The Counting House — Pontefract
Beam Repair & Restoration Carpentry
Practical restoration carpentry inside centuries-old oak structure: split beams made sound, kitchen studwork formed, and original timber repaired rather than discarded.
Split beams pulled back together
Several old beams in The Counting House had split and opened up over time. The task was to stabilise what was there, keeping the old timber in service while making it sound again.
The beams were drilled, bolted and pulled back together with threaded bar and washer plates. It was direct, practical restoration carpentry: dealing with timber that had been creaking, cracking and moving, then securing it without stripping the building of its original fabric.
Kitchen studwork
Heritage Joiners also formed the new studwork and plasterboarded the area that became the kitchen, ready for the next stages of fit-out.
This was part of making the building usable again as a bar and restaurant: first-fix carpentry done cleanly and accurately inside a structure where the surrounding fabric was anything but regular.
Original timber restored
An original exterior frame had failed at the bottom. Rather than losing the whole piece, the rotten lower section was cut out and a new piece of timber was spliced cleanly into the bottom of the frame, preserving the original above.
A Victorian door to the downstairs electrical cupboard was also repaired, restored and refitted into new boxing-in. It would have been easy to replace, but keeping it was the better heritage decision — the old door went back into use, carrying its age and character.
Shaped oak at the bar stair
Near the bar stair, an oak newel and post detail was shaped, fluted and given an ogee-style moulded detail — a decorative lift that keeps the piece in the building’s traditional language.
It is the kind of small detail that changes how a room feels. A flat piece would have done the job; shaped oak made it part of the building.
Need restoration carpentry?
For beam repairs, old frames, original doors or first-fix work inside a heritage property, send photos and a short outline of the problem.