DH Painter & Decorator paints the outside of homes in Briar Hill, NN4, about 1.3 miles south-west of Northampton town centre. On the estate terraces that usually means fascias, soffits, doors, porches and fences, while Grade II listed Briar Hill House needs breathable, like-for-like treatment.
Two very different outside jobs in one neighbourhood
Briar Hill is mostly a housing estate laid out from 1969 onwards on the land of the old Briar Hill Farm, on the north-facing slope of the Nene Valley about 1.3 miles south-west of Northampton town centre. Exterior painting here splits into two jobs that have almost nothing in common. Most homes are estate terraces and bungalows from the late 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s. One building, Briar Hill House, is the early-19th-century farmhouse the estate took its name from, and it is Grade II listed.
We cover Briar Hill from our Northampton base, and Dean prices each kind of property on its own terms. This page sets out what that means in practice. For how we prepare and paint outside surfaces in general, see our main exterior painting service.
What gets painted on a double-glazed terrace
A recent sale listing for a Southwood Hill terrace mentions double glazing, and where the frames are uPVC that changes the shape of an exterior job. With the window frames taken out of the picture, the painted surfaces on a typical estate house come down to a short list:
- timber fascias and soffits along the eaves
- the front door and its frame, where they are still timber
- porch canopies and any timber cladding panels
- garden fences and the gates that open onto rear access
Because the list is short, the job is often smaller than owners expect, and most of the time goes into preparation rather than coverage. On a row of near-identical terraces the front door is also the one place where an owner can make the house their own. A change of door colour adds little to a job that is already under way, and it is the detail people notice first along a row of matching houses.
Briar Hill House and the listed-building rules
The old farmhouse is a two-storey building of squared stone rubble with a hipped Welsh slate roof and wide eaves. Its sash windows have glazing bars under flat arches, and the six-panel front door with a fanlight sits in a fluted Doric pilaster surround with a cornice hood. It has been Grade II listed since 1976, so changes to its stone, sashes or door surround may need listed building consent from West Northamptonshire Council, and repainting should be like-for-like.
In practice that means breathable products on any coated masonry, never an acrylic masonry paint sealing the stone, and traditional joinery preparation on the sashes and door before an oil or water-based gloss goes on. Colours should match what is already there unless a change has been agreed. It is slower, more careful work than an estate repaint, and we quote it that way.
A north-facing slope and the drying problem
Briar Hill sits at roughly 80 metres on a gentle slope that faces north towards the River Nene, about 700 metres away. North-facing elevations get little direct sun, so they hold moisture after rain and dry out slowly. Two things follow. First, washing off algae or mould is often part of the preparation on the shady side of a house before any coating goes on. Second, we wait for a settled dry spell rather than painting on the first bright morning, because damp timber under fresh paint is the usual cause of early blistering. Our guide on when to plan exterior painting covers the seasons in more detail.
Homes closer to Briar Hill Meadow and the Grand Union Canal Northampton Arm see more winter mud and damp at ground level, so lower door frames, porch timbers and the foot of any cladding get extra attention there.
Access: parking courts, footpaths and rear gates
Many terraces, Southwood Hill among them, park in a shared parking court rather than at the front door, and the estate’s footpaths are separated from the roads, as the Hunsbarrow Road underpass shows. Some front doors face a path rather than a street. Ladders, dust sheets and paint therefore often have to be carried in from the parking area, and we plan the day so shared paths stay clear for neighbours. Where a terrace has rear gated access from the garden, as some on Southwood Hill do, the back elevation is far easier to reach without walking equipment through the house.
The sheltered flats and bungalows at Southwood Hill and Blackberry Lane are managed by Northampton Partnership Homes, so outside work there is arranged through the landlord rather than the resident. More about the area is on our Briar Hill area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
