Period & listed properties
Careful work on listed and older buildings, with the right materials and the right consents.
Repairs, alterations and extensions to listed and period houses in Halesworth, Walberswick, Southwold and Aldeburgh, using lime, reclaimed brick and traditional methods where the building needs them.
Period & listed properties, done properly.
Repairs, alterations and extensions to listed and period houses in Halesworth, Walberswick, Southwold and Aldeburgh, using lime, reclaimed brick and traditional methods where the building needs them.
The work is planned around the building as it is, priced against the drawings, and run by one site manager from the first day to the last. What gets covered up is photographed first.
Ask about an older house
What matters
- 01
Consents first
Listed building consent is not optional and is not quick. We help you and your architect get the application right and do not start until it is granted.
- 02
Breathable, reversible, honest
Lime not cement, repair not replace, and new work that can be told from old on close inspection. These are the principles conservation officers expect, and they are what keeps old buildings dry.
- 03
Keep what can be kept
Original joinery, floors, plaster and roof timbers are repaired where they are sound. Replacement is the last resort, not the first.
Materials and methods
- Lime putty and hydraulic lime mortars
- Lime plaster on lath
- Limewash and breathable paints
- Reclaimed Suffolk brick and pamments
- Oak repairs and pegged joints
- Handmade clay tiles and pantiles
Related work
All projects
Rear extension to a cottage
Bridge Cottage Extension
A rear extension to a tar-washed brick cottage at Heveningham, from new footings to doors and windows. [Full scope and year to confirm; the Drive folder is dated February 2019.]
See the project
Questions
Is my house listed?
Search the National Heritage List for England, or ask us and we will check. Many houses in Halesworth, Southwold, Walberswick and Aldeburgh are listed or in a conservation area.
Can a listed house be extended?
Often, with listed building consent and a design that respects the original. What is possible depends on the building and the conservation officer's view.
Why lime rather than cement?
Old solid walls need to breathe. Cement traps moisture and cracks; lime lets the wall dry out and moves with it.
Do you work with conservation officers?
Yes. We would rather have them on site early than argue about a detail after it is built.
Start with a conversation about the house.
Tell us where the house is and what you have in mind. We will come and look, and say honestly what we think.