Stone mullion windows
There was a time when stone products, whether it be windows door surrounds or stone fireplaces, were too expensive for modern buildings. But as property values in the uk have soared over the last 25 years, so the inclusion of such quality features has become far more cost effective. There was also a time when stone windows (mullions) were vastly more expensive than timber ones, but that gap has now narrowed greatly and in fact the cost of a stone triple opening window with steel casements it quite reasonable when compared with a hardwood joiner made bespoke timber window.
There is no doubt which type adds more character to a period property. Stone ages and weathers beautifully, and in only a few years can look like it has always been there. It also never needs painting.
Internal features such as fireplaces obviously don’t weather in the same way, and although they will take on the bumps and stains that home life throws at them, they sometimes need a bit of help to be aged a bit sooner. Our customers have told us of many methods to achieve this: a bit of light woodstain on a cloth, rubbed into the corners of the stone looks very good, though you should experiment on out of sight areas first. Doing the same with an old damp teabag, can also give a nice patina to the mouldings on a stone fireplace.
Some more confident people have actually bashed a few corners off the stone to simulate hundreds of years of hard life, but we would never recommend attacking one of our stone fireplaces like that!!