Full restoration
A house taken back to what it should be. Lime plaster where lime plaster belongs, sash windows made to run again rather than replaced, and the later additions that were never any good taken out.
Building restoration · West London
Period houses,
put back properly.
Restoration and structural repair on Victorian and Edwardian houses across West London. One craftsman, start to finish — the person who quotes the work is the person who does it.
5+ years in West LondonOne craftsman, start to finish
Rated 5.0
From 7 customer reviews5+ years
Restoration in West LondonOne craftsman
No subcontractors on your houseInsured
Public liability cover in placeWrenmoor is an invented firm, so every line above is an example — this strip is where a real firm's rating, trading period and insurance position would sit.
What we do
Restoration, not renovation.
The difference matters. Renovation makes a house new; restoration works out what it was, why it has moved, and puts it back with materials that behave the way the original ones did.
Period features
Cornice, ceiling roses, picture rails, architrave and skirting — matched to the surviving original profile rather than to whatever the merchant had in stock. Where nothing survives, run from a section taken off a neighbouring house.
Structural repair
Bulging bays, dropped lintels, failed wall ties, spreading roofs. Diagnosis first: most cracks in a Victorian house are old movement that stopped decades ago, and knowing the difference saves a great deal of money.
Refurbishment & extension
Bringing a period house up to how people live now without stripping out the reason they bought it. New work detailed to read as new work, honestly, rather than as pastiche.
Start an enquiry
Five questions, then a conversation.
No instant price — a period house decides that once it is opened up. These answers just make the first reply a useful one.
Our work
Victorian and Edwardian, mostly.
These are drawings, not photographs. There is no photography online yet, and generic builder stock imagery would say the opposite of what this business is — their own job photos would fill these frames.
How it works
Site visit, detailed quote, works, handover.
- 01
Site visit
An hour or so at the house, looking at what is actually there rather than what the estate agent said. On a period property this is most of the value — what you can see is rarely the whole story.
Free - 02
Detailed quote
Written, itemised, and specific about materials: which mortar, which plaster, which timber. A restoration quote that says only “make good” is a quote you cannot compare against anything.
Within a week - 03
The works
One craftsman on site, which means slower than a firm with six people and considerably more consistent. You get a schedule and a weekly update, and you always know who is coming.
Per the quote - 04
Handover
Everything walked through with you, the surviving original detail pointed out, and notes on how to look after lime and old timber — they want different treatment from modern materials.
Included
Timings are examples written for this demo — their own would replace them.
What people say
5.0 from 7 reviews.
★★★★★“Told us the crack in the back addition was old movement that had long stopped, and showed us why. Two other builders had quoted for underpinning we did not need.”
★★★★★“Ran the new cornice from a section he took off the surviving piece in the front room. You genuinely cannot tell which is which now.”
★★★★★“Everyone else wanted to rip them out for uPVC. He stripped, spliced and re-corded them and they open with one finger. Cheaper than replacing, and they are the original glass.”
Written for this example — nobody said these things. On a real site this block carries your own reviews, quoted with the customer's first name and the job. For restoration work it is doing more heavy lifting than usual: there is no price on this page to argue for you, so the reviews and the guarantee are what a homeowner is actually weighing.
Questions
What owners of old houses ask.
Why does lime mortar matter?
A Victorian solid wall is designed to breathe — moisture moves in and out through soft lime mortar, which is sacrificial and gives before the brick does. Repoint it in modern cement and the moisture has nowhere to go, so it leaves through the face of the brick instead, and the brick spalls. It is the single most common piece of well-meant damage done to period houses, and it is expensive to undo.
Can you work on a listed building?
Yes, and the consent process is part of the job rather than an obstacle to it. Listed building consent is separate from planning permission and is needed for internal work too, which surprises people. On a conservation-area property the controls are usually external only. Either way the honest answer is that it adds time before anything starts.
Do you handle insurance work?
Yes — subsidence, escape of water, fire and impact damage. The useful thing to know is that an insurer's schedule of works often specifies a modern repair on a building that needs a traditional one, and that is worth challenging before work starts rather than after. We will write to the loss adjuster where the specification is wrong for the building.
How long does a restoration take?
Longer than a new build of the same size, because a period house reveals itself as you open it up. A room of plasterwork might be two to three weeks; a whole-house restoration is measured in months. The quote gives a range and the reasons for it, and you are told as soon as anything found on site changes the picture.
Is one person not slower than a firm?
Yes. That is the trade-off, and it is a real one. What you get for it is that the person who surveyed the house, wrote the quote and understands why a particular wall is doing what it is doing is the person holding the trowel. On restoration that consistency is usually worth more than speed — the damage gets done when work is handed between people who did not see what was behind it.
Where we work
Chiswick outwards, mostly on foot.
- Acton W3
- Ealing W5 / W13
- Chiswick W4
- Hammersmith W6
- Shepherd's Bush W12
- Kensal Green NW10
- Brentford TW8
- Richmond TW9
Example coverage list — the areas they actually travel to would go here.
No obligation
Tell us what the house is doing.
Photographs and a description are usually enough for a first opinion. The site visit is free, and you get a straight answer whether or not you hire us.