Collins Care and Repair of Period Houses (Hardcover, Rev ed)

After the destructive 60s and 70s when it was fashionable to "modernise" properties by covering over or removing old features, the many home-owners today are now keen to restore their homes to their orginal state, not just to add period, but also to increase the value of their property.;This text is a comprehensive, photographic guide to renovating and maintaining the decorative architectural features of older houses. It functions as both a sourcebook of historical styles and as a practical manual on the care and repair of houses built between the mid-18th century and the outbreak of World War II.;The text includes: external features and roofs - brickwork, stucco, stonework, balconies, gates, railings, decorative woodwork, wooden wall cladding, slate & tiled roofs, shingles, bargeboards, chimneys; interior walls and ceilings - plasterwork, ornamental mouldings, wall tiles, carved woodwork, wall panelling and finishes; floors - flagstones, floorboards, parquet floors, quarry tiles, decorative painting; doors and windows - doorcases and door surrounds, panelled and glazed doors, sash and casement windows, leaded lights, stained and patterned glass, fanlights, shutters, door and window furniture; stairs - wooden staircases, stone steps, balusters, newel posts, handrails; fireplaces - mantelpieces, grates, hearths, stoves, tiled and marble fireplaces.