Splat Decorating, home 07970 500150 Request a visit

Exterior painting and timber repairs Beckenham, 2025

A Victorian exterior in Beckenham, untouched for over 30 years

Blown masonry sills and pillars scraped back, stabilised, filled and reshaped from scaffold, then the whole front repainted.

Red front door in a porch beside a white bay window, black painted plinth and brick steps in sunlight
The red front door in Dulux Weathershield Quick Drying Gloss, with white sills and a black plinth beside it.

Over 30 years without exterior paint

This Victorian house in Beckenham hadn't been touched outside for over 30 years. It needed a complete restoration: lots of masonry repairs, the window sills reshaped, timber replaced and the whole front redecorated.

Scaffold, stabiliser and reshaped masonry sills

It was impossible from ladders, so it went up on scaffold. Many areas of the masonry window sills and pillars had blown, and we scraped every one of them away completely. Then a stabilising solution, followed by specialist exterior fillers that we sanded flat to reshape the sills and pillars.

We recommended replacing the gable completely. Our clients wanted to keep the cost down, so we cut out and patched it as a temporary repair, and they'll still get another 10 years from it.

The front door was finished in the clients' choice of Dulux Weathershield Quick Drying Gloss. The gable and fascias are in Zinsser AllCoat in black, with the soffits in white for contrast, and we cleaned and bladed all the glass.

The bay column, before and after the repairs

Sound, square sills and pillars where there was crumbling render, and a front that really pops. Drag the pink line across the bay column below and you can see exactly where the filler went.

By Colin Fry, Founder and Director. Published . Last reviewed .

Checked and approved by Colin and Harry Fry, .

Editorial integrity: read our editorial standards.

Before and after

Flaking gable timbers and worn bay columns, then the same spots after the scaffold work.

Victorian semi-detached house with yellow stock brick, scaffold up to the gable and front garden behind a low wall
Victorian house front with the gable now white with black timbers, scaffold still in place and the Splat van parked outside
The gable repainted in black and white while the scaffold was still up, with a Splat van parked outside.
Ground floor bay window with sill and columns in grey filler, unpainted rendered plinth and dust sheets below
Ground floor bay with white sill and columns above yellow brick and a black painted plinth
The ground floor bay with its sill and columns in white and the plinth painted black.

Every photo from the job

Scaffold up, sills filled and reshaped, and the gable finished in black and white.

  • Victorian semi-detached house with yellow stock brick, scaffold up to the gable and front garden behind a low wall

    Scaffold going up on this Victorian house in Beckenham, needed because the gable could not be reached from ladders.

  • Gable of a Victorian house with peeling white paint on the barge boards and fascia above a bay window, seen from scaffold

    The gable timbers and fascia, with paint flaking off after more than 30 years without redecoration.

  • Close-up of a gable barge board with a rotten, split section of timber under flaking white paint

    Rot in the gable timber. Splat recommended a full replacement; the client chose a cut out and patch repair.

  • Black gutter packed with moss and leaves at the edge of a concrete tiled roof

    Moss and debris filling the gutter, a sign of how long the exterior had been left.

  • Masonry pillar base and window sill on a bay, with thick white paint blown and flaking off the stone

    Blown paint on the masonry window sill and pillar, all of which had to be scraped back.

  • Flaking paint on a bay window sill and pillar base above yellow brick with terracotta rosette tiles

    The bay window sill and pillar base, with paint lifting off the masonry in large flakes.

  • Looking up a bay window column with patchy, worn paint to a carved capital, scaffold pole alongside

    Worn and patchy paint on the bay window columns.

  • Faded red front door with leaded glass panels in a porch lined with Victorian floral wall tiles

    The front door, faded and marked, in a porch lined with original Victorian tiles.

  • Pebbledash gable framed by white barge boards and fascia with paint cracking and peeling, seen from scaffold

    The whole gable, with paint crazed and peeling on every timber after more than 30 years.

  • Stone bay window sill and two column bases with paint flaking off to bare stone, yellow brick below

    The bay sill and column bases, the old paint failing and lifting away from the stone.

  • Underside of a stone bay sill with paint cracking and peeling, terracotta rosette tiles below

    The underside of the sill, paint cracked and peeling away from the stone.

  • First-floor bay column and base with crazed white paint flaking off, scaffold alongside

    Crazed and flaking paint on a bay column, the base worn back to bare stone.

  • Gable barge board with a section of timber cut away, pebbledash behind and blue sky above

    The rotten section of the gable cut out, ready for a patch repair to keep the cost down.

  • Flaking white barge board on a gable, with a small piece of new pale timber fitted near the apex

    The gable from the other side, with new timber let in near the top.

  • Fresh pale timber patch screwed into an old flaking barge board on a pebbledash gable, scaffold pole in front

    A new timber patch fixed into the gable as a temporary repair the client expects to last another 10 years.

  • New timber patch in the barge board with screw holes filled and white spots of filler along the old timber

    Screw holes and joints in the patched gable filled and sanded before painting.

  • Gloved hand brushing a clear liquid onto a scraped-back stone window sill and pillar base

    Stabilising solution brushed onto the scraped-back sill and pillar before filling.

  • Bay window sill and pillar base filled and reshaped in grey exterior filler, smooth square edges

    The sill and pillar rebuilt with specialist exterior filler, sanded flat and reshaped.

  • Yellow and black palm sander resting on a smooth, freshly filled grey stone window sill

    The filled sill sanded flat ready for painting.

  • Looking up a bay window column patched in grey filler under scaffold boards

    Filler applied to the bay window columns to restore their shape.

