Specialist façade painting and decorating services
The character and condition of the windows defines the overall appearance of a façade – and nowhere more so than on historic buildings.
Thomann-Hanry® have a proven track record of best practice and industry-leading techniques in the preservation, repair and upkeep of the windows and all other timberwork on historic buildings. Better still, we work from Mobile Elevated Work Platforms, avoiding the need to shroud a building in unsightly scaffolding for months on end.
A fundamental aspect of window maintenance is the thorough examination of all timberwork for signs of rot – especially in less accessible areas, where damage can worsen undetected. We inspect your windows and glazing for any signs of damage, checking for cracked and rotten wood in need of repair and redecoration. Then, working with the best materials and processes, we apply the most appropriate methods for effective, durable timber and window repair, painting and decoration.
Façade painting and decorating contractor
We don’t just repair and decorate windows, we also remove any defective putty and sealants and replacing them to ensure that windows are free from leaks that might lead to water ingress. Where paint is peeling, it’s important to redecorate before the exposed timber starts to rot. If the windows are beyond repair, reconstruction work not only restores the building’s appearance but also provides essential protection from the elements.
Types of windows our team can repair and decorate include:
- UPVC windows
- Timber windows
- Sash windows
- Metal windows
- Crittall windows
- Single glazed windows with putty
From a conservation perspective, redecoration is the most sustainable and carbon-efficient approach for heritage buildings of this age. Professor John Edwards, MA, DipBldgCons, CEnv, FCIOB, FRICS, IHBC, an internationally renowned authority on building conservation, Chartered Environmentalist and valued Thomann-Hanry® collaborator, comments:
There are many buildings that have retained their original windows which are hundreds of years old, and even if they are just a few decades old, it makes sense to retain them and look after them properly. This is the sustainable approach to buildings and the most carbon-efficient approach. Those with a view that we have to replace existing older timber windows with new windows in order to make the windows more energy efficient are misguided. It is possible to improve the thermal efficiency of an existing window and even repairing an existing window can improve its thermal performance.
Research by Glasgow Caledonian University for Historic Environment Scotland established an energy efficiency improvement of 15% by just repairing the window! However, these repairs have to be undertaken properly which means taking the right approach, the most appropriate skills, and knowledge. If we do not maintain windows properly, they will decay and fall into disrepair. Keeping on top of such maintenance is both economically beneficial and beneficial in terms of being both carbon and energy-efficient.
“It is unfortunate that the way we assess the energy performance of buildings does not take into account maintenance and repair”, says Prof. Edwards.
In reality, however, maintenance and repair do improve the thermal performance of buildings. Where masonry enclosing walls are concerned, as stated in BS7913, the British Standard for historic buildings, damp building fabric can be over a third less energy efficient. This indicates the need to keep the enclosing walls of a building in good repair as a way of improving the energy performance of the building.
Within the BSI PAS 2038, the recently published standard for improving the energy efficiency of non-domestic buildings, it states in the side notes that maintenance and repair will improve the energy performance of the building. It also highlights a qualification that many will need in order to work to this particular standard. It is the Level 3 Award in the energy efficiency and retrofit of traditional buildings.
This course is achieved through undertaking a two-day course with the Environment Study Centre. It is within this course that the value of maintenance and repair as a means to both sustain buildings and improve their energy performance is explained and taught, Prof. Edwards observes.
By choosing Thomann-Hanry® you can keep all of your façade and window repair and decoration under one roof – for a more joined-up, cohesive approach to your building maintenance.
All of our painters and decorators are trained for the repair, maintenance, and conservation of joinery by the Repair Care International Dulux Academy.
