How We Work — Our Heritage Building Process

The short answerFrom your first call we visit, survey the building and listen, then advise honestly. We help with drawings, Listed Building Consent and Building Control, source breathable lime, oak and natural materials, and carry out the work with our own craftsmen and full insurances, working tidily around occupied homes through to completion and aftercare.

01. First contact and an honest conversation

It begins with a phone call to 07711 360 698 or an email to office@colinclarkbuilders.co.uk. Tell us about your building, what is troubling you and what you hope to achieve. We will tell you straight away whether it is the kind of work we take on, roughly how we would approach it, and whether a consultancy visit is the sensible next step.

02. Consultancy visit and survey

We come and look properly. Walking an old building in person is the only honest way to understand it — how it was built, where moisture is moving, which past repairs are helping and which (often hard cement renders or plastics) are doing harm.

We offer a paid consultancy visit for this. The fee is deducted from your final invoice if the work goes ahead, so you pay only for genuinely independent advice if you choose not to proceed. You leave the visit with a clear, jargon-free picture of what your building needs and why.

03. Advice, options and a tailored quote

We set out the work in plain English — what is essential structurally, what is sensible maintenance, and what can wait. With period and listed buildings the right answer is usually like-for-like, breathable repair rather than replacement, and we will explain the reasoning rather than simply quote.

Every old building is different, so we do not work from a price list: you receive a quotation tailored to your property after we have seen it. Where helpful we will give honest, researched UK market ranges so you can budget, always flagged as typical ranges rather than firm prices.

04. Design, drawings and consents (Listed Building Consent, planning and Building Control)

For straightforward repairs, a clear written specification is often all that is needed. For extensions, structural work or anything altering the building's fabric, drawings will be required. We are happy to work alongside your own architect or conservation-accredited surveyor, and can point you toward suitable professionals where you do not yet have one. At this stage we agree the breathable specification in detail — lime mixes, render and plaster build-ups, timber species and joints — so everyone is working to the same standard.

If your home is listed, works that affect its character — inside or out — need Listed Building Consent under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. This is separate from, and in addition to, any planning permission, and carrying out such works without consent is an offence — so this stage is never skipped or rushed. The permitted development rights you might expect on an ordinary house are usually restricted on a listed building, so consent is often needed for more than owners assume. We liaise with your local conservation officer and, where the work is notifiable, with Building Control, and we will tell you honestly when a chartered surveyor or heritage consultant should lead the application. The consent decision rests with the council; our role is to make the case practical and well-evidenced.

05. Sourcing breathable, natural materials

Old buildings were built to breathe, and they fail when wrapped in modern impervious materials that trap moisture in the wall. We source the right traditional materials for the job: lime (putty and natural hydraulic limes), well-seasoned and green oak and chestnut, reclaimed or matching brick, flint and stone, natural breathable insulations such as wood-fibre, and mineral finishes including limewash.

Matching the existing fabric matters — colour, texture and aggregate as well as performance — so repairs settle in rather than stand out. We will always explain why a breathable, vapour-open approach protects the building in the long run.

06. The build, with in-house craftsmen and full insurance

The work is carried out by our own time-served team rather than a chain of subcontractors, led where relevant by craftsmen such as Andy Shervington (carpentry) and our own masons. That continuity means the people who priced and understood your building are the people on site.

We are a properly constituted limited company carrying the appropriate insurances, and we work to recognised conservation good practice. On occupied homes we plan around your daily life: protecting floors and contents, keeping rooms usable where we can, sequencing dusty or disruptive work considerately, clearing up each day and keeping you informed as we go. Lime work in particular is weather- and time-dependent, and we will be honest about realistic timescales rather than promising what the material cannot deliver.

07. Completion, handover and aftercare

At the end we walk the finished work with you, deal with any snags, and hand over what you need for your records — including, where relevant, evidence that consented works were carried out as approved. Just as importantly, we explain how to look after the building: lime and limewash need a little understanding to age well, and a few simple habits keep an old house healthy.

We are local and we stay reachable. Period buildings benefit from sympathetic, ongoing care, and we are happy to advise or return for future maintenance long after the job is done.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really need Listed Building Consent for small changes?

Often yes. For a listed building, consent is required for any works — internal or external — that affect its special character, which can include things as modest as replastering, altering a fireplace or changing joinery. The permitted development freedoms you might expect on an ordinary house are usually restricted. Carrying out works that need consent without it is an offence, so we always check before starting. The final decision rests with your local planning authority.

Why do you insist on lime and breathable materials instead of modern cement and plastic paints?

Old cob, brick and stone walls were built to let moisture move in and out — they breathe. Sealing them with cement render or modern masonry paint traps that moisture inside the wall, which can cause damp, decay and frost damage to the very fabric you are trying to protect. Lime, limewash and natural insulations stay vapour-open, so the building can dry out as it was designed to. It is the conservation-standard approach, not a preference.

What does a consultancy visit cost, and am I committed to using you?

We charge a fee for the consultancy visit because it is genuine, independent advice based on properly looking at your building. If you then go ahead with the work, that fee is deducted from your final invoice. If you decide not to proceed, or to use someone else, you have simply paid for honest advice and you are under no obligation. Please contact us for the current fee, as it depends on location and the building.

Can we keep living in the house while you work?

In most cases, yes. We are used to working sensitively on occupied period homes — protecting floors and belongings, keeping rooms in use where possible, sequencing the noisy and dusty work thoughtfully, and tidying up at the end of each day. We will be honest at the quoting stage if any phase genuinely requires a room, or the house, to be vacated for safety or practicality.

Start your project

Our process, step by step