Old Houses Need Different Hands
Our Franschhoek renovation team renovates heritage and older homes in Franschhoek — Cape Dutch homesteads, Victorian cottages, and early-1900s town houses. These buildings were built with soft brick, clay, and lime, and they manage moisture by breathing. The most common — and most expensive — mistake is renovating them with modern cement plaster and sealed paints, which trap damp in the walls and push it through as bubbling paint and crumbling plaster within a few seasons. We repair like with like: lime-based plasters, breathable coatings, and joinery repairs that match the original profiles.
Permits Before Hammers
In South Africa, any structure older than 60 years requires a permit from the provincial heritage authority before it may be altered — and much of Franschhoek's older housing stock falls under this rule, with some streets carrying additional heritage overlay protections. We flag what needs approval, prepare the motivation with your architect or ours, and sequence the work so approved phases proceed while paperwork on the rest is underway. Every project starts with a free on-site assessment.