Conservation of Blue Lias Farmhouse

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Daniel came highly recommended to me through the Rose of Jericho.  Since meeting him and seeing the completion of stone works carried out on my grade 11 listed 15th century property,  not only was the quality of work and attention to detail second to none, but he is a Consummate professional, a pleasure to deal with, trustworthy, reliable and resourceful. Also possessing an ability to project manage other works around him at the same time..... He carried out several months of work on our farmhouse.

 

Mr G-J. - Compton Dundon, Nr. Street

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Renovation of Tudor farmhouse

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Michael and Dan Kempf worked on our Tudor Grade II listed farmhouse which required complete restoration.  At a time when the house was uninhabitable, they undertook major stone restoration work, repointing and rebuilding work.  Their skills and craftsmanship are unparalleled.  Their understanding and knowledge of lime mortars and shading/colouring, properties and behaviours is profound.  

 

They work diligently, quietly and thoroughly and are charming people to have around.  Lime work is mucky and dusty, but they take reasonable care to keep things tidy and they make an excellent job of cleaning up afterwards.  They go above and beyond their job spec to ensure the best finish possible at no extra cost.  Most importantly they love stone work and lime and take absolute pride in their work.

 

I can recommend them without reservation.

 

Mrs L. - Over Stratton, Nr South Petherton

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Conservation of Portland Stone Portico

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Daniel was very sensitive to the building’s needs. His painstaking, meticulous approach, brought the portico back to life, but with no real visible signs of the very many repairs. Very happy!

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Mr P. - Hardington Mandeville, Nr. Crewkerne

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Conservation of St. Mary's Church, Compton Pauncefoot

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Over the last twelve years Daniel Kempf has carried out some very important restoration work at the lovely church of St Mary’s, Compton Pauncefoot.

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He repointed the mortaring on the outside of the church around the windows and repaired a delicate chimney on the vestry with much skill. 

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He also repaired the roof of our lych gates, a considerable task, done most thoroughly and suitably.

Inside the church he completed a large task in filling in some major cracks in the mortar in the chancel and then completely repainting the area.  Previously he had done good work in other areas of the church, including re-filleting around several large stained glass windows.

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Daniel Kempf is a skilful worker with an excellent knowledge of the correct mortar and paint for our church. 

 

He is a most pleasant young man. I would recommend him unreservedly.

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Mr B. - Compton Pauncefoot, Nr. Sparkford

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Conservation of Chubbs's Almshouses, Crewkerne

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Chubbs Almshouses were founded in 1604 over 400 years ago.

Being old and historic listed buildings, they need careful and sympathetic care and maintenance. When the Trustees decided that the  buildings were in need of work to conserve them they selected Daniel and his Father to arrange a complete overhaul - from all the walls, to roofs, to chimneys . It was the right choice. They carried out the work skilfully and the end result is not only a credit to them, but to The Charity and the Town of Crewkerne.

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Mr F. ACIB - Chairman, Matthew Chubbs Almshouse Charity

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Conservation of St. James's Church, East Lambrook

 

St James's Church, East Lambrook, was built in 1190 and is in remarkably good condition.  How its condition can be so good is often a point of discussion and I can only think of two factors:  for all its 830 years this little church must have been loved and cared for by the village.  And for the last forty of those years it has been constantly tended by Mike Kempf who lives 100 yards away and who has given it his expertise and skill in a very wide range of conservation jobs.  In more recent years Dan Kempf has helped his father and has learned from him.   In our parish we consider ourselves very fortunate to have had such skilled craftsmen looking after our buildings.

 

Mrs O. - Churchwarden, St. James Church, East Lambrook

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Conservation of Front and Rear Facades of House

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In the blistering heat of 2018 summer Daniel Kempf and his father worked incredibly hard to restore our 1790s sandstone terraced property which had been severely weakened over time by the weather. This involved erecting scaffolding front and back, general restoration and digging out the failed stones - of quite considerable size - and replacing them with mortar repairs & some new stone. We were very impressed by everything they did, especially in weather proofing and colour matching. Since then the work has been much admired. Nothing was too much trouble.

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Mr & Mrs L. - A village in South Somerset

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Mortar Repair and Repointing of Rear Facade of House

 

The rear wall of this Georgian property consists of well weathered Hinton stone, Ham stone and

some Petherton stone. The pointing was in a bad condition. Past repairs in concrete were unsightly and the surface was in a poor state where rain had penetrated. We wanted it restored and made weatherproof, but to retain the soft aged look.

 

Daniel provided a clear description of all the work required and explained fully all the processes

which would be undertaken. Following is a few extracts from what was a very detailed explanation

of all the work which would be undertaken.

 

For example “ We will carve in some texture, add minor depressions and feather out the edges so

that the repaired stones don't look too new, our aim is to fully repair them whilst aesthetically to

make them look like the blocks are in good condition but showing still signs of age.” “Some of the

repairs will then be given a colour wash and antiquing stain where necessary which further

improves how well they visually colour match the other stones.” “In this way highly durable repairs will be achieved weather protected and disguised, blending in with the rest of the stonework”.

