Hello! and request for builder advice, Berkshire

[pandora]

Hello everyone, I've been having a bit of a lurk here for a while picking up little snippets of useful info and finding tips on how best to start repairing my very lovely little pile of bricks and beams. It's in a bit of a state at the moment so I'm living in rented accomodation and am keen to get started but just can't seem to find the right builder.

The property is a Grade II listed 2 bed farm worker's cottage. It was originally built as a box frame and purlin roof timber frame with wattle and daub infill in the 16th C, and has been substancially altered in the 19th C to replace the front wall with brick and rebuild both end gables, with a lean-to added to the back at some point. Nothing has been done to it since it last changed hands in the 1920s except for a bit of minor electrical wiring and the installation of a modern bathroom suite in the lean-to.

We have tried to get quotes from various restoration specialists in the area, and of the 2 we have tried so far one gave me the distinct feeling that our little house was of such insignificance compared to the Grade I manor house multi-million pound projects he normally works on I didn't have the heart to even ask him to quote as he kept going on about how he couldn't see when he'd be able to fit me in. The other was lovely and encouraging and then gave me a quote that made me choke on my cup of tea. He reckoned that rewiring my tiny cottage alone was going to cost more than my sister is paying for everything in an extension the size of my house. The quote he gave to repair plasterwork, rewire and replumb, and general tidying up - nothing large or structural - was more than the insurance company reckons it would cost my house if it burnt to the ground and there was absolutely nothing left of it! My father (a chartered surveyor in the North of England) and a friend who is a retired architect both reckon he is having a laugh.

So the question is how do I find someone who can do the job without breaking the bank and without ruining my little cottage? I hear horror stories of people having their houses butchered by cowboy builders and don't know where to start. No one name seems to crop up when I ask in the local area. I have tried the lists of specialists on this site and sadly the only ones local to me are the ones I have tried already.

You can't move in West Berkshire without bumping into listed cottages, so there must be someone out there somewhere. Does anyone have any recommendations of anyo e they have used? I just want to get my stuff out of storage and live in the house I own.

 

[middi]

I sympaphise with the dilema you are faced with Pandora.

Generally good restoration work can be tedious and labour intensive and there is a chrornic shortage of small firms which undertakes good restoration work at a reasonable price. The bigger specialist enterprises tend to charge a lot of money.

The obvious way to save money would be to undertake some of the work yourself and subcontract for some specialist repairs, I appreciate this is not always possible but get in touch with your local conservation group and speak to your CO, they have lots of contacts with restoration builders
in your region.

Good luck.

 

[Gervase]

Middi's right - your local conservation officer should know of reputable experts in the area - contact him/her through your local authority planning office. Often they're not supposed to show any preference, but most will give you a nod and a wink in the right direction...
If you do want to use contractors rather than doing it yourself, be prepared to bite the bullet. The most expensive commodity in building work is time, and restoration building is always more time-intensive than renovation. A modern plastering team can board and skim your average room in less than a day - but with three-coat lime plaster you're looking at nearly three days' work. The materials aren't hugely more expensive, but the time is.
That said, the end result is vastly superior and will last far longer, which is a major consideration if you're buying the house as a home.
Sadly, too many places are bought speculatively, and that's when corners are cut and modern and unsuitable materials used. Well done on wanting to do a 'proper job'.
Have a think about tackling some of it yourself - have a go at one of the SPAB home-owners' courses or contact your local lime supplier to see if they do hands-on open days. It can be addictive!

 

[Penners]

I did as Middi and Gervase are suggesting, and asked my Conservation Officer for suggestions of reputable builders.

Naturally, the Planning Dept won't recommend anyone, but they allowed me to see a list of builders who have done work for the local authority in the past, and to copy down names and details.

I reckon it's fair to assume that the CO's and Planning Officers will have a fair idea of who is kosher and who isn't. And when you're asking builders to quote for your job, I should make sure that they know where you got their details. They're unlikely to want to mess up their good name with the local authority.

 

[Nemesis]

And try asking SPAB.

 

[ajbaker]

Where in Berkshire are you?

 

[pandora]

I'm near Thatcham. Sadly our CO is overworked to the point where she is unwilling to be helpful! Various polite approaches for advice have been rebuffed over the course of the last year and all the time we have been paying to live elsewhere.

I can only do light work myself as I am in the process of growing a mini-me, and only a mad woman would trust my husband with a sledgehammer and/or plaster! We are considering using tradesmen and managing the proect ourselves, but both have incredibly hectic jobs which take us away a lot, meaning there would be noone in charge on site on a day-to-day basis, so we'd like to use one trustworthy and cost-effective contractor.

