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christinaloch

Victorian Terrace Exterior Restoration - bad 20th century updates

christinaloch
3 years ago

We have just bought a victorian terraced house and would love to restore it as much as possible (within our budget) closer to how it originally looked and to others on the street.


It has had a PVC porch put onto the front which we would love to remove and have the sash window reinstated.


We would also love to reinstate the front door placement and have it put back to the original recessed position. The inner ceiling curve which I guess would have been the front of the porch is still there so I don't imagine that part would be a huge job(??)


First image is our house (PVC!) and second image is a bay window in the area which we like (and wouldn't be as intricate stonework as the others).


Would love to hear some opinions and what kind of cost this would be. An initial quote including stone moulds was 30-40k which we found hard to believe?! Therefore won't be getting the moulds! Any advice/suggestions hugely recommended!



Featured Answer
  • Sonia
    3 years ago

    Such a shame when people ruin a period property in this way and good for you for wanting to restore it. I’m no expert but that quote sounds extortionate. I would get two more quotes if I were you and try to use a company recommended to you but friends, neighbours or even your local town Facebook group.

    Comments (7)

    • E D
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      The second photo is probably a good feasible example for the bay (without any frills) but to have a more period sympathetic look, I would go for original style sash windows.

      Will you be replacing your top windows as well?

      christinaloch thanked E D
    • christinaloch
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Would you know what kind of difference in price the two would be? And as for the top windows, we didn’t think anything needed to be done to them. What would you recommend?

    • christinaloch
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Oh yes I didn’t think of using Facebook group. I will try that! Thanks so much

    • E D
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      Ideally, if you replace the bay and its windows you’d want to have the same material and style windows upstairs.

      Your top floor windows aren’t too bad and if you decide to go for UPVC again I would still try and stick to the original style/profile as much as possible. Here’s a couple of Victorian houses similar to yours, that have the original style windows.

      TIMBER WINDOW FRAMES:


      UPVC WINDOW FRAMES (house on the right in photo):


      I wouldn’t go with the vertical bars if UPVC.

      christinaloch thanked E D
    • Rowland
      3 years ago

      Hi Christinaloch

      I think you are right be concerned with the price quoted. it is far too high, so dont accept the quote.

      Looking at your bay, it seems that the decision to add the door and the roof probably happened as a result of the removal of the windows caused damage to the piers and resulted in the change.

      going forward and from my look at the windows above the bay. there might be some movement in the timber bressamer that probably is still in place above the bay. this will need to be replaced as part of the works. quite often the foundations to the front of houses around the bay are inadequate and are mere footings even shallower than the rest of the main walls. you may have to provide a full foundation , especially if you are in a shrinkable clay, which is normal for much of london.

      the construction of the brickwork and forming the walls is a relatively straightforward process and not 30k.

      I would probably put work at

      demolition 2k
      temp propping 800
      new steel 600
      excavate fdns 4k
      brickwork 1.2k
      former to windows 500
      windows 6k
      render 1k
      int plaster 800
      insulation
      roof timbers 1k
      roof/slates/ batten 1k
      gutter 250
      this should cover interior sundries.

      so a budget of 15-20k all in as a maximum.
      I have just thrown figures at it without checking but this price is for a high end professional job careie out with proper skilled tradesmen, not a jobbing builder. I have priced windows as a timber sliding sashes with hardwood cills and double glazed units, so v traditional. you can probably get cheaper if you want to cut the budget.

      hope this gives you a real idea, but please dont waste your money on the quote you were given.

      best

      Rowland

      christinaloch thanked Rowland
    • christinaloch
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thank you so much for such a detailed outline. Will definitely be useful for asking for quotes on this!

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