Georgoan joinery patterns

[jess marley]

We are considering re-installing some panelling to our entrance hall and sitting rooms. This is partly because the walls seem out of scale with themselves and the remaining joinery when bare, but mainly to aid with acoustic insulation from the road outside, where traffic passes a hair-raising 30 cm from our front door. Does any one know of any joiners pattern books relevant to a house @ 1750?

 

[biffvernon]

Cassell's Carpentry and Joinery, ed. Paul N Hasluck, c1900

There's a copy for sale at £38 here: abebooks

Not for the faint-hearted diy-er but it tells the expert joiner what he needs to know. Though if he's an expert he probably knows already. The complexity of joinery from the pre-power tool era is revealed in all it's extraordinary detail.

 

[jess marley]

Many many thanks, look forward to sharpening chisels.

 

[Nemesis]

If your house is listed this will need LBC though... if the building has never had such panelling then possibly such an addition may not be considered acceptable.

The Georgian Group may also be able to advise.

 

[jess marley]

Don't worry, I'm not about to cobble together someting out of m.d.f and foam filler, and yes, the house is listed and yes, I would be running it bt the c.o first.
We're pretty sure the two drawing rooms were panelled, at least below dado as there is a row of wooden plugs in the wall..but we would want to be more sure before proceeding in these rooms...In the hall, I really can't say yet, but the house is SERIOUSLY blighted by a road and 60 m.p.h traffic is certainly not an original feature!

 

[Nemesis]

Maybe - but retrofit of speculative joinery design may not be the CO's choice.

 

[biffvernon]

Putting acoustic insulation behind some panelling of the type shown in Cassell's Carpentry and Joinery, ed. Paul N Hasluck sounds an excellent approach to soundproofing. Just because a house is listed that doesn't mean you can't do anything other than preserve it in aspic.

 

[Nemesis]

No, but it isn't quite as simple as that, is it? Annnexe C PPG 15

In general. speculative restoration of lost features should be avoided...

 

[Penners]

Jess - have you taken advice from an acoustic engineer about this? I'm a little concerned that your planned panelling might not have as much of an acoustic insulation effect as you hope.

It all depends on where the sound is entering the house, and how it's getting bounced around. If it's definitely coming through the walls, then - on the face of it - panelling would seem to be a good plan (particularly with some acoustic matting behind it). But if it's coming in through windows and doors, I suspect that the attenuation provided by the panelling may not amount to much.

This sounds like a pretty costly project if you're going to do it the traditional way, so I do feel that some professional advice would be worth seeking before you start.

 

[Nemesis]

Another consideration is the damage to the walls which may be caused by the fitting of panels, which may not be acceptable either.

I think my first port of call would be the CO, to see what in outline would be considered acceptable.

Where is the row of holes? Is it at dado height around the room?