Doing the whole house in one visit
Mullion is at the edge of the ground we cover, and we would rather say so than pretend Redruth is round the corner. The run down through Helston and across the peninsula is thirty-five to forty minutes each way, longer behind a caravan in August. That makes a small job awkward and a big one sensible, because the travel has to sit somewhere in the quote. A bungalow done inside and out, with the garage and the garden walls in the same stay, is the shape most of our Mullion work has.
The village suits it. For a place its size Mullion has a great many twentieth-century bungalows and houses, and a bungalow is the easiest property there is to do as one job. The outside can be reached from ladders and a short tower, so the render, fascias, windows and doors are done in the dry spells while the rooms inside are picked up on the wet days, and there is nearly always a wet day. Add the garage, the shed, the gate and the rendered garden walls, and the whole property is finished in one stay rather than three visits over two years.
That needs a plan before the van leaves Redruth. We list every wall, room and outbuilding, agree an order so the house stays usable, and watch the forecast for the Lizard rather than for Camborne, because the two are often different. If a front comes in early the outside waits rather than being rushed between showers. A job of a week or two is best set for late spring to early autumn, when the outside has a fair chance, with the interior in the same block.
Wind off the sea, with nothing behind the village to slow it
Mullion sits on the west side of the Lizard, facing whatever comes across the Atlantic. Mullion Cove and its small harbour below the village take the sea head on, Poldhu and Polurrian are open beaches on the same coast. Salt lands on every seaward wall, works into render and window joints, and lifts a coating put over an unwashed surface. That is the same story as at Porthleven and it needs the same answer: wash the salt off, let the wall dry, repair and stabilise before any paint goes on.
What is different here is the wind itself. The Lizard is a flat plateau, and behind the village lie the Goonhilly downs, open heath with the satellite dishes standing on it and hardly a tree above hedge height. There are no hills to break the wind as there are around Constantine or behind Redruth, so it reaches a Mullion house at full strength and finds every side of it. More elevations need the full treatment than in a sheltered town, fascias and bargeboards on the weather side fail first, and painted timber wants its coats rebuilt from sound paint rather than one more over flaking.
It also makes the weather window real. On a day when the wind would carry a dust sheet to Helston, exterior work stops whatever the sunshine says. We plan Mullion exteriors with slack in them and would rather lose a day than have a coat fail before its first winter.
Cottages, lets, and making the first visit count
Alongside the bungalows are the older cottages of the village centre and the farms and hamlets round it, stone under render and lime, with low ceilings and plaster that moves. They get a breathable finish outside and a filler that moves inside. A large share of the property here, old and new, is a holiday let or second home, with holiday parks close by and owners who see the place in summer. Keys from the housekeeper, a quote by email that sets out what it covers, dates from the booking calendar, photographs back as each room or wall is finished: and with the long drive that routine matters more here, not less, that the empty week is used properly.
The drive is also the reason to make the first visit count. In Mullion we would rather the first visit was the quote visit and, where it can be, the start of the work. So before we come, send us what you can: a photograph of each elevation from across the road, the same for any garage, shed or garden wall, a phone photo of each room with the doors and windows in shot, and rough sizes, the outside walls paced out and the floor dimensions of the rooms. Add a picture of anything that worries you, blown render, a soft sill, a stained ceiling, and the colours you have in mind. From that we can ask the questions we would otherwise ask on the doorstep and bring the right kit, so the walk round confirms the quote rather than starts it. WhatsApp, email or the contact form all work for that.