Contractor Recommendations in Kent

[jsmac]

Hello,

I have very much enjoyed reading through the seemingly limitless amount of useful information on PPUK. The support and expertise that I've seen on this forum and in the articles is truly impressive.

My partner and I are going through the process of buying a 1860s (we think?) 3-bedroom end-of-terrace house in Margate. Up until recently it was lived in by an elderly lady who appeared to only use part of the house and as a result the lower ground floor has fallen into quite bad disrepair and there is a lot of restoration and modernisation that needs doing throughout.

The good news (and the reason we loved it immediately) is that the house seems to have been given a reprieve from many of the destructive excesses that have befallen many similar properties over the past several decades. The floorboards have been covered by carpet since at least the 1960s and the original sash windows are intact (many of which still have stained glass above the top sash). Most of the fireplaces are intact and the lower ground floor still has what looks to be the original Victorian cooker. Suffice to say that there is a lot of work to do but we are looking forward to getting started.

I am hoping that I can find some local builders and contractors that could visit the property with me so that I can get a sense of what work should take priority, costs, etc. We obviously want to find people that are sympathetic to period properties and knowledgable of traditional building materials and techniques.

If anyone has any recommendations of people they've worked with/know of in and around Margate, I'd really appreciate it.

Many thanks.

Scott

 

[Feltwell]

Bump! First posts often get "lost" in the sea of others as they take a while to appear, this will put it back to the top of the list. Sounds like you fell for your house for similar reasons to why we fell for this place.

Don't know any contractors in Kent but I'm sure others do.......

 

[plasticpigeon]

I would start reading as much as you can, not just on here, but on more official sites like the SPAB

https://www.spab.org.uk/advice/technical-q-as/

Books such as the "The old house handbook", "Collins period house: an owners guide" and anything else that looks good, perhaps "Victorian house style" to give you you some inspiration and historical context are useful starting points. I have benefited from getting various period construction books, one I like is "building construction" by Henry Adams. Honestly, the chances of finding a builder who will give you good advice about how to do things in a sympathetic and appropriate manner is next to nil. It is my personal experience and that of most people on here, that it is necessary to become as informed as possible, know exactly what you want, and keep a very tight rein on the builders before they go off doing something that you didn't want or ask for. I know it is horrible to live in a building site, but it is a good idea not to jump in and do everything straight away unless you have restored houses before. I have found I have changed a lot of my original thoughts about what I was going to do to my house as I have given myself time to live in the house before starting most jobs, and I think I have made better decisions because of that.

 

[jsmac]

Thank you both for your replies and for the reading suggestions.

My partner found a copy of ‘Period House - An Owner’s Guide’ in a charity shop for £2 on the same day that we had our offer accepted so we took this as a good sign. We’ve now reserved a couple of the other books from our local library so that will be my weekend reading. There is a lot of information out there so it is helpful to have forums such as this where one can find people to bounce ideas off of.

Our first foray into speaking with builders has gone about as well as you describe so I’m pleased that I had managed to do a bit of research beforehand. In fairness to them they told me they were more familiar with building extensions and fitting kitchens and bathrooms. However, it was a little concerning when it became clear that their first instinct is to remove all of the original plaster and laths and fit plasterboard once the electrics and plumbing are put in. Of course we don’t have the experience to know for certain whether this is necessary but it seemed like a rather drastic solution.