A large share of the work we take on in Sudbury involves an older timber framed structure. That often means lime mortar rather than cement, breathable render and lime wash rather than modern sealed finishes, and a careful look at the frame before anything gets touched. Where a job can be repaired rather than replaced, we say so, because that is usually what the building actually wants.
Sudbury and Long Melford are thick with Georgian and Victorian property that needs updating without stripping out what makes it what it is. That covers rewiring and replastering around old timber, replacing a failed damp course properly instead of papering over it, and refitting a kitchen or bathroom into a room that was never built square. We plan the sequence before we start, so you know what happens first, second and last.
We look at the property, quote the job and run it on site, so the same team that priced the work is the team answering the phone when something needs a decision. On an older timber framed building that matters more than usual, because problems tend to show up once a wall or floor is opened, not before. That local knowledge is what separates a job that goes smoothly from one that stalls partway through.
An extension on a Georgian or timber framed house in Sudbury has to earn its place next to the original building, matched in brick, render or pantile so it reads as part of the house rather than bolted on. Some properties near the town centre or the water meadows carry their own planning restrictions, and we talk you through what applies before drawings are drawn up.
Kitchens and bathrooms in Sudbury's older stock rarely go in on a flat, modern floor plan. Pipework has to route around timber frames and old joists rather than through them, and a bathroom above an older room downstairs needs some thought before anyone lifts a floorboard. We plan the first and second fix around what the building will actually allow, rather than forcing a layout that fights the structure.
Most of the work we take on around Sudbury falls into three groups. There is timber framed repair, working with lime mortar and breathable finishes rather than modern sealed materials where the building calls for it. There is general renovation and extension work on Georgian, Victorian and later houses, planned and sequenced properly rather than rushed, with materials matched so new work does not sit oddly against old. And there is kitchens and bathrooms, fitted into older rooms without fighting the structure that is already there, whether that means routing pipework around a timber frame or working out a damp course that has never quite done its job.