 

[Penners]

our CO is overworked to the point where she is unwilling to be helpful

Have you tried going to the council offices, and presenting yourself at the Planning Dept reception desk? Just explain what you want to the receptionist, and they will probably nip through to the office and ask if they can show you the builders list. You'll probably get the opportunity there and then.

 

[Nemesis]

I'd still try asking SPAB... a call costs almost nothing.

The problem is with a general list of builders is that some may have no expertise in historic buildings, although may be fine to work on modern houses. If the CO is unable to help weed them out that could mean that some are of the cement and gypsum persuasion.

 

[pandora]

Have you tried going to the council offices, and presenting yourself at the Planning Dept reception desk?

Several times :roll: usually out of desparation after phone calls are not returned and emails and letters have gone unanswered. I'd think it was personal if I hadn't been told by friends living in similar properties they had a similar lack of help when they needed it from the same department.

I'll give SPAB a call, and hope they can come up with a few that aren't the same 2 names I've already had contact with (mentioned in my first post.)

 

[skier-hughes]

SPAB have given me several very good contacts, so well worth a call. If I can't find a local reccommendation from someone I trust, it's my first port of call now.

They helped me from when we first found our house finding a surveyor and so on.

I was so pleased I joined :wink:

 

[Penners]

Have you tried going to the council offices, and presenting yourself at the Planning Dept reception desk?

Several times :roll: usually out of desparation after phone calls are not returned and emails and letters have gone unanswered. I'd think it was personal if I hadn't been told by friends living in similar properties they had a similar lack of help when they needed it from the same department.

That's a great shame. I find our Planning Dept very helpful. I suppose it comes down to a combination of the workload and the personalities of the people in question. I do know that Planning Depts - indeed all local authority departments - have a very heavy workload.

 

[Nemesis]

Some also have a policy of not doing anything they don't have to - and advice really comes under that category.

I recall my own dear local authority pontificating about charging for such advice ...

 

[Gervase]

See your messages for some names and numbers

 

[borischarlton]

"That's a great shame. I find our Planning Dept very helpful. I suppose it comes down to a combination of the workload and the personalities of the people in question. I do know that Planning Depts - indeed all local authority departments - have a very heavy workload"

Well thats just great !!! Makes me so angry that it is a personallity that can stop one doing a project rather than a set of rules. Its just the reason we are trying to be de-listed.

Rob

 

[Nemesis]

Actually - it's not the job of any CO to give advice, really, and many are so vastly overworked they simply haven't the time. Some local authorities have no CO at all.

Sorry to hear you are trying to get de-listed - not much support for you there though. Maybe your project isn't too good?


Sell to someone with some sympathy for heritage.

 

[borischarlton]

Nemesis, as far as I am aware you know nothing of me, my property or the project I am trying to carry out. Now re read your post.

Rob

 

[Nemesis]

No, I know nothing - although your post about 'a set of rules' was quite revealing... but in general I feel that an attempt to de-list is a bad thing, if it's simply because LBC has not been given for a project.

If you feel this unjust you can always appeal. Or sell?

 

[Penners]

Makes me so angry that it is a personallity that can stop one doing a project rather than a set of rules

Well, yes - it's frustrating when it happens. But bear in mind that it's universal. In everything we do, we're dealing with people.

Some people are helpful, co-operative and positive. Others are lazy, difficult and negative. 'Twas ever thus, and 'twill ever be so. You can write rules, regulations, guidelines, laws... you won't change human nature.

Here endeth today's lecture on pragmatism. :?

 

[ajbaker]

I live very close to you, but happen to be in Hampshire and not Berkshire. Therefore a different council and Conservation office. I find ours reasonably helpful - obviously busy, and reluctant to recommend, but on the whole willing to help as much as he can. Perhaps its a little cheeky but you could always try the Basingstoke and Deane council for advice!

Basingstoke and Deane

I appreciate how frustrating it can be trying to live a professional life away from home often, and trying to look after an old building at the same time. I booked myself onto a plastering course - had great fun and it was a really lovely contrast to being sat in an office. Give it a go!

One idea I have had recently is trying to find a [regular] plasterer willing to use the materials I give him ie. lime! The skill is very similar and if your willing to pay someone by the day, there skills can be utilised in many ways. Obviously a little risky if you cannot be on site often.

Finally, check your private messages for a couple of recommendations. (Not yet sent!)