Before & After - 4 story 1970’s townhouse in Highgate, London
LLI Design
5 years ago
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Stephanie Hayes
5 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (100)Dear @judibutler I assume you are referring to a wall which is wholly above ground and that you have completely ruled out damp tracking into the wall from above. A lot depends on the size and thickness of the wall and other factors, such as if the building is listed. Damp penetration (driving rain) through granite walls has been an ongoing problem in church towers in the southwest of England for some time. Ironically the problem often seems to get worse after re-pointing in lime. Granite is fairly impervious and was often in laid in large blocks meaning trapped water has little chance of getting out through thin mortar joints. Historic England held an excellent conference on the subject in 2013; the transcript of proceedings can be found at: http://content.historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/research/damp-towers-conf2013-programme-transcripts.pdf A roughcast lime render coat may help, but there could equally be voids in the wall which are holding damp and may need grouting. However, grouting is a very tricky and expensive technique which should not be undertaken lightly, and only works if one knows exactly where the voids are. Over-cladding the whole wall with semi-sacrificial weather boarding may be a last resort. This and rendering are likely to require planning consent. Depending on where you are located, a company like ArchiMetric (www.archimetrics.co.uk) could insert some interstitial moisture monitors into the wall to try and find out exactly where and when the damp is getting in and how it is moving through the wall, but this may be expensive. Some localised investigation by dismantling pockets of stone may be useful. The Society of Ancient Buildings helpline (mornings only on 020 7456 0916) may be able to help with specialists in your area. Most importantly try to get an understanding of how water is getting into and moving through your wall before you embark on anything. If your problems relate to below-ground damp then a different response will be needed....See MoreWin an iPad Mini - Vote for your favourite film-inspired interior 2016
Comments (185)Thanks everybody for voting - the competition is now over! And the winner is... Something's Gotta Give! A frontrunner and favourite from the start, you guys didn't hide your adoration for Nancy Meyers Hamptons styled home. The winner will be emailed today confirming their prize so keep an eye on your inbox! Thank you all again for taking part, and we hope you all enjoyed the real ceremony too - all we'll say on that is at last!...See MoreChoosing aluminium sliding doors
Comments (16)It sounds like you need some fully coloured up / rendered drawings [elevations or 3D] of at least two options [maybe more], one with white frames and one with grey / anthracite frames so you can compare. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, just your personal preference. I usually specify an off white / ivory colour for window frames as this is more subtle and doesn't show the dirt as much. You could possibly look at a very light grey / silver as an alternative. Depending on the manufacturer and cost you could go for a coloured anodised finish which will give it a slight sparkly sheen. You can also get bi-coloured frames, different colours inside and out. I think anthracite coloured and bi-fold will look clunky and out dated in a few years, fashions come and go. If you don't want curtains overhanging the frames 750mm probably better than 600. However, speak to your curtain co. now before you get the work done as they should be able to tell you how much wall space you need. Thicker curtains with backing fabric take up more space. Have you considered timber blinds as an alternative, shouldn't take up as much space? Personally, I think a split of 3 panes is better. Always in odd nos, 3, 5, 7, etc. This means your eyes subconsciously centre on the middle pane. This is quite a classical, ordered approach [look at stately homes porticos] but it works. If worried about visible glazing frames go for ultra slim sliders such as ID Systems 'the edge' or Schueco, Raynaeurs are good but expensive....See MoreCLOSED In need of a makeover? WIN a bespoke design for your space!
Comments (90)Houzz competition I know the deadline has passed but I would like for you to see this. (The photos are not uploading properly) As embarrassing as it has been for myself and my mum; over the course of my life, I have lived in such a beautiful neighbourhood in the Blackfriars area for over 22 years and the only renovation or decoration that was done was in our kitchen by the council which was lovely. We also got a really nice gentleman to fix our blinds in the kitchen for us however only one side was done because he mentioned that the measurement was not accurate for the other window area so for months one side has been an open view which at times I don't mind, but everyone loves privacy from time to time. When it comes to the rest of the house - 1. The corridor - the walls are damaged by paint and mould so the walls feel quite rough with cracks which at times Ive hurt myself with small scratches... the corridor is sky blue but I also imagined my corridor in a yellow/magnolia colour with white borders and my mum even bought the paint but till now it was not done. 2. The doors in the corridor that lead to each room are off white and the doors don't shut properly anymore. 3. The toilet is separate to the bathroom it's really old and green colour is very boring, the toilet itself is faulty, the wall between the toilet and bathroom by the window is quite thin so it has ripped a little bit. The pipes are cracked and the mould is showing and I was thinking to get the council to wrap it up in some kind of polystyrene wrap. 4. The bathroom has ABESTOS around the window area as the ventilation is so bad and because the window is high up it is quite hard to reach to always open and close it. The bathroom was repainted white at one point but the colour didn't stay for long. Now it's mouldy and black. The pipes are bad and mouldy and the sink area is cracked around. I had an idea of painting it with the theme white and gold accessories or blue white and gold (which my mum purchased blue paint) but we never got around to doing anything. The bath itself sounds like it's about to fall through and many times there have been leaks downstairs into my neighbours flat. The council just used a cardboard/wooden barriers to cover the bath. 5. The front room had wallpaper before and was painted over. Now, on one side of the room a little bit of the wall paper is coming off very randomly as if it's shrinking (I don't remember taking off anything). The carpet was taken off completely but nothing was done to it. This area has become store space too (due to clutter and books). We have some nice brown/gold curtains which I visualised my living room to have a boutique type elegant brown/gold/cream theme. 6. Bedroom no. 1 has not been dealt with for years and so it has become a clutter room for clothes as well as the corridor. The room colour is sky blue but would love for this room to be an elegant green theme something classy for a mother. 7. Bedroom no. 2 is a baby pink room with the intention of painting the room white with splashes of colour. I started taking some things out and taking out my bed area but it's not complete as you can see by the photos. Overall this interior design is definitely needed because of how long it has taken for the decor process to be done. This is the conundrum that is needed to be solved....See MoreLLI Design
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