The hallway is the first thing you and your visitors see, and it takes more knocks than any other room in the house. Wall panelling protects the walls and adds character, and it suits Letchworth's housing well, from the original Garden City cottages to 1930s semis and newer builds. Below are the styles that work best, what to plan for, and what it usually costs.
Much of Letchworth was built in the Arts and Crafts tradition, so simple, honest panelling usually looks more at home here than ornate Georgian mouldings. Pick a style that matches when your house was built and it will look like it has always been there, not like a recent makeover.
In a narrow hallway, which is common in the older cottages around the town centre and Norton, vertical lines make the ceiling feel higher. Wide horizontal boards can make a tight hallway feel even narrower.
A common height is a dado level of around 900mm to 1m, which protects the wall from bags, bikes and pushchairs. Taller panelling of 1.2m to 1.5m looks striking in hallways with higher ceilings and suits the Arts and Crafts look. As a rough guide, keep the panelling to about one third or two thirds of the wall height, as halfway can look awkward.
Staircases need the most planning. The top rail should run parallel to the stair string, and the box panels should step up or slope with the stairs so they stay evenly spaced. Getting this right is the main difference between a professional finish and a DIY job that looks slightly off.
Many early Garden City houses have solid walls and lime plaster that is rarely flat or square. Panelling can hide some unevenness, but battens often need packing out so the finished surface is true. Adhesive alone may not hold on crumbly old plaster, so mechanical fixings into sound masonry are usually safer.
Solid walls can also hold damp, especially near the front door or at low level. Deal with any damp before panelling over it, because covering it up just hides the problem and can rot the timber. Moisture resistant MDF is worth the small extra cost in hallways.
Costs depend on the length of the hallway, whether stairs are involved, and the style you choose. For materials, a simple board and batten or Shaker scheme in a typical hallway might cost roughly £150 to £400 in MDF, beading and fixings. Having it professionally fitted, painted and finished around sockets and radiators often comes to somewhere between £800 and £2,500, and more for full height panelling up a staircase and landing.
Most hallways take two to four days to finish, including filling, caulking and at least two coats of paint. Use a hard wearing finish such as eggshell or a durable matt, because hallway walls get wiped often. Deep greens, blues and warm off-whites all look good against the brick and timber details found in many local homes.
The Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation's Scheme of Management mainly covers external changes, so internal panelling usually does not need their consent. If your property is listed, you should check with North Hertfordshire District Council, as internal alterations can still need listed building consent.
Yes, and hiding uneven walls is one of its advantages. Battens are packed out to create a flat surface, and fixings go into sound masonry rather than relying on adhesive on weak plaster.
Moisture resistant MDF is stable, smooth to paint and cheaper, which makes it the usual choice. Real timber such as pine tongue and groove suits period cottages, but it can move with the seasons and usually needs knotting and priming before you paint it.
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