Shropshire Decorators

Upon our arrival at the church we carried out an in-depth survey detailing all the problems within the building. Internally, the church was in a very poor state and had not been properly decorated in over 30 years. A crucial part of the project was liaising with English Heritage, an architect, Diocese Advisory Committee and the Parish Council to ensure any new historical discoveries were properly recorded and each phase completed on time and within budget.

Our main aim was to sympathetically restore the church using traditional materials and methods. With our extensive knowledge and experience, we were able to create a traditional Victorian wood dye made from walnut husks for the timbers, a natural sealant for the walls and a home-made breathable filler. For the paint system (based on the substrate) we chose a specialist natural mineral paint (Keim) which is highly vapour permeable.

The atmosphere within the church has now changed and feels warm and dry; no longer does it feel damp and musky. The modern and contemporary colour scheme respectfully compliments the buildings historical features. And finally, the church can now breathe a new life and will continue to do so for many years to come.

This magnificent Grade II listed manor house situated in Shropshire, was in desperate need of internal and external decoration. Most of the original sash windows were in need of repair, with rotten timbers, ageing putties and flaking paint. This included dilapidated outhouses, failing gutters and exposed woodwork where the old paint had failed.

Internally there was evidence of paint chipping in numerous areas. This is a common problem with older buildings and is usually caused by excessive paint layers which have built up over the years and have become unstable. There was evidence of lead based paint systems and French polish, and the only solution was to strip and remove the paint layers back to the original timbers. Prior to decorating we fully protected all furniture, fixtures and fittings while we carefully progressed throughout the manor house repairing and redecorating using traditional colours and specialist paints.

Now the building is beautifully restored. Both Shropshire Decorators and the inhabitants have rescued this important historical building for future generations to inherit.

These original Victorian shutters were beautifully crafted from old pitch pine. Each of the shutters had over 150 years worth of paint coatings (including layers of lead based paint) and French polish. This has caused the paint to start chipping and cracking in places. The shutters were no longer closing correctly due to the excessive paint layers and additional weight.

We decided that the best course of action would be to use a chemical peel to completely remove all paint layers without damaging the timber (a total of 17kg of paint was removed from each shutter!). The shutters were then cleaned and sanded back to the original timber. Repairs were carried out to the mortise and tenon joints and one of the panels was replaced. They were then re-hung, and left to acclimatise prior to painting using a traditional paint system.

Now the shutters have been fully restored, they look wonderful and brand new once again.