House renovation
& refurbishment
in Muswell Hill, N10
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Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building ConsultancyMuswell Hill houses are mostly Edwardian red brick, with late Victorian and inter-war streets among them, and a whole-house renovation here starts by sorting what is original from what came later.
Haringey's appraisal finds the special interest of these streets in detail repeated house after house, and in the way each front sits back from the pavement behind a low wall.
We record the house room by room at the first visit, then set out a scope that keeps the details and renews the services.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Edwardian, late Victorian and inter-war houses
Most of Muswell Hill was built between 1896 and 1913, which gives it a considerable consistency of character.
Some streets are older: Muswell Road, Muswell Avenue and the road now called Coniston Road were laid out in 1885.
Nos 41 to 59 Muswell Avenue, for example, are a late Victorian terrace in pale yellow Gault brick.
Others are newer, among them the roughcast houses with curved bays at Nos 80 to 102 Dukes Avenue, built between the wars.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Whose house is it?
Builders such as Charles Rook on Coniston, Curzon and Cecil Roads, and Josiah Brondson on Muswell Avenue, Methuen Park and Rosebery Road, worked alongside the two big developers.
Where a builder repeated one design along a street, a surviving original next door is often the best guide to what a house has lost.
We photograph the neighbours' untouched details, with permission, before drawing any repair.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
The details that make the street
In the Collins streets, Haringey notes, red brick is played against white render, white timber and red tile, and even a minor change can break the pattern.
The features it most often sees removed are timber sashes, panelled doors with coloured glass, timber porches and brackets, chimney pots, ridge tiles, finials and plasterwork.
We list every surviving detail at the survey and agree with the client which are repaired, copied or kept as they are.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
What needs permission and what does not
Haringey's guidance lets a house owner outside an Article 4 area renew windows and doors, or repaint, without applying, provided the result looks like the original in material and appearance.
In a conservation area, cladding a house in render, timber or tiles needs permission, as do roof additions and any side extension.
Demolishing a front wall over a metre high beside the road also needs permission there.
Source: Haringey Council: Works that need planning permission (conservation areas)
Houses on the Rookfield Estate
The Rookfield direction applies only on the streets it names, from Rookfield Avenue and Rookfield Close to The Chine and The Court.
There, alterations to houses, porches, hardstandings, front walls and painting brick or render all need permission.
Haringey kept the existing direction in force when it decided not to confirm a replacement.
Sources: Haringey Council: Development Management DPD (Haringey Local Plan, adopted July 2017), Haringey Council: Development in conservation areas (Article 4 Directions)
Front gardens and boundary walls
Front walls and planting lost to parking hardstandings are, for the appraisal, the most significant change to these frontages.
On Queens Avenue the front walls and piers are singled out, and on Grand Avenue the lava brick walls with hedges above survive largely intact.
Where a wall has gone, we rebuild it in matching brick and coping, and replant the hedge behind it.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Brick, render and paint
Painting, rendering or cladding brick fronts, and re-roofing in non-original materials, have harmed consistent streets in the conservation area.
Good facing brickwork is the first design consideration the appraisal names.
We repoint in lime to match the original joint, and take paint off brick only where a test patch shows the face will survive.
Source: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Warmer houses without lost character
Inside, Haringey welcomes insulation of lofts, floors and walls that does not damage the historic fabric.
External insulation in a conservation area needs planning consent.
Rather than new windows, Haringey's energy page generally points owners to secondary glazing.
Conservation-area houses are exempt from Part L where compliance would unacceptably change their character.
Source: Haringey Council: Energy efficiency in conservation areas
Renewing the services
Rewiring and new heating pipes in a house of this age run under floorboards and inside partitions, so we lift boards in numbered runs and put them back in the same places.
Boiler flues, extract terminals and new soil pipes go on the back or side of the house, never on the street front.
Where an old house has been divided and is being reunited, we remove the extra meters, kitchens and fire doors as one planned stage.
Roofs, chimneys and gables
Policy DM12 asks alterations to respect the house's details, chimneys and porches among them.
Along the Collins roofs, a brick upstand rises at each party wall, usually carrying the chimneys for a pair of houses.
A roof renewal keeps its slates or clay tiles, its ridge tiles and its finials, and rebuilds unsafe stacks to their original height.
Sources: Haringey Council: Development Management DPD (Haringey Local Plan, adopted July 2017), Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Listed and locally listed houses
Locally listed groups include Nos 41 to 57 and 42 to 58 Queens Avenue and Nos 2 to 12 Tetherdown, alongside Queens Mansions.
For a listed house, DM9 asks that original features and fabric are kept and repaired, and missing ones replaced sympathetically.
Any application affecting a heritage asset needs a statement explaining its significance and the effect of the work.
Sources: Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008), Haringey Council: Development Management DPD (Haringey Local Plan, adopted July 2017)
Living nearby while the work goes on
Haringey expects the loudest work to fall between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday, with Saturday work finishing at 1pm.
A skip standing in a parking bay needs a Haringey suspension for its whole stay, applied for two weeks or more ahead, as well as its licence.
Tree work in a conservation area needs six weeks' notice to Haringey.
Where a family stays in the house, we finish the bedrooms and a bathroom first and fence off the working floors.
Sources: Haringey Council: Noise complaints, Haringey Council: Apply for a parking bay suspension, Haringey Council: Tree work in a conservation area
Muswell Hill houses we have worked on
Muswell Hill house refurbishment questions
Can I replace my sash windows without permission?
Outside an Article 4 area, yes if the replacements match the originals in material and look.
Does render or cladding on my house need permission?
Yes, in a Haringey conservation area.
Are Rookfield Estate houses more controlled?
Yes: its Article 4 direction covers porches, front walls, painting and alterations to houses.
Can I insulate the walls of a period house?
Inside, Haringey encourages it where the fabric is not harmed; outside, it needs consent.
Is my house on Haringey's local list?
Groups on Queens Avenue and Tetherdown are; check the list for your address.
What does a house refurbishment in Muswell Hill cost?
Your Muswell Hill figure is confirmed after a feasibility visit.
Sources: Haringey Council: Works that need planning permission (conservation areas), Haringey Council: Development Management DPD (Haringey Local Plan, adopted July 2017), Haringey Council: Energy efficiency in conservation areas, Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
Related pages
Sources
- Haringey Council: Muswell Hill Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Conservation Area No. 3, adopted 11 February 2008)
- Haringey Council: Works that need planning permission (conservation areas)
- Haringey Council: Development Management DPD (Haringey Local Plan, adopted July 2017)
- Haringey Council: Development in conservation areas (Article 4 Directions)
- Haringey Council: Energy efficiency in conservation areas
- Haringey Council: Noise complaints
- Haringey Council: Apply for a parking bay suspension
- Haringey Council: Tree work in a conservation area
Guides & Local Reading
House Refurbishment in Nearby Areas
More Services in Muswell Hill
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