Surveying a Haddenham house before painting
The first job is a walk round the whole house with Graham, who notes blown render, cracked brick, soft timber and loose putty. Those repairs go into the written quotation, and bigger joinery goes to our carpenter. Walls with green growth are jet washed with an anti-fungal wash and allowed to dry, as on our Cambridge exterior restoration.
Roughly 16% of the parish's houses predate 1919, and their older walls need a masonry paint that breathes. Whether to paint previously bare brick at all is something Graham will give you an honest view on. Our masonry and render painting page covers the products.
Colour in Haddenham's two conservation areas
The parish has two conservation areas, Haddenham and Haddenham Hill Row, and 16 listed buildings. If your house is listed or sits in a prominent spot, talk to East Cambridgeshire District Council before a big colour change, and we'll paint a trial area so you can see it in daylight.
On houses from the 1960s to the 1990s, the roofline usually needs the most attention: fascias, soffits and bargeboards that haven't been recoated for years.
Haddenham at a glance
- 10 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 16 minutesOSRM routing
- 92%are houses rather than flatsCensus 2021
- 51%of homes are detachedCensus 2021
- 16%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 2conservation areaslocal council
- 10%were built 1945 to 1964VOA Council Tax stock
How we approach exterior painting
Walls are cleaned with an anti-fungal jet wash first. Loose paint on timber is scraped and sanded, small patches of rot cut out and filled, and bare wood primed before undercoat and top coat. Render cracks are filled and masonry gets a breathable paint. Gutters and downpipes go in the same run as the fascias, and outside work pauses whenever rain is forecast. The full method, products and FAQs are on our exterior painting page.