DH Painter & Decorator paints house exteriors in Towcester, NN12, from our Northampton base about 8.2 miles to the north-east. Dean plans each job around what the house is: a conservation-area front on Watling Street beside A5 traffic, a set-back Victorian terrace, or a modern estate home.
Front doors that open straight onto the A5
Along Watling Street and Park Street the houses sit right at the road edge in continuous rows, with no front garden between the wall and the pavement. Any ladder or tower for the front elevation goes on that pavement, a few feet from heavy A5 traffic, so the access plan comes before the paint choice. Dean works out where barriers go, how pedestrians get past, how parked cars are kept clear of drips and dust, and which sections can be done in a day so nothing is left standing overnight that does not need to be. On Park Street, which is narrow and gently curving with parked cars along much of it, the space is tighter still.
The quiet side of many of these properties is reached another way. Long, narrow burgage plots run back from Watling Street, and alleys such as Whittons Lane, Meeting Lane and The Ruins are often the only route to the rear walls, outbuildings and extensions. Materials come in by hand along those passages, which is worth knowing when you are planning the whole outside of a house rather than just the front.
Keeping to the town’s white and cream
Much of the brick and rendered stone in the centre of Towcester is painted white or cream, and the 2012 conservation area appraisal treats that as part of the town’s character. A repaint in the same family of colours is usually straightforward. A switch to a strong colour is a different matter, because some properties carry an Article 4 direction that brings changes to elevations facing a highway under planning control, and West Northamptonshire Council says these directions can cover exterior painting, doors and gates. Roughly 95 buildings in the town are listed as well. If you are thinking of a change, check with the council before the first coat, and Dean will hold the quote until you have an answer.
What traffic does to a painted front
The town centre is an Air Quality Management Area, and the appraisal notes that traffic may damage the buildings next to it. For paintwork, that means road spray and exhaust film settle on Watling Street frontages far faster than on a house set back on a side street. A front that would stay clean for years on a side street can grey noticeably sooner here. So every Watling Street job starts with a proper wash-down and degrease, and we lean towards washable exterior finishes that can be cleaned rather than repainted. Be realistic about the cycle too: a pavement-edge front facing the A5 will probably want repainting sooner than the rear of the same house.
Different houses on different streets
Towcester mixes building ages closely, so one exterior job rarely matches the next. A rough guide:
- Central Watling Street: Georgian two- and three-storey fronts in painted brick, render or ironstone, many with sash windows. The masonry often needs a breathable or lime-compatible paint rather than standard masonry paint.
- Richmond Road, Queens Road, Pomfret Road, Brackley Road: Victorian red-brick terraces, often painted, set back behind low garden walls. Access from the front is easier, and many still have timber doors and bargeboards even where windows are now uPVC.
- South and west of the centre: twentieth-century and newer estate housing in modern brick, where the painted parts are usually fascias, doors, garage doors and fences.
Our main exterior painting service page sets out how we prepare each surface. For the masonry itself, including ironstone, see the separate render and masonry page, and our guide to which months suit outdoor painting explains why we watch the forecast so closely. There is more about the town’s housing on our Towcester area page.
To arrange a visit, call Dean on 07539 779 036. He will walk round the outside, check for any planning constraints you have mentioned, and give you a written quote.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
