The town's Victorian growth came with lace-making and railway wagon building, and by 1900 its population had passed 10,000. Wikipedia notes that the floors above the shops on the High Street and Market Place show how much of the centre is Victorian or early 20th century, and a lot of the housing from that boom is still lived in today.
Terraced streets by the old lace mills
Erewash Borough Council's appraisal of the Long Eaton Mills Conservation Area, which follows the red brick lace factories along the Erewash Canal, describes King Street, Prince Street and Princess Street as mostly high-density Victorian terraces with later infill, and Lime Grove as Victorian semis. Homes of this type usually have modest rooms, a narrow hall and a straight flight of stairs, and their walls have been patched by one owner after another.
Doing the whole house at once
With a terrace it often makes sense to skim every room together rather than one a year. Furniture can be shuffled from room to room as each is finished, the dust and disruption happen once, and the whole house dries and gets its mist coat at the same stage, so the decorating can follow straight through. It also means the hallway, stairs and landing can be skimmed last, once nobody needs to carry anything else through. Our own price list covers full properties as well as single rooms, so two, three and four-bedroom houses can be quoted as one job.
Chimney breasts and party walls
Victorian terraces normally have chimney breasts in the main rooms, and after decades of coal fires these can hold soot and salts that come through fresh plaster as brown or damp-looking patches. Badly stained plaster is cut back and the area treated before skimming. Party walls between houses are often far from flat, so low spots are built up with a backing coat first, and the external corners on chimney breasts get metal beads so they finish sharp.
Stairs and drying
The straight stair wall in a terrace runs from the front hall to the landing. It is skimmed from a platform over the stairs, each wall in one go, so no join shows. Afterwards, open the windows, keep the heating normal and let the colour even out before painting. A thinned matt emulsion goes on first.
Call 07877 353120 about skimming in Long Eaton, from the streets around the Market Place and West Park to the newer homes on the old speedway site, or send the enquiry form. We work 7am to 5pm, seven days a week.
