Dean paints the outside of houses across Ecton Brook, the planned estate in NN3 5 about 4.1 miles east of Northampton town centre. That covers the terraces in the pedestrian squares and the detached homes on roads such as Riverwell and Parkside, with each surface checked before anything is quoted.
When the front door faces a green, not a road
The estate went up in Development Corporation phases from the end of the 1970s, and a large share of its houses sit in pedestrian squares and places: Foxendale Square, Normead Square, Lockcroft Square, Horsemoor Square, Windflower Place and others. The fronts look onto footpaths and shared greens. There is no driveway to park a van on and no kerb outside the door.
That changes how an exterior job runs. Ladders, dust sheets, paint and cleaning kit all come in from the shared parking area, so we plan each day to cut down the number of trips and bring what the next stage needs in one go. Sheeting on the footpath has to be non-slip and kept tidy, because neighbours, children walking to the two primary schools on Ecton Brook Road and people on bikes all use the same routes. We leave the path passable at all times and clear it at the end of each day.
What gets painted on an estate house of this age
The old Billing villages are stone, but this estate is not, so the breathable-paint debate around old limestone rarely applies. What we usually find outside a house here is a mix:
- modern facing brick, sometimes previously painted, sometimes never touched
- rendered or panelled sections on some elevations
- timber or uPVC windows and doors, often a mixture on the same terrace
- fascias, soffits and bargeboards that may still be original painted timber after 40 to 50 years
- on the detached roads, garage doors, side gates and longer runs of fence
Because the mix varies house by house, we walk round and check each surface before pricing. A painted brick wall needs a different approach from bare brick, and old timber joinery needs probing for soft spots. Our main exterior painting service sets out the general preparation; this page is about how it applies on this estate.
Traffic film on the south side, algae by the brook
Two parts of the estate need extra cleaning before any coat goes on, and they are at opposite ends.
Along the southern edge runs the A45 dual carriageway, with the Great Billing Interchange close by. Frontages, sills and fencing nearest the dual carriageway collect a grey traffic film that stops paint bonding properly. Those elevations get a thorough wash and time to dry first.
Through the middle of the estate, Ecton Brook Linear Park follows the brook with trees and shade on either side. Houses that back onto it, and north-facing walls in general, tend to grow green algae. That needs a biocide treatment left to work before brushing down, otherwise the new paint lifts with the growth underneath. Timing helps too: our guide to the best time for exterior painting explains why the shaded sides are worth saving for the drier months.
Picking colours for a whole row
None of the estate falls inside a conservation area, and the records we checked show no protected buildings on it, so owners pick their own exterior colours. The old village west of the main road is another matter, as it has a conservation area of its own.
Freedom does not mean the house stands alone, though. In the squares, terraces share a frontage and doors are seen side by side from the same footpath. A front door or window colour that works on its own can look odd next to three neighbours. Dean can suggest options that sit comfortably with the row while still being yours, and if you rent the house out, a durable neutral tends to make sense between tenancies.
For more on how the estate fits with the rest of our coverage, see our Ecton Brook area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
