Bespoke Joinery in Kentish Town, NW5

Camden's Kentish Town appraisal notes a homogeneous design of house and detailed joinery along Leverton Street and Leverton Place, and timber sash windows across the area into the twentieth century.

We survey, draw, make and fit joinery for Kentish Town houses and flats, from one alcove cupboard to every window on a front.

Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)

Sash windows of two periods

Glazing bars follow the age of the house: small panes on the early nineteenth century houses of Leighton Road, larger panes on Leverton Street after the window tax was repealed in 1845.

West of Kentish Town Road, Inkerman Road's windows are mostly timber sashes with a large central light and narrow margin lights on the ground floor.

A sash comes to the workshop, where rotten sections are cut out and new timber spliced in, the cords and weights renewed, and a brush seal fitted in the parting bead. It goes back with the same glass where the glass survives.

Where a window has gone, we copy the profiles from a surviving original in the same group, so the new one matches its neighbours.

Sources: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011), Camden: Inkerman Conservation Area Statement (March 2003)

Panelled front doors

Kentish Town's doors were originally panelled, painted timber, many to individual designs; many survive, but poor replacements erode the area, Camden says.

In Alma Street, Inkerman's statement records original front doors on a long list of houses.

A front door is taken off for repair while a secure temporary door is fitted. Joints are remade, split panels reset, and the letter plate, knocker and lock refitted or matched.

For a new door we take the panel pattern from an original next door, so the group still reads as one.

Sources: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011), Camden: Inkerman Conservation Area Statement (March 2003)

Leverton Street and its ironwork

Leverton Street is a composition of coloured stucco houses, some still with 'antique greek' ironwork, and cast iron anthemion details remain on a few sills.

Parts of the street are listed Grade II, the terrace at 2 to 26 dating from about 1845.

Window sills, boxes and frames here are repaired around the ironwork rather than removing it; the ironwork is cleaned and repainted in place.

Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)

Wardrobes for narrow bedrooms

A terrace bedroom in Kentish Town is often narrow, with the chimney breast on the party wall and the door near a corner. We draw the wardrobe for the longest clear wall, with hanging and drawers set out from the clothes it will hold.

In a loft bedroom the wardrobe follows the slope, with drawers at the low end and a door into the eaves at the back.

Doors are panelled to match the room's own doors, and a light comes on inside as each door opens.

Alcove cupboards and bookshelves

The alcoves either side of a chimney breast take cupboards below and shelves above. Each unit is scribed to the uneven walls, and the skirting is carried along its base so it looks original.

For a wall of books we work out the load, choose shelf thickness to stop sagging and fix the uprights into the masonry.

Removing the chimney breast to gain space is not a planning matter for an internal breast, but always needs building regulations approval.

Source: Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?

Kitchens and dressers

A Kentish Town kitchen usually sits in the back room or back addition. We draw cabinets around the window, the waste and the extract route, and keep tall units on the blind wall.

A painted dresser in the alcove can take the plates and glasses that would otherwise need wall cupboards, which suits a small back room.

Doors are sprayed in the workshop and touched in on site once the worktops are fitted.

Joinery in a divided house

A leaseholder may need the landlord's permission for alterations, and some leases restrict finishes such as timber floors.

Narrow shared stairs limit how long a panel can be, so we measure the route in and make long runs in sections that join out of sight.

Source: LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Stairs, balustrades and newels

A worn stair is usually repairable: new treads let in where nosings have broken, loose balusters reglued and the handrail refinished.

Missing balusters are turned to match a survivor, so new and old cannot be told apart once painted.

A new stair to a loft room is made in the workshop and assembled in the house, its string cut to the landing.

Shutters and panelled reveals

Some early houses kept folding shutters in the window reveals, often painted shut. We free them, repair the leaves and hinges, and fit new catches.

Where shutters are missing, new ones are made to the profile of a surviving set, or as plain panelled leaves to suit a Victorian room.

Hall cupboards, seats and radiator covers

A terrace hall can take a shallow cupboard for coats and the meter, built to the line of the stair.

