GEORGIAN 1714 - 1837

Case Study

Marlacoo House, Portadown, County Armagh

Explore the history of this house and what the future holds for it.

Location
Marlacoo House sits in a pleasant rural situation near to a lake of the same name but is well hidden from the road.

The house
The house, which dates from 1815 is a three-bay two-storey late Georgian house. It has a hipped roof and walls of blackstone with roughcast render. A classically inspired doorcase marks the main entrance which is placed centrally on the symmetrical front elevation. The present owner was able to restore many of the original features using traditional methods of repair and this combined with regular maintenance will ensure a long useful life for the house.

Restoration
Works carried out included removal of an inappropriate return, repairs to timber sliding sash windows and repairs to internal plasterwork. Timber repairs were carried out to the roof structure, with new lead flashing, repairs to existing cast iron rainwater goods and re-slating of roof with natural slate.

Details
Repair work was carried out on this house in 1976 and 1982 by the present
Owners.

Explore and Restore

	Fires were primarily used for heating the house so chimneystacks are large and numerous. Keep all stacks even if redundant.	Roofs generally are of natural slate. Any repairs should match the existing.
Lime render (stucco) is a popular external wall finish. Details may be natural stone or Coade stone. Any repairs should match the existing materials.		Windows are sub-divided using glazing bars. These should be slim with a profile to match original. Sash windows should be single glazed, secondary glazing is preferable to double glazing. If hardwoods are used for door and window joinery repairs they should be from sustainable sources. Traditionally timbers are painted rather than stained.
Georgian detailing is simple and classically inspired. Keep any original features such as porches and parapets.	Extensions should be in scale and proportion to the original house. Keep any existing or traditional landscape features.