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This requires very little skill and gets you into the bones of the building, helping to understand it.
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Any renovation project involves a wide range of considerations and decisions to ensure a successful end result. Work to period homes bring additional layers of complexity, however, so it’s important to fully understand the ins and outs before committing yourself to such an undertaking.
In this period home renovation guide, I’m looking at the key considerations you need to know before diving into a project. This includes understanding whether or not the home can match your renovation goals, how to work with a period structure to avoid causing long-term damage, understanding heritage status and more.
The most important thing to grasp is that period homes behave differently. They’re comprised of materials that tend to be much closer to their natural state than those used now – generally meaning that they are more flexible.
Most critically, they, and the construction methods used, deal with moisture in a completely different way to today’s dwellings. There are no vapour barriers keeping water out of the structure. Instead, it’s absorbed by the building fabric and dries via evaporation. This process enables an equilibrium, resulting in dry, thermally-efficient buildings (if they’re left to operate effectively).
Winner of the 2023 Build It Award for Best Insulation, Isolair Multi is a wood fibre insulation board from Pavatex, available from Unity Lime. It is supplied in an easy-to-install tongue-and-groove profile and can be used in retrofit applications, without the need for additional breather membranes
Unfortunately, it’s very easy to upset this equilibrium by introducing modern, impermeable materials that interfere with the ability to dry by evaporation (such as silicone renders). The consequences of this can be severe – many 20th-century renovations caused catastrophic damage because the importance of this was just not understood. Even today, when we have a much better understanding of the mechanisms involved, these mistakes are still being made.
Snell David Architects have completely opened up this grade II listed, oak frame thatched cottage located in a serene Cambridgeshire village. The single-storey, flat-roof extension features glazed sliding doors that blur the line between indoor and outdoor spaces. Photo: Matthew Smith
Before setting out on a renovation of an old building, it’s essential that you gain a reasonable understanding of how the home works. Even if you don’t intend to be hands-on (more on this further down), you will need to be able to specify appropriate materials and techniques, select the right contractors and trades, and manage and them effectively. I strongly recommend attending a short course to arm yourself with the necessary background knowledge.
A period home’s structure is old. That means that it has been through a lot of wear and tear, might have suffered some quite serious damage at some point in its history, and will inevitably have been altered – often many times.
As a result of this, any interventions or changes must be treated with caution. Parts of the building may have deteriorated over time and no longer have the capacity to bear additional loads. Past alterations might have adjusted the way the structure works, too, making load paths difficult to predict – creating unexpected responses or damage following seemingly minor alterations.
Hyve Architects were approached by the owners of this rural cottage in Aberdeenshire, to help them renovate, extend and reconfigure its interior layout. The sensitive project embraces the building’s original stone exterior while adding a contemporary touch with corrugated red metal and timber cladding
It is always safe to avoid any significant structural alterations and to avoid placing extra loads on historic fabric – any additions to the building should ideally be self-supporting. If this is not possible, it’s vital to obtain a careful structural assessment by a structural engineer specialising in historic buildings, and having a strong understanding of how they work (not always the same thing!).
Julian and Abigail Bernard had no plans to live in Williamscot, Oxfordshire, until they stumbled upon a 19th-century gate keeper’s lodge for sale, and couldn’t resist what the charming property had to offer. The couple brought James Mackintosh Architects on board to help devise a scheme, adding a striking extension with energy-efficient upgrades. Photo: Simon Maxwell
However careful your planning and thorough your initial assessments are, this type of project will nearly always throw up something unexpected. As so much of the structure is hidden, there will always be some parts that cannot be seen until it has been stripped back. Any particularly nasty bits are likely to have been hidden away in the past, too. It’s not unusual to have to make fundamental decisions very quickly mid-project, so it is advisable to have a well-qualified expert on hand at short notice.
Having said all that, period buildings are constructed to be extremely resilient and have a structural soundness that can be quite surprising to those familiar with modern levels. They have, after all, already survived for hundreds of years!
This requires very little skill and gets you into the bones of the building, helping to understand it.
Labouring even with no practical skills at all, saves time, and can engage you with the project team. It can include fetching, carrying and sorting waste.