A radiator cover needs an open grille on top, or the heat stays in the box; we make the grille removable for bleeding the radiator.

A bench under the hall window can hide shoes in drawers.

Joinery in a listed house

Camden protects every part of a listed building, the interior included.

Inkerman's statement notes that like-for-like repair does not normally need listed building consent, but repair that loses significant historic fabric or changes the appearance does.

Before working on a listed interior, we record each piece with photographs and drawings, and keep any timber removed.

Sources: Camden Council: Listed buildings, Camden: Inkerman Conservation Area Statement (March 2003)

Window seats in canted bays

On Falkland Road, Dunolie Road, Countess Road and the other northern streets, Camden notes canted ground-floor bays as a common feature of the three-storey terraces.

A canted bay takes a three-sided window seat well. We build it on a frame scribed to the bay, with a lid or drawers for storage and a grille at the front if a radiator sits beneath.

The seat top is cut from a single board where the width allows, and the cushion is made to the bay's own angles.

Panelled backs under the windows can match the shutters or the room's doors, so the bay reads as one piece of joinery with the rest of the room.

Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)

Studies and work-from-home corners

A desk built into the back bedroom of a terrace needs sockets, data and a task light fixed in the drawing, and a cupboard or flap that closes the paperwork away at night.

Where the only free space is a landing or the end of a hall, a shallow desk with shelves above can fit within the depth of a skirting and a door frame, so the route past it stays clear.

Screens and speakers on a media wall need air behind them and a panel that lifts out for the cables, which we build into the joinery from the start.

Children's rooms that grow up

Joinery for a child's room should outlast the child's early years. Shelves on adjustable pins, a desk top that can be raised and wardrobe rails that move up later keep the room useful for longer.

A bed with drawers under it or a window seat with a lift-up lid gives toy storage that shuts away, and rounded edges with soft-closing hinges suit small hands.

Converted mews houses and workshops

Railey Mews mixes converted mews houses and small warehouse buildings, Camden's appraisal records, its southern part keeping more of the old fabric.

Homes made from stables and workshops tend to have tall rooms, odd angles and exposed brick. Joinery there works best when it is free-standing from the old walls, fixed at a few points so the brick can still breathe and be seen.

A run of full-height cupboards can divide a large open floor into a hall and a living room without building a wall.

Source: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)

Timber, paint and fittings

Painted work is made in stable, knot-free timber or board; work that shows its grain uses oak or ash, chosen board by board for colour.

Finish samples stay in the room so the client sees them by day and lamplight before anything is sprayed.

Hinges, knobs and catches are chosen to suit the house's surviving fittings and the weight of each door.

From survey to fitting

We start with a measured survey and draw plans, elevations and sections for approval, with materials and finishes listed.

The joinery is made off site while the room is prepared, then fitted after plastering and flooring, and the last paint coat goes on in place.

Fitting with power tools keeps to Camden's hours for noisy work: 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

After the first winter we come back to ease doors and drawers as the timber settles.

Source: Camden Council: noisy building works

Questions about bespoke joinery in Kentish Town

Should my sash windows be repaired or replaced?

Repaired where possible: Camden's strategy asks for windows to keep their original glazing and glazing bars.

Can you copy a missing front door?

Yes, from an original in the same group; Camden notes poor replacement doors erode the area.

Do I need consent to repair joinery in a listed house?

Not normally for like-for-like repair, but yes where significant historic fabric is lost.

Can I remove a chimney breast for a wardrobe?

Planning permission is not needed for an internal one, but building regulations approval always is.

Can you fit joinery in a leasehold flat?

Yes, once the lease is checked, as the landlord's consent may be needed.

Sources: Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011), Camden: Inkerman Conservation Area Statement (March 2003), Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?, LEASE: alterations and home improvements

Related pages

Sources

• Camden: Kentish Town Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted 11 March 2011)
• Camden: Inkerman Conservation Area Statement (March 2003)
• Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?
• LEASE: alterations and home improvements
• Camden Council: Listed buildings
• Camden Council: noisy building works