The Woodworkers Company aims to make joinery that blends comfortably with the traditional styles of Queensland architecture. We've spent hours measuring and recording the fine detail of old Queensland houses and we hope this summary will prove useful to renovators, architects and builders who have inherited houses that have been tormented by earlier modernisation efforts. Increasingly we see property markets handsomely rewarding authenticity and the thoughtful approach to renovation, and this style guide should assist these endeavours by providing an easy reference to the main eras of Queensland dwelling construction. The guide intends to be informative and not constrictive. Knowing a building's architectural style provides a framework for renovation or restoration and permits consistency of detailing. Ultimately however, the success of such work depends on the skill of the designer and artisan. We believe we have a responsibility to the increasingly scarce timbers we use to be disciplined about our work. As a component manufacturer, we hope our work can make it that much easier for our clients to preserve our unique architectural heritage...
1850-1880 The Colonial Victorian Period
Housing Characteristics
Design
Houses set low (200mm to 1 metre above ground) with brick fireplaces
Roofs
- Steep shingle and corrugated iron in simple skillion or hipped designs
- Curved iron verandah roofs usually separate from main roof
- No eaves overhangs
Joinery
- Red Cedar preferred due to its similarity to the Honduran Mahogany popular in England
Verandah
- Crow's Ash or Beech Flooring ex 150 x 25
Various curved roof forms used in addition to straight skillions.
Walls
- Deep timber weatherboards and timber chamfer boards ex. 200 x 25rnm
- Soft bricks or stone occasionally
Floors
- Wide Hoop Pine internally (ex 200 mm)
Ceilings
- Boarded Hoop (lath and plaster in grander residences)
Hoods
- Window hoods not common.
Brackets
- Decorative brackets not common. Occasionally eaves brackets used between junction of main roof and verandah roof.
Doors
- Internal doors were four or six panel, or simple ledge and brace construction on simpler houses. Single margin light doors used for secondary entrances.
Balustrades
- Diagonal Cross and Union Jack balustrade popular in first decades of settlement
Diagonal Cross Balustrade
Diagonal Ring Balustrade
Columns
- Square columns and newels
with simple stop chamfers
Doors
- Victorian doors typically contained four flat panels with lightly moulded surrounds. Grander houses often used six or eight panel doors however. Front doors did not contain glazed panels and were usually double doors or a single very wide door occasionally of double margin construction.
Windows
- Multiple light double hung sashes made up of 10" x 8" (255x204mm) panes or 12" x 10" (305 x 255 mm) were common initially as these were the glass sizes available. Glass panels were always slightly higher than they are wide, with very thin timber glazing bars dividing the sashes into six, nine, twelve or more panes. After 1860, two pane and then single pane sashes appeared as plate glass became available.
Fretwork & Arches
- Georgian circular and eliptical arches in grander houses. Little decoration in simpler dwellings.
