Renovating a Queenslander: Period features: Staircase, balustrades, verandah brackets, breezeways, T&G walls, window hoods

Period features are undeniably what give the Queenslander house its unique character and charm. The high tongue and groove (T&G) walls, mouldings, breezeways, verandah brackets and balustrades etc are all decorative items that remind us of a bygone era. In many cases, these features had a functional purpose as well. For example, in the age before air conditioners, high ceilings (our house ceilings are 3.1m high), wrap around verandahs, fanlights above french doors, window hoods and breezeways all allowed air to circulate freely around the house and helped keep it cool in hot summers.

Tongue and groove (T&G): T&G boards are probably one of the best known features of the Queenslander home and give the house its distinctive look and highlight the high ceilings. Unfortunately nearly all of our T&G boards were unsalvageable as termites, borers and a leaky roof had all taken their toll and in some cases, made the wall easily bendable if you pushed against the boards. Our options for replacing the boards where either: a) use MDF panels with the T&G cut into the board or b) use new pine T&G boards to replicate the original boards. While option b) was more expensive, we felt strongly that we wanted the house to reflect its build origins. It would also mean that as the house aged, the imperfections of the pine boards, the gaps between them and the dings and knocks sustained from kids, toys, vacuum cleaners and everyday use, would bring back the "patina" of the walls and reflect the character that makes people fall in love with these style of homes. Now we can see the boards up and painted, I'm sure we made the right decision. The only place we used MDF boards was in the bathrooms. Here, practicality and durability won out, and we felt that the more water resistant MDF boards would be the better option - particularly as we were installing shower panels and not enclosed showers in two of the three bathrooms.

Staircases: As most Queenslander homes sit on stumps (traditionally timber but now steel), an external staircase is a necessity - though the staircase height varies considerably given the terrain and height of the house. The staircase of the Queenslander is generally a thing of beauty that shows off the house as well as showing a clear entry path to the front door (not always so easy with a modern house). Getting the staircase 'right' was important. The elevation of the Queenslander was designed in part to cool the building through better ventilation, in part to allow for the flow of water in tropical downpours, and also to protect the main part of the house from termites. This characteristic also makes it easy to lift the house, as we have done, in order to build another level underneath and expand your living space. Our staircase was made with a timber stringer, hardwood steps and of course, the continuation of the verandah balustrades. Our plan is to have a simple lynch gate at the bottom of the stairs to direct people up the stairs to the front door, rather than walk straight through to the downstairs verandah.

An internal staircase was not traditionally as prevalent, as many Queenslander houses were single storey. However, as more Queenslanders are being renovated and lifted internal stairs are becoming more commonplace. Given that our internal staircase sits amongst a great deal of period features, we chose a simple turned balustrade (painted Dulux Vivid White) and a ladies waist handrail (stained timber) to complement the T&G walls. One thing to note, as I've since found out there are two types of ladies waist profiles - the normal ladies waist with a smooth top and a colonial ladies waist - which has a type of small rail on top. A small but subtle difference. We had wanted the more common ladies waist but ended up with the colonial ladies waist but I think they are close enough in style not to be too noticeable a difference.

Verandah balustrades: Choosing the external staircase and balustrades was easy as we'd always liked the traditional cricket stump style of dowel balustrades, which had the additional benefit, of maximising the amount of view visible through the balustrades. The original house just had a small front deck which was a modern addition so we weren't guided by an existing feature of the house. Likewise, the more modern asbestos verandah addition to the original house was simply tacked on the side, without any insulation and completely lacked character. By removing it and replacing it with a traditional wrap around verandah we were able to ensure that each bedroom had a french door onto the verandah, with a corresponding fanlight above each french door (except the master bedroom where the enclosed verandah roof didn't allow the height for a fanlight.

Verandah Brackets: Having done some research into verandah brackets and the styles most suited to a 1930's house, we chose a simple verandah bracket that was actually from a slightly earlier era. However, given we had a lot of verandah space with a top and bottom wrap around verandah, we decided that we didn't want to "over decorate" so we went with the more simple (and cheaper) geometric design of the early 1900's to 1920's. Yet to be installed, I'm looking forward to seeing them in place to finish off the verandahs!

Breezeways: In contrast, there was one remaining breezeway above the bedroom door in the original cottage that we were able to match and put back in place in the upstairs bedrooms, pantry entry and main bathroom. Personally, I think its a lovely decorative item that gives the hallway so much of its charm and they just blend so well with the T&G walls.

Window hoods: The window hoods proved to be quite a challenge. The original house had about three different styles of window hood but the standard paling skillion window hood we had wanted to use, that best match the only surviving original window hood, wouldn't fit! As our western windows were now placed in the enclosed verandah (with matching roofline on the southern extension) the windows had to be high enough to meet council regulations and put a pantry bench under. This meant they are very close to the roofline and the traditional skillion window hood simply didn't have enough space to attach the top support bracket. Practicality therefore won out and we choose a metal drumroll window hood, style wise also from the same era. It has an extended horizontal top section (some 400mm) that would allow the hood to fit beneath the roof eaves while still providing protection from the elements, shelter from the afternoon glare of the sun, and some privacy from the neighbouring apartment block across the road if the windows were open.

Period feature details are as below:

Verandah Brackets: 340 x 335 x 32mm (Supplier: Colonial Warehouse VB#4) & Woodworkers VB3)
Balustrades and handrails (External): 3 dowel / cricket stump hardwood dowel balustrade with a bread loaf handrail (Supplier: Woodworkers)
Breezeways: BW12 (Supplier: Woodworkers)
T&G walls: 100mm wide pine tongue & groove boards
Window hoods: Colorbond drumroll window hoods (Supplier: Custom made by the roofer)