Georgian frontages, estuary weather and honest repairs.
Rochester is the other end of my patch and a regular run for me. The old High Street and the streets running off it hold one of the best collections of Georgian frontages in Kent, and behind a lot of those frontages are the original sash windows, still working after two hundred years or more.
Away from the historic core, Rochester and the wider Medway towns are full of Victorian terraces built for a working river town. They are more modest windows than the High Street houses, but they were well made, and they are almost always worth saving rather than replacing.
I quote for Medway work exactly as I quote for work on the doorstep. There is no travel charge, no call out fee and no pressure, and I will tell you plainly if I think a window does not need the work you were expecting to pay for.
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Restoration House, Crow Lane, Rochester. Photo by ClemRutter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rochester sits on the Medway estuary, and salt laden air is the single hardest thing a painted timber window has to deal with. Salt holds moisture against the paint film, freeze and thaw cycles work it loose, and once the surface is broken the timber underneath takes water fast. Windows here need their paint kept intact far more urgently than windows twenty miles inland.
The result I see most often is decay concentrated in sills, bottom rails and the lower corners of the frame, while the upper sash is still perfectly sound. That is good news, because it means a targeted splice repair and a proper repaint saves the window, and there is no need to touch the parts that are still doing their job.
Every job in Rochester starts the same way: a free survey, an honest conversation about what your windows actually need, and a written quote with no pressure attached.
Complete restoration of original timber sashes, done the traditional way.
Find out moreDecayed sections cut out and matching new timber spliced in.
Find out moreSnapped cords and unbalanced sashes put right so windows glide again.
Find out moreCracked panes, failed putty and slimline double glazed upgrades.
Find out moreMuch of central Rochester is a conservation area and a great many of the buildings along and around the High Street are listed. The windows are usually a significant part of why. Replacing them is rarely straightforward and rarely approved, and it would be a shame in any case.
Repair is almost always the better route, both for consent and for cost. Decayed timber is cut out and spliced, mouldings are matched, original glass is retained, and draught proofing is fitted so that it can be removed again in future without a trace. That approach keeps the building intact and keeps the paperwork simple.
No. Medway is a normal part of my working week and quotes are on the same basis as anywhere else, with no call out charge and free site visits.
Yes, Rochester, Chatham, Strood, Gillingham and the surrounding villages, as well as out towards Maidstone and the Hoo peninsula.
Not if the paint system is right. I strip failed coatings back properly, treat and prime the bare timber and finish with Zinsser systems as an approved applicator. Done properly, that protects the window for years rather than months.
Yes. I work on Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed properties regularly, using like for like repairs and traditional methods, and I will identify anything that needs consent before any work begins.
Based between Blackheath and the Medway towns, covering South East London, Kent and Essex. Not on the list? Get in touch anyway, I can often help with specific projects.