Restored to what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Surrey County Council and the HBC (Richard Morris was it?) You should be ashamed.

The building tonight may as well be de-listed. What is left?#####all. It would not be listed now as there is not enough 'historic fabric' left. Strill, so waht - the owner is delighted with it.

Major concerns now about the training of CO's and advice given to local authorities regarding listed buildings...

Remember the forthcoming Commons Select Committee Inquiry - and respond. Your voice counts.

 

[Anonymous]

WORDS FAIL ME.

Only one party benefited from such a travesty-- not the building and certainly not the owner.

The BBC 'Team of experts' were admirably tactful with their comments, did I catch the words 'hung, drawn and quartered.' ----

Jocelyn

 

[Anonymous]

Let's recall one of them posted here a couple of weeks ago (John Y...) and if he's reading this, I think we need to share a bottle of whisky and a box of Kleenex.

Now tell me Smithfield Western Market Buildings are not listable...

 

[Anonymous]

The Conservation Officer's justification for letting so much be destroyed seems to be tied to the theory Medieval buildings= important, Victorian buildings= do what you like, just stop short of demolition. Are there going to be any Victorian buildings left in 10 years time?
Anyway, Evelyn, sorry if you've posted it before, but could you give some more details about this Common Select Committee? What can I do?

 

[Anonymous]

Well, at the risk of arousing the wrath of our resident oyster ;o)
Mediaeval buildings = not very many
Victorian buildings (even by moderately important architects) = loads
Not much chance of the supply running out in the next ten years. Show me a bit of "ordinary" Victorian plastering that's actually so special it merits preservation at all costs and I'll eat Evelyn's hat.
Still, as you'll see from other threads here, I thought it was a lousy bit of work - not so much for what was done (I was shouting "plasterboard, you fool!" at the TV during last week's "how much work does Gervase want to make for himself?" show) as for what nobody bothered to find out beforehand (extent of the wall paintings, original character and form of the building, etc.)

Gervase, if you've read this far, fair play to you, I just think you're possibly overdoing it in respect of that particular house, and if you want to train up on an unlisted property first, fine, I just wish you'd bought the Lancashire farmhouse that was first in the series instead (is that what Ian Constantinides meant by "Wales' gain is England's loss"?). And reed and plaster ceilings are no more "authentic" than plasteboard would have been. Sorry, everyone in the office thought you'd done magnificently, but really!

 

[Anonymous]

Gervase - we have a plasterboard ceiling, it's crap. It keeps cracking along the joins.

We intend to replace it with a lath and lime one eventually. So much better and more satisfying to live with. Simply because a house isn't listed doesn't mean it's not worth treating with TLC.

Gareth - shut up, there's a good lad. You aren't playing Devil's advocate, just being a plain old bore really.

 

[Anonymous]

Gareth - shut up, there's a good lad. You aren't playing Devil's advocate, just being a plain old bore really.
Says the woman who accused me of being patronising.
As I said, if you'd bothered to read the whole post, fair play to Gervase. I just wish (and in an ideal world I'm sure this would have happened) his talents and dedication had been aimed at an even more deserving candidate (yes, I know, we don't always get what we want)

 

[Anonymous]

"we have a plasterboard ceiling, it's crap. It keeps cracking along the joins."

Probably down to a failure to tape properly along the joints. That was the problem with mine. Not very environmentally friendly to put it in in the first place, even less so to rip it out if it's repairable, quarry some limestone, burn it, slake it, transport it up to the north east, transport the laths and replace it all just because it offends your view of what's "right". After all, damage done in the past can be rectified - when the time comes, but there's little point starting a whole new process of gradual decay slightly earlier than necessary.

"We intend to replace it with a lath and lime one eventually. So much better and more satisfying to live with."

How's it "better"? Does it actually perform better than repairing what you've got, or is it just more "historically accurate"? If so, what period are you taking your house back to? Are you taking the electricity and H&C out as well? Will you ensure the builder who does the work has seven children with rickets? No need to reply to this, I really am just being gratuitously offensive now. You've accused me of being patronising and making myself look silly, I might as well actually do so.

"Simply because a house isn't listed doesn't mean it's not worth treating with TLC."

Agreed (at last). But so much great architecture, even at the humblest level, relies on a sense of proportion. Try to keep one.

 

[Anonymous]

Ta for the comments Gareth - very kind of you.
I have to disagree on the plasterboard issue, however.
As for the relative merits or otherwise of plasterboard and and lime, there is a big difference, both practical and aesthetic. If you're likely to have any movement in the building (and if it has a timber frame or if it's rubble stone on anything other than solid rock in an unchanging environment, that's highly likely), then plasterboard is likely to crack along the seams, no matter how well they're taped.
Lime over lath or reed can flex and accommodate the slight movements of the structure without cracking.
And, aesthetically, it's far superior. Plasterboard gives you a nice flat ceiling, but if you want the place to look 'right' (unlike last night's travesty), you'll want to preserve the undulations in surface dictated by the timbers above.
But, if you're going to have a nice, flat, impermeable, unflexing ceiling, why not do the same thing on the walls and the floors. Ah, I forgot, lots of people do...

But that's a digression. Who the#####was that conservation officer, and why is he still employed? I recall that, in the case of the first house in the series, the CO was actually ill and off work for four months, during which much of the damage was perpetrated. This clown from Surrey would seem to have no such excuse. His one, lame, excuse appeared to be that the woman had bought the house and was therefore going to save it from falling down, so therefore she could have carte blanche provided that a simulacum of the original remained.
Given her budget (£1.6 million *swoon*!), surely he could have gently but firmly insisted that the techniques and materials used were sympathetic to the building. And#####the deadline.

 

[Anonymous]

"Gareth - shut up, there's a good lad. You aren't playing Devil's advocate, just being a plain old bore really. "

Bang out of order E.

You seem to have a habit of attacking the people rather than making your point.

If we had a site admin I would hope they could keep you in check.

You make some great points but your behaviour against people who make alternative points to yours is down right out of order.

Just my POV.

 

[Anonymous]

Actually, Gareth, apart from the cracks and the fact it's#####it's also been subjected to water damage.

It's a bit of wobbly tack really, and it's going eventually.

Even with taping, plasterboard cracks however. It's to do with movement in the building, which is constant and the plasterboard can't cope.

 

[Anonymous]

Mark - do try really, really hard to get a sense of humour and perspective for Christmas! A note up the chimney for Santa maybe?

 

[Anonymous]

Evelyn, you really can be a tediously spiteful old cow sometimes.

 

[Anonymous]

I know. I only do it to annoy - it's such fun. It does amaze me that people take what I say so seriously.

Less of the old though. Simply mature.

 

[Anonymous]

Due for a listing, maybe?

 

[Anonymous]

ladies; please - we digress. as a counter, surely the originators of this site should think about breaking into the world of television? previous contributors have shown what can be done on a limited budget/diy basis (just look at the earlier cottage projects in wales for instance.....)

 

[Anonymous]

Scheduled Ancient Monument I reckon...