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A Grade II listed timber frame farmhouse was vacated by a farm tenant and handed back to the estate owners in a worn out and unlettable condition.

Robinson & Hall’s building surveyors were instructed to advise and assist the client with obtaining statutory consents. We were also tasked to project manage the refurbishment works to make the property suitable to let again.

The initial inspection revealed several concerning defects including:

• A completely rotten and subsiding ground floor bay window arrangement
• Bulging render where water ingress and degradation of the timber frame laths had caused the render to fail
• Water ingress from a roof valley, concealed from view and with no overflow arrangement

Following the initial inspection, Robinson & Hall:

• Surveyed the property
• Prepared a scheme for refurbishment and repair
• Commissioned a Conservation Accredited Registered Engineer (CARE) to provide engineering/calculations and validation of the repair strategies
• Prepared a listed building application and utilised the ‘CARE’ report as part of the supporting documentation
• Obtained listed building consent

Once the statutory consents had been obtained, including building regulations consent, a full specification was prepared and the construction works were tendered to contractors with traditional repair/building skills.

A family run building contractor was appointed and the repair and alteration works were carried out from August 2022 through to June 2023.

The works were contract administered by Robinson & Hall utilising The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Contract, which we always recommend in order to ensure that the parties’ responsibilities and obligations are fully understood.

Upon practical completion, the JCT Contract included a six-month rectification period. During this time, the contractor was responsible for defects associated with the works or materials utilised.

David Sawford attended at the end of the rectification period to check if any works were required prior to the end of the contractor’s responsibility and was thrilled to meet the new tenants who were loving the property and had made the house a home.

Upon the completion of the project, a set of as-built documents and maintenance recommendations were provided as, particularly with traditional historic buildings, a level of continual maintenance is required to prevent deterioration.

If you have a listed building or historic structure in need of refurbishment or require maintenance advice, please contact David.

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