Pointing, raking out and repointing stonework is time-consuming and fairly expensive to pay someone to do. With a bit of training, any fairly practical person will become quite proficient.
Painting and decorating is a common DIY task, which has been tried by most of us. Even the least skilled should be able to manage the less visible parts of a house. It will save you a great deal of cash, too.
Plastering and tiling are more skilled jobs but well within the scope of a competent amateur; lime and clay plasters that suit period buildings are much more forgiving to use than the fast setting modern equivalents.
Many period homes are either listed or in a conservation area. This can make a considerable difference to what you are allowed to do to the building, particularly any significant changes you wish to make. It will certainly add to the complexity of the planning process and require you to provide a lot more information in support of your developments.
Engaging with the local conservation officer as early as possible should be beneficial to everyone in developing a scheme that works for all parties. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. Sometimes it can be impossible to make changes to an older home, or prohibitively expensive – so it’s wise to look forward before investing.
Understanding the implications of these heritage protections is vital if you are to get the most out of the renovation. It’s good to know you are properly satisfying the requirements because the consequences of non-compliance can be extreme. Listed building legislation is part of criminal law, rather than planning, with various sanctions for breaches.
understanding listed building consent (LBC)
As part of their grade II listed home renovation, Mark Camillin and Liam Denny replaced the original home’s single-glazed windows with conservation double-glazed hardwood models, alongside installing heritage-style aluminium bifolds and French doors. Photo: Richard Downer
A strange quirk of the legislation transfers the liability for any unauthorised alterations to the purchaser when a listed building is sold. This is an important thing to look out for when buying. After you have completed your project, the same issue could make your house very difficult to sell if you have carried out any unauthorised work yourself.
Of course, there are many period buildings that are neither listed nor otherwise protected. Many of these still have heritage value, sometimes considerable. Anybody contemplating a renovation will be drawn in by the home’s innate charm and character. So, to achieve the best result, these aspects need to be considered and protected. A remarkable number of small, detailed decisions have to be made to protect and retain all the little features that represent the character and value of the property.
Case study Period cottage in Warwickshire brought up to modern standards
Back in 2014, Martin and Julie Smart moved into their very own countryside self build home. However, within a few years, they felt isolated in their rural home and wanted to move back to a village for the feeling of community. And not just any village, but the one they had lived in for 20 years previously: Tysoe in Warwickshire.
The couple went back one afternoon and found the exact cottage they were looking for – an 18th-century house with later alterations and additions – including a 1970s single-storey bathroom extension tacked on to the rear. The couple bought the three-bedroom period cottage in the early part of 2018 by remortgaging their existing property. “We then rented it out until 2019, but we had a longer-term plan to extend and renovate the cottage and move in one day,” says Martin. “Luckily it isn’t listed, although it is in a conservation area.”
Martin, an architect, took on the design himself. “We wanted a large two-storey rear extension with a single-storey addition to the side, which would create a new, open-plan sitting-kitchen-dining room,” he says. There would be changes at the front of the house, too, with a new single-storey porch extension to relocate the original entrance.
The couple’s first planning application was rejected due to the addition’s size and the use of timber cladding. “Altogether, it took about nine months to get permission. I had to go through several applications and amendments to achieve almost all of what I’d initially submitted.”
Martin gutted the interiors. “I took out all the plumbing, old oil-fired boiler and radiators, plaster, wiring, floor coverings, tiling, kitchen, bathroom and so on,” he says. The home now features a great deal of insulation and makes use of an air source heat pump and underfloor heating (UFH). The new ground floors in the cottage have 100mm-thick rigid insulation board, while the roof space has 400mm of Rockwool quilt plus 70mm of rigid insulation to the sloping ceilings.
| Location | Warwickshire |
| Project route | Self-designed by architect owner, main contractor alongside some DIY |
| House size | 146m² (incl. 66m² extension) |
| Project cost | £295,200 |
| Project cost per m² | £2,022 |
Budgeting for a period home renovation project can be quite complicated. This is partly because of the range of unconventional materials and skills that need to be employed throughout. Another factor is the difficulty in developing a complete vision of the outcome when the house is in an unpromising state. The home’s full potential is likely to only be revealed during the project, once things really start coming together.
