One of Kent's finest Georgian streets, treated with respect.
West Malling has one of the best preserved Georgian high streets in Kent, and it is a genuine pleasure to work on. The buildings along it have survived because successive owners looked after them rather than modernised them, and the windows are a big part of what makes the street look the way it does.
Beyond the High Street there are handsome Victorian houses, older cottages and a good deal of property within the conservation area. It is a small place with an unusually high proportion of buildings where the right approach to windows genuinely matters.
I work here on the same basis as everywhere else. Free survey, free written quote, no call out charge, and a clear explanation of what each window actually needs rather than a single figure for the lot.
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20 High Street, West Malling. Photo by Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Georgian sashes are lighter and finer than the Victorian windows that came after them. The glazing bars are slim, the mouldings are delicate and the timber sections are smaller, which means a heavy handed repair stands out immediately. Matching the profile exactly is not a detail here, it is the whole job.
A lot of West Malling windows still hold original glass, with the gentle ripple and slight distortion that only comes with age. Wherever a pane is sound it stays, and where a sash has to be rebuilt the old glass comes out and goes back in. Modern float glass in a Georgian frontage is obvious from across the street.
Every job in West Malling 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 moreA great many properties in and around West Malling are listed or sit within the conservation area, and windows are usually one of the features that gave the building its listing in the first place. Replacement is rarely appropriate and rarely permitted.
That suits how I prefer to work anyway. Everything is like for like, mouldings and sections are matched to the originals, original glass is retained, and any modern improvement such as draught proofing is routed in so that it is invisible from the street and can be taken out again without leaving a mark. If consent is likely to be needed I will say so at the survey and give you a written specification to support the application.
Yes, regularly, including Grade 1 and Grade 2. All work is like for like using traditional materials and methods, and anything likely to need consent is identified before work starts.
It should not be. Spliced timber is matched for section and grain, joints are cut properly rather than filled, and once primed and painted a good splice repair is invisible.
Yes, West Malling, East Malling, Kings Hill, Leybourne, Wateringbury and the surrounding villages, as well as Maidstone and the Medway towns.
Yes, and sympathetically. The seals are routed discreetly into the frames and beads so nothing shows, the window still slides as it should, and the work is fully reversible. It carries a 10 year performance guarantee.
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.