  • Ground floor bay window with sill and columns in grey filler, unpainted rendered plinth and dust sheets below

    The ground floor bay with sill and columns filled and the plinth ready for paint.

  • Bay window column base and sill scraped back to bare stone, with patches of old white paint left

    The column base scraped back to sound stone before stabilising and filling.

  • Bay window sill and column base scraped back to bare stone, with an open crack across the sill

    The sill scraped back, showing the open crack that had to be filled.

  • Gable face with two pale new timber patches let into the barge boards, pebbledash and lead flashing

    Both timber patches in, the cut out and patch repair the client chose to keep costs down.

  • Side view of a gable barge board sanded back and partly primed, with cracked lead flashing below

    The gable timbers sanded back ready for paint.

  • Bay window sill and column base filled and smoothed in grey, ready for painting

    The sill and column base filled and sanded smooth before paint.

  • Victorian house front with the gable now white with black timbers, scaffold still in place and the Splat van parked outside

    The gable repainted in black and white while the scaffold was still up, with a Splat van parked outside.

  • White Splat Decorating van with pink splat logo parked on the road outside a scaffolded Victorian house

    A Splat Decorating van on site at the Victorian exterior restoration in Beckenham.

  • Curved timber bracket painted black under a black fascia, with white soffit, bay window column and capital

    The bracket and fascia in Zinsser AllCoat black, soffit and window surround in white.

  • Bay window with a crisp white painted sill and white window head below, yellow brick with terracotta tile

    The reshaped bay sill painted white against the original yellow stock brick.

  • Looking up a smooth white painted bay window column to its carved capital, scaffold and blue sky above

    The restored bay window columns painted white, smooth from base to capital.

  • Low view up a white painted bay window with two columns and sash windows under scaffold boards

    The ground floor bay columns and sill painted white once the masonry repairs were finished.

  • Glossy red front door with leaded glass panels and stained glass fanlight in a tiled Victorian porch

    The front door in Dulux Weathershield Quick Drying Gloss, a red from the Dulux colour card (code ending 08/409).

  • Red front door in a porch beside a white bay window, black painted plinth and brick steps in sunlight

    The red front door in Dulux Weathershield Quick Drying Gloss, with white sills and a black plinth beside it.

  • Ground floor bay with white sill and columns above yellow brick and a black painted plinth

    The ground floor bay with its sill and columns in white and the plinth painted black.

  • Side view of a bay with a white painted sill above yellow brick and a black painted plinth beside the garden

    A crisp line between the white sill, the brickwork and the black plinth.

  • Black painted bracket and fascia under a gutter, with white soffit and white bay capitals

    Bracket and fascia in Zinsser AllCoat black, soffit and bay capitals in white.

  • Carved bay window capitals, column and cornice painted white under a black fascia

    The carved capitals and cornice in white beneath the black fascia.

  • Corner of a bay roof with black fascia, gutter and bracket over a white soffit and cornice

    The bay roof corner, fascia and bracket in Zinsser AllCoat black over white soffits.

  • Yellow brick bay apron with two terracotta rosette tiles and four black pierced panels under a white sill

    The pierced panels between the bay windows painted black, under the white sill.

  • Bay window sill and column base painted white above yellow stock brick, scaffold to the right

    The reshaped sill and column base painted white.

  • White bay sill and column base above yellow stock brick with a black painted plinth below

    White sill, original yellow brick and a black plinth.

  • Glossy red front door with leaded glass and a stained glass fanlight in a tiled Victorian porch

    The door in Weathershield Quick Drying Gloss, the red the client picked from the Dulux card, framed by the original porch tiles.

  • Gable with black barge boards and fascia, white pebbledash infill and white soffit, scaffold to the left

    Gable timbers and fascias in Zinsser AllCoat black, with white soffits for contrast.

  • Repainted gable with black barge boards, white pebbledash and white soffit against a clear blue sky

    The gable and fascias in Zinsser AllCoat black with white soffits, on this Victorian house in Beckenham.

  • Looking up into the apex of a gable with black barge boards and white textured infill

    The gable apex, black Zinsser AllCoat on the timbers framing the white-painted infill.

  • Close-up of white paint peeling from a stone pillar base onto a lichen-spotted window sill

    Paint peeling away from the stone where moisture had got behind it.

  • Cracked, curling white paint on the base of a masonry pillar, with flakes lying on the sill

    Cracked and curling paint on a pillar base before preparation began.

  • Hand holding a fan of Dulux Trade red colour swatches over a tiled Victorian porch floor

    Choosing the red for the front door from the Dulux colour card: a colour with a code ending 08/409 and no name.

  • Gable with black barge boards and fascia, white pebbledash infill and white soffit above a white bay window

    The gable from the scaffold: Zinsser AllCoat black on the timbers and fascias, white on the soffits and the bay window below.

The company that DOESN'T live up to its name.

A period front with crumbling sills or a tired gable? Tell us what you can see and we'll come and assess it.

Request a visit or call 07970 500150

Before you book us

The things we'd want to know if it were our house.

  • On the books since 2002

    Splat Decorating Ltd, company no. 04553807. Colin has been a director from the start.

    Check Companies House

  • Insured, and checked

    Our public liability insurance was verified by TrustATrader in May 2026.

    See our TrustATrader profile

  • The two of us, every day

    Colin and Harry Fry, father and son, do the work themselves. No subcontractors, no strangers in your house.

    About Colin and Harry

  • Paint we'd use at home

    Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Coat, Johnstone's, Dulux Trade, Zinsser and Sadolin. We buy it, so it never runs out halfway.

    Our prices, timings and paints