and poorly bonded.
A view of the cottage post render removal
Damaged window reveal prior to reconstruction
When the windows had been inserted in the 1970s, large amounts of cement had been used to fill gaps at the reveals and this and damaged brick had to be removed back to sound bonded brickwork in order that they could be rebuilt correctly & prior to the installation of the new windows.
The finished cottage
