Farnham Farmhouse
Rushmore Estate commissioned RBW to renovate this beautiful old, run-down 6-bedroom farmhouse which required extensive remedial repairs. The house had been neglected and hadn’t had any work done on it in over 50 years. The exterior was covered in thick ivy which had damaged the walls, the render was in a bad state and the interior rooms had serious damp issues.
EXTERIOR
Once the ivy had been cleared we were able to remove the render from the entire rear elevation and side gable end of the house and repoint it with a lime render to allow the house to breathe. All the barge boards, soffits, fascia and guttering were replaced and repairs done to the rafters and around the perimeter of the building where the water had ingressed. We fitted new black steel half-round guttering and down pipes into a new drainage system. We also installed a new rainwater and septic drainage tank. Because the property is situated on a slope with fields to the rear rainwater was coming in off the fields. To reduce the risk of further water damage occurring we installed a French drain.
Repairs were carried out to the flat roofs and leadwork around the bay windows. All 22 sash windows were renovated and draft excluders installed. The chimneys were re-rendered and new chimney pots fitted. We removed the central chimney stack and carried out remedial roof work to fill the remaining gap.
INTERIOR
The kitchen was relocated to the front of the house and extended to create a large, open-plan living and dining area. We removed the chimney breast and replaced a masonry wall with a stud wall in the master bedroom to reduce the load on the new kitchen ceiling. We also removed the raised timber platform flooring in the kitchen to install insulation and underfloor heating.
The flagstones in the main downstairs hallway were in good enough condition to keep but it was necessary to install new limestone flagstones in the kitchen and the rear hallway. We designed and built fitted wardrobes in all the bedrooms and added deep skirting boards to complement the height of the rooms. One of the three en-suites was converted into a master bathroom. RBW chose and fitted the bathroom tiles and the Burlington sanitaryware and replaced all the plumbing.
We discovered a fantastic fireplace in a barn on the estate which we fitted in the living room and wood burners were installed in the living room and snug. A double door was added in the living room to give access to the garden and swimming pool. The old PVC door in the kitchen was removed and replaced with a timber one.
We re-boarded the majority of the walls and added new ceilings and lighting throughout.
A stable door was added to separate the service wing of the house from the living quarters, the larder was converted into a store cupboard, and we created a new utility room.