 

The Conservation Officer who reviewed the proposed work was impressed with the proposals.

The work was carried out by Daniel and Mike who are clearly skilled craftsmen with in-depth

knowledge of stonework and a genuine desire to retain all the historic features of a building such as ours, they are true artists. They were a delight to have working here, at all times showing

consideration for us and discussing each stage of the work to ensure we were happy with what they

planned to do next. They maintained a clear and tidy work area which made life much easier for us.

 

When completed we were truly delighted by the finished wall. It looks superb and I have no doubt

the repairs will make a significant contribution to the longevity of this Grade 2 listed building - and added value to the property.

 

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Daniel and Mike to anyone considering such work.

 

Mrs A. -  Hinton St. George, Nr. Crewkerne

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Re-pointing of Beautiful Thatched Cottage

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We employed Kempf Conservation to undertake a range of renovation works to the stonework of our 17th century, possibly earlier, cottage in Pitney.

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The cottage had been extended into an ajoining barn in the late 1990s but no significant work had been undertaken to the fascia of blue lias which was in fairly urgent need of attention.

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Over a period of some weeks Daniel, supported by others including his father, all of whom who have a wealth of experience in working with similar projects, undertook a full and very sympathetic renovation to the whole front and gable end of the building. This included making good a number of blue lias stones that had crumbled through age as well as cleaning out old irregular pointing and then repointing the whole with ‘correct’ mortar appropriately matched to the original construction.

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In addition, Daniel and his team undertook work in the garden repointing a very old wall and rebuilding/repointing an old privy both of which were in poor repair. Recently, Daniel has been back to install a small Blue Lias stone carrying the house name and this much smaller job has had exactly the same excellent attention to detail giving a superb finish.

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I can highly recommend Kempf Conservation. Their renovation work is exemplary and the results are there for all to see. BUT, in addition to the finished product, their ability to work alongside us as clients, perhaps particularly as we were unfamiliar with such work, to bring options, advice and especially a high degree of confidence in delivering what could be a financial exploit difficult to quantify, is simply excellent.

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Kempf Conservation - experto crede!

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Mr & Mrs L. - Pitney, Nr. Langport

 

 

 

Conservation Repair of Medieval Wood and Plaster Chimney Lining

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Daniel completely refurbished our internal wooden chimney, which was a thoroughly unusual, task. At approximately 500 years old, it needed real craftsmanship and dedication to a job which was, initially very dirty – much soot from the ages to remove – He had to do the from work from ladder, right up inside the chimney, and it needed real care and attention to detail, to thoroughly repair its wood and plaster structure. He found all the original type of materials, mixed them to a suitable state, and applied them to the chimney to make it look like it had when first constructed.

 

The whole job was conducted safely and, with great care on keeping the house clean and clear of soot, constructing several sheeted-off zones within the ground floor, complete with large extractor fans to suck out the dust as he worked. An enormous task in itself!

 

I cannot recommend Daniel more wholeheartedly. He was friendly and extremely professional in his work. I would trust him to do any job, no matter how extreme.

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Mr & Mrs V-P. - Lydmarsh, Nr Chard

 

 

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Conservation Repairs of St. John the Evangelist, Milborne Port

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Kempf Conservation has carried out an extensive and extremely professional and thorough stonework restoration project on many areas of our beautiful church.  Daniel and his team are very conscientious and hardworking, consulting with us at every step as the work proceeded.  They took great care to use the correct materials and their work closely matches the existing stonework, being complimented by our Architect.  We would highly recommend this company.

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Mrs H. - Churchwarden of St. John the Evangelist, Milborne Port

 

 

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Repair of Blue Lias Ashlar on Somerset's Churches

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I fondly remember the several occasions we have collaborated on church repairs, focussing on Somerset's delightful but not very durable Blue Lias stone, trying to find ways to slow down its degradation and prolong the life of what remains - usually several hundred years old and often listed grade II* and higher. 

 

I was most impressed with your mortar repair skills, very effectively restoring lost faces to individual stones (where necessary) and keeping the substance of the old stone while presenting a pleasing and weather resisting - consolidated - surface.  Each collaboration has been a joy, and I have valued your experience and recommendations, as well as your open and honest approach to cost control.

 

Mr T. - Chartered Architect

 

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Conservation of Farmhouse

 

We hired Dan Kempf  to repair/repoint in Lime a West-facing house wall that also needed to breathe.  Ours is a Grade 11 listed Farmhouse built in 1750 so complying with those requirements was obviously important.

 

I chose Dan from three companies quoting (his quote was in the middle in terms of cost) because he struck me as having a genuine interest in and care for conserving buildings.

 

He and his colleague were punctual, tidy and easy to have around the property. Most important of all, they know what they're doing and have matched up the pointing perfectly

 

I would recommend them without hesitation

 

Mr & Mrs E. - Leigh, Nr. Sherborne

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Conservation of Hamstone Mullion Windows, Pendomer

 

We live in a Victorian house with bay windows which for many years allowed rain water to penetrate. But then we were recommended Michael Kempf who with great skill solved the problem. His work was of an excellent standard and his price was very reasonable. Michael also replaced some glass in an antique cabinet. He did a perfect job.

