Handyman Clapham: repairs around the common

Handyman in Clapham: one common, two councils

Clapham is split between two boroughs. Rectory Grove, Clapham Manor Street and Clapham High Street are in Lambeth, while most of the houses on the North Side and West Side of the common fall under Wandsworth Council. The common itself is split roughly in half between the two. Both councils protect the area. Lambeth's Clapham conservation area, first designated in 1968, is centred on the common, and Lambeth describes many historic buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, plus a great deal of mid to late Victorian housing beyond the edges of the common.

Knowing which council you are under matters when a job touches planning or listed building rules. For everyday repairs our handyman works the same way on either side of the common, and we will point you to the right planning team if a question comes up. We are based in Fulham, at Jerdan Place, and come over to Clapham from there.

Terraces and villas on the North Side and West Side

Wandsworth Council's appraisal for its part of the common says the terraced house is the main type, mostly in stock or gault brick with stone and stucco details. Some of the oldest homes survive here: the council lists late eighteenth century houses on the West Side at Grade II. Many larger houses were replaced between 1895 and 1908 by three storey red brick terraces, and the appraisal also mentions bow fronted late Victorian villas in Altenburg Gardens and red brick houses with two storey canted bays in Lavender Gardens.

For one group of these streets, the appraisal says most properties have kept their original timber sash windows. Our handyman in Clapham works on sashes like these all the time: new cords, freeing a stuck lower sash, or fitting slim brush seals to cut draughts without changing how the window looks. Bow fronts and canted bays add curved and angled joinery, so sills and joints there need a closer look when the house is repainted.

Rectory Grove and the streets towards the High Street

On the Lambeth side, the Rectory Grove conservation area runs along Rectory Grove, Larkhall Rise and Clapham Manor Street as far as Clapham High Street. Lambeth describes the buildings as mostly nineteenth century and mainly homes, with Rectory Grove and Larkhall Rise informal and leafy and Clapham Manor Street more formal in layout.

Nineteenth century houses in streets like these tend to need the same steady upkeep: doors eased as frames shift, plaster cracks filled before decorating, loose stair spindles refixed and old shutters or internal joinery freed up. These are the jobs that pile up over a year, and we can usually clear several of them in a single visit.

Garden flats, conversions and basements

Where a large Clapham house has been split up, you can find a garden flat at the bottom and a conversion under the roof at the top. The Wandsworth appraisal makes a point worth knowing: flats and houses converted into flats do not benefit from permitted development rights. In plain words, changes a single family house could make without asking, such as some window or door swaps, need planning permission when the building is flats. Check with your council before changing anything on the outside.

The same appraisal notes that several properties have added basements at the front, and lists basement extensions among the things that harm the area. If you have a lower ground or garden flat, common jobs are resealing a damp prone shower, fixing back door locks, clearing a blocked gully at the bottom of the steps and painting lightwell walls. Persistent damp has a cause that needs finding, and our handyman will tell you plainly if it looks like more than a quick fix.

Newer blocks built to look Edwardian

Not everything facing the common is old. The Wandsworth appraisal mentions recent mansion blocks built in a reproduction Edwardian style, so a front that looks a century old can hide a modern frame, plasterboard walls and factory made windows. That matters for fixings. If you assume solid brick behind every wall, you can end up with a heavy shelf held by nothing more than plasterboard.

In these newer flats our handyman uses a detector to find studs, pipes and cables, picks fixings rated for hollow walls, and checks the building's rules on drilling and noise. Typical jobs are TV brackets, blinds, wardrobes, door adjustments and silicone around baths and kitchen worktops. Window and balcony door repairs in a modern block are often the managing agent's responsibility, so check your lease before booking.

Front walls and railings

According to the Wandsworth appraisal, homes here originally had low brick walls with iron railings along the street, and the West Side terraces still have low brick walls with cast iron panelled railings. We can wire brush, prime and paint railings, refix loose panels, reset copings and rehang front gates. Railings that have lost whole sections need a metalworker to cast or make new pieces.

Gas, electrics and how to get a free quote

Any gas work is done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, since the law requires registration for anyone doing gas work. We will arrange this for you. A new circuit, a new consumer unit, or new points in a room with a bath or shower is done by a registered electrician who can self certify the work. We arrange it, and our handyman can make good the plaster and paint afterwards. Small like for like swaps, such as a socket face or a light fitting on an existing circuit, are jobs we do ourselves.

For everything else, use our quote form. Tell us if you are in a house or a flat, which side of the common you are on, and add a photo or two if you can. We will come back to you with a free quote and a time to come over from Fulham.

Common questions