Federation Walls

Federation House in Rozelle NSW

Haberfield Brick Federation House

"The Federation front (usually) features face brick masonry with roughcast in the gable decorative finial panel.
There is a pair of well-detailed brick chimneys with rendered capital and cowls.
The front and side verandah has a shallow pitched concave roof with stop-chamfered timber posts and brick balustrade and piers and tessellated tile floor." - Penrith Council description of a typical Federation house

Federation Houses were usually built of tuckpointed brick with cement joinery in Sydney and other major cities, and in weatherboard where brick was not easily available. -Source, Manly Council
In Perth, it is recorded that front walls were built with limestone footings, and using white tuck-pointed red stretcher-bond brickwork, with stucco string-courses and sills. - Source (town of Vincent)

Rendered brick Randwick Federation house

Randwick 2 storey Federation semi-detached

Early construction methods in Sydney:

• "Builders constructing such houses would usually place 2 carpenters on the property.
  
• These tradesmen would set out the shape of the house, excavate the footings,
  
• supervise the bricklayer as the walls went up,
  
• lay the floor once that level had been reached,
  
• make the windows onsite to the required size and shape (no standard sizes here),
  
• hand cut the roof frame and gables and construct the roof when ready.
  
• The carpenters would supervise the plumbers, internal wall plastering and ceiling linings.
• The front brickwork was usually red in colour with the side and rear bricks being a brown coloured “common” brick." - Source - Early Construction 1900-1930

"When renovating buildings of this age, a check should be made on the condition of the mortar, rising damp and condition of roof tiles as well as electrical wiring and ceilings. In some suburbs the buildings can be affected by soil movement cracks." - Source - Early Construction 1900-1930