Georgian Moulding

[ljn]

I would like to reinstate mouldings that decorate the arches to each side of the chimneybreast.
The original decoration has been hacked-off in the past to make room for cupboards.

I have included pictures of the state of what I need to repair, an example of the moulding on the room below and my naighbour's moulding which has been restored.

Any advice? I don't have any objections to have it done professionally, but want to make sure it's done the right way.

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[middi]

If you want to recreate matching decorative cornice/covings of this period you have no choise but to have moulds made of the existing and splice it in position of the deteriorated or missing sections.

There are a number of specialist suppliers which can match and make anything if you send them a sample, they also have a lot of moulds in stock.

It is a specialised field I am afraid . You can always make your own moulds of course then use plaster of paris to make the pattern ( very fiddly ).

 

[Penners]

It's just possible that you might find matching plaster mouldings are still made.

Try googling "plaster mouldings" and you'll get a load of companies who still make them.

 

[chuckey]

That acanthus(Sp?) corbel is still being made, i've seen'em, but for the life of me I can't remember where. Got an idea it was on one of Fred Dibnah's programmes. The detail on the arch is a bit painted over, if you can't get a reasonable replacement, as the pattern repeats every 2" or so making one 2" section out of wood and Fimo (kids modelling clay that can be baked hard) then making a mould from it would be the way to go.
Frank

 

[ljn]

Thanks for the advice,
I'd like to get a specialist to replace the coaving.
I have looked around for plaster mouldings.
I can't find any that do ones with leaves that are "detatched" from the main block of plaster. Everything looks blocky and unelegant.
I love the delicacy of the plasterwork and would like an accurate reproduction or a substitute of the same quality.

Has anyone had this kind of job done? Any reccomended suppliers or ideas of how much it could costs?

The building is listed, so any solution will have to please the conservation officer. Guess I could ask him, but would prefer to turn up to a meeting with some research and proposals.

Part of the lath and plaster ceiling in that room has had plasterboard glued to it and then artaxed. Part of the non boarded ceiling (less than one square meter) is detached and about to fall. I'm affraid that any forcefull removal of the plasterboard will bring the plaster down with it. Ant suggestions on this?

 

[Craig]

We have replaced missing cornice mouldings of this type.

It was done by a chap who lives close by in London. He cast up various parts for a cornice - a rail, a frieze and individual acanthus leaves. He fixed the frieze onto the ceiling and then the rail a few inches below on the wall and then fixed each separate acanthus leaf in place, one by one. He made separate acanthus leaves for corners. The moulds were taken off acanthus leaves and friezes elsewhere in the property. He used a fibrous plaster mix in a latex mould.

I do agree that the commercially available "one piece" cornices are rather too solid. Having the leaves fixed separately looks much better.

Have you looked at these sites? If you serach for "fibrous plaster" you will find all of these people.

http://www.lockerandriley.com/decorations_and_plaques.htm
http://www.huttandlobb.co.uk/product.html
http://www.plasterproductions.co.uk/
http://www.stevensons-of-norwich.co.uk/service/fibrous-plaster/
http://www.haylesandhowe.com/index.asp

 

[Gareth Hughes]

you might try Clarke and Fenn

http://www.skanska.co.uk/catalogue/

who have a far, far larger collection of moulds than their catalogue shows.

 

[ljn]

Thanks for the links.
I'm happy to see some of those leaves standing out.
Craig, your guy sounds good.

I'm fixing an appointment with the conservation officer to see what he says.

http://www.butcherplasterworks.com/ has good quality.

Seeing Buckingham palace among the creds of one of those companies makes me think I might be on the right aesthetic track but in the wrong price bracket :| Margate has beautiful buildings and beaches, but it's not exactly "Knightsbridge" for property prices.

 

[Nigel Watts]

The main reason why reproduction mouldings look very "boxy" is that they are made off site in workshops then subsequently brought to site and fitted. They have to be reasonably substantial in cross section to survive being carted about in this way.

In the old days however most mouldings would have been run in-situ (ie formed in position with wet plaster using a template run back and forth along temporary wooden battens) with any moulded detail cast in small sections and added after the straight mounldings had been run. Much more delicate effects can be achieved with this technique. This type of work can still be commissioned, but it is more bespoke and labour intensive and therefore will be more expensive.

Looking at the photo it is quite possible that you may be able to resue the remaining top section of the cornice. It may have survived better that you might imagine, but you will need to clean off all the subsequent layers of distemper and paint. The really good news is that you have an example of what the original was like. Moulds can quite eaily be made from existing work using silicone rubber.

As a matter of interest what date do you think your house is? By comparison to London examples I suspect it is from the second quarter of the 19thC. An 1840ish house near us in North London has a very similar freize.

Good luck!

 

[ljn]

Thanks Nigel,
I hope you're right about the distemper. In the pink room, that is probably the case, but in the other I had a "careful scratch" and it seemed like artex or some hard plaster - as if they pourposly tried to smooth over the decoration.

The frieze has shells on it, which could be particular to the coast. I an going to meet the conservation officer this week, so he might give me more info. My "cornice man" from London has offered to come down to have a look on Sunday

Development of the square, Hawley Square, was started in 1760 and I think my building was built between then and 1780. I haven't had it long and am still doing doing research.

At the moment the square is a bit run down, many bedsits, but new people have moved into the square over the last year and we have just set up a residents association, so things are looking positive. The whole square is listed, so mo one can mess around with the buildings. It is a UPVC free area!

John Soane used to stay at no 36 for his hollidays http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i152/girlyklvj/Margatepg1.jpg
and Keats often stayed in one of the houses on the west side.

Here's a photo of the outside:

 

[Nemesis]

I'm hopeful that Maragte will eventually be on the rise though - if we ever get Dreamland and the cinema re-opened and the Turner is going to be the focus (according to the County Council...) of a major regeneration...

So I suspect your lovely house will eventually rise in value!

It's not all grim and Arlington House at Margate is it?

 

[Nigel Watts]

What a fabulous house - I can only drool! Something like this near where I live in Islington would be in the £2m+ bracket. The exterior certainly looks late 18th or v early 19th rather than later.

Even if Artex has been applied over the cornice I would not despair. Between the original plaster and the final modern layers will almost certainly be a thick distemper layer. Distemper is bound with something very similar to cooking Gelatine with will loosen with water. So long as some water can pentetrate you should be able to prize off the modern layers.