4 minute read
All windows great and small
Preservation is the name of the game, and this is especially true of historic buildings. PDA Member firm Douglas Gillie and Son Painting and Decorating had the task of protecting the external paintwork on a beautiful grade I listed 18th Century mansion in Belford, North Northumberland and returning the paintwork to the original Georgian colours. Douglas outlined to The Decorator how this extensive project was undertaken...
The hall had been renovated and converted into private residential apartments in the 1980s after the building was left derelict during WW2. The residents of the 16 apartments are responsible for managing and maintaining the heritage of the building.
The aim of the project was mainly to preserve and protect the external paintwork, including 126 sash windows and doors, given that it is a grade I listed heritage building, but also to change the colours of all windows, doors and metalwork back to original Georgian colours. All colours chosen were from the Farrow and Ball palette, windows and doors in Oxford Stone, gutters and downpipes London Stone, railings, grids and the main entrance doors in Hague Blue.
With the building being so large, it was important to have an organised plan in place for how the work was going to be undertaken and when each elevation was going to be completed, with consistent communication with the residents maintained throughout to ensure it all ran smoothly.
The project was split in to two phases, phase one being south elevations of the villa and wings, west elevation of the villa, east elevation of villa and the east pavilion. Phase two consisted of the north elevations, west elevation of the wing and block of 17 garage doors.
The use of a cherry picker was required for access to the upper-level windows and metalwork, with all surfaces correctly prepared and painted with a traditional oil-based system as specified.
The sash windows and doors required cleaning to remove any dirt and algae, scraping and sanding down to remove loose and flaking paint, and then putty where necessary. Any bare wood was base coated and primed, including the sash bars where putty had been removed.
The windows then required filling to remove surface defects, sanding down, sealing and re-glazing where necessary prior to a first coat of Sandtex Trade Flexible Primer Undercoat and finished with two coats of Sandtex Trade Eggshell X-tra.
Although no major issues arose during the project, there were a few small obstacles to overcome such as making sure the lawns remained undamaged when using the cherry picker. We overcame this by hiring a cherry picker on tracks which is compact and could be driven around the narrow gravel paths via remote control, the stabilisers extend out and sit on top of pads to self-level which kept the lawns in good condition. Another small obstacle to overcome was removing and painting the ventrolla sash windows to ensure the seals remained paint free.
We were very pleased with the finish, and the project was an overall success with both phases being completed over the summer. The colours used compliment the natural stonework and Palladian features of the building very well, and most importantly the windows, doors, gutters and downpipes are protected and will be looking good for years to come.
