A Sympathetic Success

Set in one of England’s most picturesque villages, this former Post Office had suffered from years of neglect. The house, albeit loved for a long time by a previous family was not well-maintained and the new owners had a real job on their hands. To give you some idea of how much work had to be done, a fully grown tree had to be removed from the inside of the property!

Working with listed building is never straight forward and Historic England is quite particular about the approach of those seeking to bring old buildings back to life. The owners, having worked successfully with Windows Etc before, immediately enlisted Joe’s help in sourcing the right kind of timber windows.

Joe knew immediately where to head; Bereco, one of Windows Etc’s leading suppliers of high quality timber windows. The profiles were perfect for the job, stunningly crafted and lovingly finished. Attention to detail was key from inside and out, a prime example being the inclusion of mock butt hinges to maintain the historic appearance of modern casements.

The timber windows were custom built and finished in a Farrow & Ball paint as specified by the planners in order to fit in with the surrounding historic buildings. The owners needed Windows Etc ‘in their team’ because this sort of job is a serious investment in the building, time and funds. The detail didn’t stop on the outside, these beautiful timber windows were finished off with sympathetic catches and security and detailed with traditional monkey-tail ironmongery for the window furniture. In a similar way, the timber door was manufactured and finished to blend in with the ancient stock-brick floor in the side entrance and the lintels were finished with bell-drips and lead work to ensure all restoration conditions were met.

You’ll see from the photos what kind of challenge we were up against and hope you’ll agree that the finish was a triumph.