An Easy Guide to an Old or Listed Building

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Where do you start?

Buildings are classified into grades to indicate their relative significance. If your house is listed and the repairs you intend undertaking are alterations or replacement, then you need to obtain Listed Building Consent from the Local Authority.

Consider to begin with whether you actually need to carry out the work, think of all options. We are all custodians of historic buildings and any alterations that we make to them should respect their special character and seek to retain as much historic fabric as possible. Applications for Listed Building Consents must be able to justify proposals.

A good starting point is a basic conversation and site meeting with the Local Authority Building Conservation Officer. Early dialogue will help identify any issues with your particular building, such as building regulations implications, or it may outline that the significance of your building fabric is simply too high to even consider the proposed changes you intend to carry out. The Local Authority Building Conservation Officer will also help you establish if you need professional help to provide more detailed information and construction details.

If consents are required, then an application is likely to need scale drawings showing proposed works and the building as it is, although for simple repairs annotated photos could be sufficient. If you’ve decided to proceed without professional guidance then make sure you know what is required, you are sure of your analysis of the problem, and that the intended remedial work is appropriate without damage to the building.

Beware unauthorised alterations are potentially a criminal offence. Prosecution is possible (though rare) and councils can also take enforcement action to reverse the work. There is a right of appeal or the possibility of submitting an application for retrospective consent. An owner may be liable for the rectification of unauthorised work even if it was carried out by a previous owner.

Owners are not obliged to maintain listed buildings, but if their condition gets very poor Local Authorities can serve an Urgent Works Notice (for temporary protection of unoccupied structures) or a Repairs Notice.

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When do you need consent?

What alterations need consent?

Listed Building Consent is required for any alteration which materially affects the ‘special interest’ of a listed building. For example, for any of the following alterations:

External:

• Adding an extension or rebuilding in different materials.

• Changing the roof pitch or roof covering materials.

• Inserting roof lights, removing, altering or adding dormer windows, adding solar panels or other micro generation equipment.

• Altering or removing chimney stacks and pots.

• Covering existing wall surfaces e.g. with render, cladding or paint.

• Changing the size of door, window or other openings.

• Altering window frames or doors, replacement with different types, including replacement of single glazing with double-glazing.

• Removing historic features e.g. door cases, chimney breasts.

• Forming new openings for any reason, including boiler flues.

• Changing the material of any rainwater goods.

• Adding any feature including porches, signs, satellite dishes, security alarm boxes, CCTV cameras or external floodlights.

• Inserting cavity wall insulation.

Internal:

• Altering the plan by removing or adding walls or forming new openings.

• Taking out or altering original features including staircases, fireplaces, decorative plasterwork, panelling, shutters, doors, architraves and skirting boards.

• Installing new ceilings, partitions, doors and secondary glazing.

• Filling in cellars, or digging out cellars to increase usable floor space.

• Removing or replacing floors or floor finishes.

• The obliteration of wall paintings, decorative tiles and mosaics.

• Installing new ducting, waste pipes and openings associated with new bathrooms.

• Inserting damp proof courses or tanking systems.

Some works that require Listed Building Consent may also require Planning Permission or Building Regulations approval. You should check with the Local Authority before you apply for consent.

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Do maintenance and repairs need consent?

Small-scale repairs involving the identical replacement of original features do not require Listed Building Consent, but care must be taken to match the material, construction, moulding and colour of the original feature.

Total or substantial replacement of significant features will however require consent. So if in doubt, you need to check with the LA Conservation Officer or with Cadw.

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Getting help

Your local authority should be your first port of call for any questions you might have about listed building regulations, conservation areas, tree preservation orders or other matters that might affect your historic building and its surroundings.

Most Welsh authorities have building conservation officers with extensive knowledge of regional building practices and styles and wide experience of the maintenance and repair problems that owners of old buildings frequently encounter. A list of current Conservation Officers can be found here:

cadw.gov.wales/historicenvironment/help-advice-and-grants/maintenancematters/where-to-get-help/welsh-local-authorities/?lang=en

For good reference and general technical advice – become a Member of the SPAB, and contact the SPAB’s Technical Advice line on:

T: 0207 456 0916 (Mon – Fri 9:30 – 12:30)

For advice on specifications, appropriate use, and where you can get materials – contact Ty Mawr’s Technical Support Team on:

T: 01874 611350 e: technical@lime.org.uk

If you are worried about whether you are ‘doing the right thing’ for your building, or if you don’t have the capacity to annotate photos or draw up simple plans for alterations, then you will need to appoint a professional consultant to do this on your behalf. An architect may also be able to help you think creatively about how to improve your old building whilst also remaining sensitive to the fabric and context.

Many building professionals are trained and experienced only in modern building construction methods and, generally, this makes them unable to deal with an old building satisfactorily. You can find a list of Conservation Accredited Architects through the Royal Institute of British Architects:

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www.architecture.com/FindAnArchitect/FindaConservationArchitect/FindaConservationArchitect.aspx

or by looking on the AABC Register.

If you are worried about whether a crack is serious in your old house, or whether you really do need to install a damp proof course, then depending on the nature of the work, you may need a Building Surveyor, Architect or an Engineer for professional diagnostic advice. The Building Conservation Directory is a good starting point for competent Consultants:

www.buildingconservation.com/directory/prodserv.php

Similarly, refer to the register for CARE Accredited Engineers for more specific structural concerns:

www.ice.org.uk/ICEDevelopmentWebPortal/media/Documents/Careers/specialist-registers/rgn-6-convervations-accreditation-register-for-engineers.pdf

Getting help doesn’t have to be expensive; in fact in the long run it can save you a lot of time and money. You can do some of the work to focus your professional’s input on what you cannot provide.