After a flood left Nicole and David Price’s Georgian London home in a bad state, they had the chance to adapt their much-loved house into their perfect property. The couple worked with Archer + Braun Architects to develop a scheme for the renovation and extension, which cost a total of £671,847 and was completed over 12 months. Photo: French + Tye
Any successful scheme starts with a realistic ballpark figure. To develop this, you are bound to need some help. A qualified surveyor or expert will tell you whether you can afford to take the project on with the money you have available, and identify whether the expected end result is actually worth the investment. Don’t expect that to be a hard and fast cost plan, though. You must have a contingency fund (usually 20%), that you are ready and able to spend if necessary.
If your particular circumstances allow, it is best to be reasonably flexible about both budget and schedule as period home renovations can throw unexpected spends and delays into the mix. Above all, don’t promise yourself, or anybody else, that you’ll be in by Christmas!
At the start of a major period home renovation project, the floors can look like they’re in need of a significant refresh or replacement. It’s always important to look past that and try to visualise how they will contribute to the finished product. Older floor finishes represent a lot of the character in traditional houses and carry the marks of a place’s history.
Very old wooden floors are practically impossible to overhaul successfully. Thankfully, the existing boards are likely to be of such quality and durability that they will be perfectly usable – often all that’s needed is a good polish. If the floor is not level, adjusting furniture to compensate is likely to be cheaper and easier than addressing the floor. If it’s unusable, the best option might be to overlay it with a new, level floor.
Unless they represent trip hazards or are disintegrating, it is almost always best to leave well alone. New flat sections will not match the existing undulations, and trying to lift and replace stones or tiles is fraught with risk. Unfortunately, making thermal upgrades, such as retrofitting insulation or underfloor heating, is often challenging.
Alan Tierney is Build It’s period property and conservation expert. He ran a historic building consultancy, offering hands-on advice to the owners of heritage homes, but is now focused on renovating Old Barnstaple House.
If the pointing is just slightly soft and not greatly recessed, then it’s best left. However, if it’s eroded or you’ve got open joints and, in some cases, it’s emitting moisture, then it’s time to consider repointing. Depending on the scale of the damage, you could patch point and focus on a specific area of erosion rather than repointing the whole facade.
Douglas Kent is director of technical & research at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). His technical knowledge is underpinned by formal qualifications, including an MSc in the conservation of buildings, and the practical experience he has gained during the renovation of his own listed house in Essex.
If you’re renovating a house for the long-term, it’s important to think about your future needs as you get older as this could enable you to stay in the property for much longer. If a staircase needs to be replaced, consider making the new one wider and shallower with good handrails. If space allows, maybe make provision for a future lift or investigate installing one as part of the works. If you’re installing new bathrooms, fit walk-in showers with plenty of space around them. When planning use of rooms, consider future conversion of a downstairs room into a bedroom and the provision of a wet room.
Alan Tierney is Build It’s period property and conservation expert. He ran a historic building consultancy, offering hands-on advice to the owners of heritage homes, but is now focused on renovating Old Barnstaple House.
It’s best to ask a tax professional about your specific project. However, that being said, many of our projects have benefited from favourable tax incentives. For example, when renovating a house that has been registered vacant for 2 or more years, our clients have been able to reduce the VAT on most of the construction works from 20% to 5%. A similar tax incentive also exists for projects that require a change of use – such as de-converting a house that had previously been divided into flats.
Secondary glazing involves adding an internal slimline window behind the existing one, creating a sealed air gap to improve insulation and noise reduction. This is a good solution for windows that have historical value, homes in conservation areas (although not all listed buildings) or if you’re simply working with a tight budget. It also works well when the outer frame is structurally sound but thermally inefficient. As it’s reversible, the character of the property remains intact while delivering performance upgrades comparable to double glazing at a lower cost.
Matt Higgs is a former managing director of Kloeber, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of bespoke glazing solutions, specialising in timber, aluminium and composite windows and doors.
