Exterior painting for 1970s to 1990s houses
Close to half of Cottenham's properties were built between 1965 and 1999, Council Tax records show. By now many have fascias, soffits and bargeboards that have been painted several times, with the paint lifting at the joints. We scrape back to a firm edge, prime the bare wood and fill open joints before the top coats. Soffit and fascia painting explains that part of the job.
Masonry gets an anti-fungal jet wash to remove algae and dirt, then cracks are filled and the walls painted in a coating chosen for brick or render.
House painting in the Cottenham conservation area
Cottenham's conservation area and its 65 Grade II buildings mean some homes need a more careful choice of colour. Before repainting a listed house, or one in the conservation area, in a new colour, check with South Cambridgeshire District Council.
On older walls, breathable mineral or limewash finishes may suit better than modern masonry paint, and our limewash and mineral paint page has more.
Cottenham at a glance
- 3 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 6 minutesOSRM routing
- 94%are houses rather than flatsCensus 2021
- 43%of homes are detachedCensus 2021
- 15%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 1conservation arealocal council
- 5%were built 1945 to 1964VOA Council Tax stock
How we approach exterior painting
On a Cottenham semi we survey every elevation, note repairs and book our carpenter for any rotten timber. Walls are washed with an anti-fungal solution and left to dry, loose paint scraped and sanded, and bare wood primed. Glass, paths and borders are masked, and we paint from the roofline down in dry, settled weather. The full method, products and FAQs are on our exterior painting page.