For example, you can carry out initial pre-application consultation with the Local Authority yourself, or you can review the condition of the building in outline to lead your consultant to focus on areas that require more specialist advice etc. You can also make a valuable contribution if you learn about the history of your building, in particular how it has changed over time, and identify its important features. This will underpin the significance of any alterations and is an important contribution.

http://www.datingoldwelshhouses.co.uk

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Running a project on site yourself?

With domestic projects, you can do a lot on site yourself, but if you are Project Managing works with a builder, you really need to say exactly what you want in writing.

It depends largely on the nature of the work. Are you carrying out essential repairs and maintenance? Are you seeking to gain consents for alterations? Are you improving the thermal performance of your house? In any case, if your description of the proposed works is weak, then the builder will not be able to price it correctly or carry out the works as you intend. Remember the builder will only do what has been shown. Be careful using generic words (repair, overhaul, refurbish etc).

On larger scale projects, a professional specification would include Contract and general conditions, such as working hours, supply of water and power, use of toilets, specifications and quality standards. It would also include a Schedule of Works and set of Drawings which describes the actual work in detail. This would normally form the basis for a firm price and enables you to seek prices from lots of builders on an even playing field.

Be aware that a builder’s estimate, based on his / her own review of what is required is just that: an estimate, and this can easily change as works progress to site. Be sure therefore to include a basis for measuring any change to the works, for example rates for items and skills.

A Contract can be a formal document or a simple exchange of letters setting out the main objectives of the work, the ‘Client’, the ‘Contractor’, the Site Address, Brief

description of the work, arrangements, payment terms, price, programme, and any Guarantees.

For anything more than a simple few days of works on site, getting all the boring bits of information down on paper at the outset really can avoid a lot of pain later on and safeguards everyone knows where they stand. The JCT Building Contracts suite does publish a Home Owner version. There are advantages to utilising such formalities, for example if you use this, then the builder will remain responsible for any faults in the work (other than wear and tear) which are caused by him / her for a period defined within the Contract and up to 6 years.

It is a good idea to record any days the builder is absent or that events such as adverse weather prevents the builder from working. Periodic photographs are often useful to review works completed.

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How to appoint a builder

There are excellent builders and various consultants out there who will also be able to provide you with outline advice depending on your problem or need. But beware; some builders are not suitable to work on old buildings. The vast majority of buildings in this country dating pre 1910 would have been made using lime mortar. The use of cement in construction is relatively recent, and yet it dominates construction skills training.

The Building Conservation Directory is a good starting point for competent Contractors and Consultants -

www.buildingconservation.com/directory/prodlist.php?category=Building+contractors+ %26+consultants

Choose a building professional with a good local reputation, speak to the LA Conservation Officer, the SPAB, meet up to interview, go to see previous works carried out to ask previous Clients for feedback.

Get quotations from more than one builder, but remember that the cheapest may not turn out to be the best value for money unless your description of the work is clear, and all builders invited to quote are of similar ability.

Funding

Historic building grants are now rarely available to private owners, but possibilities can be explored at:

www.ffhb.org.uk

Grants are sometimes available for repairs to major elements of a building fabric as external walls, roofs and structural floors, but only for work which is more than everyday maintenance and beyond its owner’s means. Cadw may award grants for the repair of buildings of outstanding architectural or historic interest. In practice this is generally limited to grade I listed buildings but certain grade II* properties may also be considered.

Grant aid may also be available from various public sources, and it is best for domestic buildings to liaise with the LA Conservation Officer to investigate local and current pots of finance.

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Elinor Gray-Williams BA(Hons) BArch SPAB Scholar RIBA (SCA) Associate Director

Elinor joined Donald Insall Associates in April 2007, and helped set up the Conwy branch. She is an Associate Director leading the small branch of 5 members in Conwy. Elinor is an Accredited Conservation Architect, and qualified at the highest RIBA ‘Specialist Conservation Architect’ (SCA) level in January 2013.

Matt Osmont BA BArch ADPPA(Dist) AABC RIBA (CA) Senior Architect

Matt joined Donald Insall Associates in 2014, and is the Senior Architect at our Conwy Branch. Matt leads projects through all work stages, and is interested in sustainable architecture. He is an Accredited Conservation Architect, and holds accreditation with both the RIBA at Conservation Architect level (CA) and is on the register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC).

David Barnes BSc BArch RIBA (SCA) Associate

David Barnes has been with Donald Insall Associates for just under 20 years and is the Senior Architect in our Bath Branch. David has acted as lead consultant for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for the south west, and has worked extensively in south Wales. He is accredited at the highest RIBA ‘Specialist Conservation Architect’ level.

Edward Lewis F.Dip B.Sc M.Arch Architectural Assistant

Edward is an Architectural Assistant working towards his professional qualifications. He shares a strong affinity with the work we do in Wales, being born and raised in Brecon. He is well versed in traditional materials having worked with Ty Mawr in the past and is adept at incorporating them into historic structures in a contemporary and complimentary fashion.

Our Team

Conwy OfficeY BecwsPool LaneConwyLL32 8PZT: 01492 592 378

www.insall-architects.co.uk @insallarch

Bath Office 1 Harington PlaceBathBA1 1HFT: 01225 469 898