 

Mr A. - Pendomer, Nr. Yeovil

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Conservation of Alford House, Alford

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History:

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The Thring family bought the Alford Estate at the beginning of the nineteenth century.  John Thring built Alford House as the new estate “Mansion House”.  The house was built in the Georgian neo-Gothic style reminiscent of the neo-Gothic elevation to Castle Ward in Northern Ireland.  The stonework on these parts of the house is magnificent and it is difficult to place a knife between the close mortar joints.  I attach a small water colour painting of the newly built mansion.

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In the mid nineteenth century the house was remodelled in the fashionable “nouveau-riche” style.  A new attic story was added with a new roof and dormer windows, the main windows were all altered to rectangular design from their Gothic arches, a new addition was built on the west elevation and a tall water tower turret on the east.  The stonework of these later Victorian additions was nothing like as good a quality as the earlier construction.  I attach a black and white photograph of Alford House, circa 1913.

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Works:

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When we started our renovation of the house in 2004 the house exterior was largely unchanged from the mid-nineteenth century remodelling.  The ornate stone chimneys had become unstable and been demolished at an earlier date and some of the stone parapet walls had been replaced in concrete block.

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Dan and Mike Kempf were employed as stone conservators to work their way around the whole exterior, repairing and rejuvenating the stone work.  The house is built of Blue Lias stone with Portland limestone window mullions.  Work started on the water tower on the east elevation.  This was the worst of the house stonework which had eroded to the point that some joints were wide enough to slip in a hand.  The stone work was painstakingly cleaned of all loose material, repointed and in places rebuilt in lime mortar.  A thin lime wash was added to bind and weatherproof the whole surface.  This same technique was effectively employed on all the “new” stonework of the west addition where the stone work was in a similar poor weathered state.

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The ”original” neo-Gothic stonework was in far better condition and required only a light touch clean, removing all loose material.  This was followed by the occasional careful repair where necessary and again a thin lime wash to bind the whole surface.

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At some point in the twentieth century sections of the parapet walls had been replaced with concrete block.  Mike and Dan were able to cleverly disguise these sections with a lime render to mimic the look of the original blue lias parapet wall slabs.

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The Portland stone window mullions had acquired an iron stained crust due to iron salts in the stone migrating to the stone surface.  This crust prevented the stone breathing, was breaking off and damaging the stone.  Mike and Dan carefully rubbed down and removed this crust thereby rejuvenating the stone surface which was again protected with a thin limewash.

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Mike and Dan cut out and created the new stone opening in the dining room for a new French door.  This was beautifully finished inside and out with a lovely semi-circular lime mortar step onto the south terrace.  This addition dramatically improved circulation from the house onto the terrace and gardens.

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The stone renovation and conservation programme took many years with Mike and Dan working their way around the building element by element.  We worked with them seeking to understand each phase or work which by it’s nature was often difficult to describe and quantify at the outset.  They worked long days, through all weathers once the scaffold was up.  Helen and I could not be more pleased with the result, the rejuvenated the stonework now good for decades to come.  

 

Mr & Mrs P. - Alford House, Alford

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Assisting Gale Building Conservation

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 As a business that specialises in historic building conservation, high quality workmanship is the top priority which is why we have have always been happy to work with Daniel on our projects on churches and historic schoolhouses in Somerset and Dorset.

 

Daniel has a careful well considered approach to his work which has a distinct recognisable style passed down to him by his father. Yes, Daniel is the second generation of his family's business and has been in this line of work long enough to achieve excellence with a calm and easy manner.

Geoff Gale - Director, Gale Building Conservation.

 

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Lime-Rendering on Carymoor Environmental Centre, Near Castle Cary

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We have used Kempf Conservation to assist with the lime render and lime washing of our timber frame visitor centre and strawbale house at Carymoor Environmental Trust. Our centre buildings are designed very much with sustainability in mind, to demonstrate how natural materials can be harnessed effectively to save energy and natural resources. Natural materials do require some upkeep and maintenance to protect them from the elements. Daniel and Michael have a deep understanding of the materials they work with and share our ethos for working in a sustainable way. They have great expertise and experience.

 

Mr F. - Assistant Manager, Carymoor Environmental Centre

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Zeal Almshouses 

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We were all delighted and could not have been happier with the refurbishment of our Almshouses (1865) window stone work, entirely in keeping with the original windows, with modern standards of water and air tight sealing.

 

Mr C. - Chairman of the Zeals Almshouses

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Conservation of St. Nicholas Church, Dinnington

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During my time as Chairman of the Fabric Committee of Hinton St. George with Dinnington, I oversaw work carried out on St. Nicholas Church in Dinnington by Kempf Conservation. The work was identified in the Quinquennial Inspection and comprised stonework conservation, re-bedding of a cross on the peak of the gable and re-pointing the bellcote and miscellaneous roof repairs. The major element was the conservation of weathered Hamstone on the East and West gables; this was carried out to a high standard of workmanship and is currently standing up well to the elements.

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Mr. C. - St. Nicholas Church, Dinnington

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