We were really pleased to be asked to work on a Grade 2 Listed Building renovation project for a beautiful cottage in Hinton Charterhouse near Bath.
The property, back in the early to mid 1900’s was used as a public house, and although the property boasts some lovely features and quirks it had clearly been the recipient of some unsympathetic alterations over the years. Many elements of the building were in complete disrepair and would need full replacement, which listed buildings consent would be required for.
Externally, we replaced all the windows at the rear of the cottage, plus 2x dormer windows at the front as well as creating 2x large patio door openings which would allow the owners a lovely alfresco dining courtyard. All doors and windows were handmade by our local joiner.
The heavy duty cast iron gutters were also in need of some TLC, and were duly repaired and repainted.
We installed a modern heating system with separate hot water cylinder to allow for luxurious, high pressure showers simultaneously if required. The property has the facility to convert an outbuilding into accommodation in the future, so it was essential that the boiler set up was chosen to accommodate that option in the future.
With practicality in mind, we installed a tiled dog wash in the property’s boot room. During the project the inclusion of a “dog wash” became a bit of a joke between myself and the clients as we could all see that it was a little over the top! Never the less, I imagine they are already reaping the rewards of a clean dog in these winter months.
Internally, we had some wall- knock through work to carry out, this was carried out using 2 steels. However, before we could carry out this element we needed to deal with the lack of lintels above the windows on the entire South elevation of the building. Cracks were evident which indicated that all was not well with this element of the building! In order to fix the problem we installed 2 more steel’s and clad the face with rebated Bath stone in order to blend in with the existing Bath stone.
Once the internal walls were knocked through and Steel work complete we could then focus on the plastering and flooring. The flooring chosen by the client was a lovely engineered oak herringbone pattern, supplied by Luxury flooring and furnishings.
On the first floor of the property, the Bathroom was the main focus of our attention. Before we began work, whilst in the Bathroom anyone above 5’10” would have to crouch over as the ceiling was so low. So our first job, was to remove this ceiling, strengthen the original rafters and insulate accordingly, creating a vaulted ceiling which would make a huge difference to the feel of the Bathroom.
The Burlington Bathroom fixtures and fittings were chosen with a stylish and sympathetic approach, giving the property the Bathroom that it deserved.
Every bedroom required a complete overhaul, that comprised of lime plastering on external walls, gypsum plastering on internal walls, ceiling and floor repairs as well as new radiators and lighting where required.
The top floor of the property posed some significant challenges; no level surfaces, curved walls and ceilings and plenty of features that needed attention. One of the top floor rooms had been planned to be used as a child’s bedroom in the future. So the lack of handrail above a very steep winding staircase was of slight concern. Luckily, in the outbuilding we found some original elm beams that had been stored for many years. With the application of some detailed, skilled craftmanship we were able to create a section of spindles and handrail that tied in perfectly with the existing section.
The property also had many natural rubble stone walls that required attention. Many hours were spent removing the thick nicotine stains, removing blown render and re-pointing with breathable lime mortar.
The clients, Sam and Ella, with their young baby; Winifred were ecstatic with the results that we had achieved and were very excited to move back in to their house. We wish you all the best for the future and hope that you are very happy in your Beautiful Swan of a house!