In August 1996, a golf ball caused a school roof in Durham to collapse by lodging unobserved in a rainwater outlet, preventing torrential rain from draining from the roof until it collapsed. Many building failures have more complex causes than this, but almost all can be prevented by effective maintenance, the undervalued key to building conservation.

At the beginning of a century of global environmental crisis and climate change, historic and traditional buildings are facing new threats that they were not designed for, making properly informed maintenance all the more important.

Maintenance is not an optional 'extra'. For example, trustees are legally obliged to take proper professional advice and maintain their buildings in good condition. Health & Safety legislation also requires buildings to be maintained in a safe condition to safeguard occupiers' liability. In exceptional cases, local authorities have powers to serve notices on building owners requiring the proper maintenance of land adversely affecting the amenity of an area. They can also serve urgent works notices on owners of buildings in conservation areas and repairs notices on owners of listed buildings. These may be followed by claims for the cost of undertaking urgent maintenance work and, ultimately, by compulsory purchase.

To identify and prevent problems before they spiral into costly building failures requiring major interventions, all historic buildings should be regularly inspected by the owner, caretaker or maintenance person. Usually only about twenty percent of a building's fabric is actually visible, so the first priority must be to ensure that as much as possible is accessible, for example by forming roof access hatches, crawlboards and walkways, and providing ladders and lighting. Special attention needs to be paid to devising safe means of inspecting confined, inaccessible, or other potentially hazardous parts. In large buildings, a rota for regular visits to disused rooms, attics and outbuildings may prove helpful.

Buildings are subject to many different decay processes, requiring different types of routine maintenance. Sweeping chimneys and other general cleaning is part of this, as is cyclical maintenance, such as oiling door furniture and hinges; testing of services, security and fire precautions, and seasonally related maintenance: touching up paintwork, clearing leaves and vegetation from gutters, downpipes and gulleys, and, in winter, turning off unused water services and clearing snow from valleys. In Britain, water penetration is very often the trigger for building defects, but the needs of each historic building will vary and professional advice should be taken when drawing up checklists for routine maintenance.

Professional Inspection

Although much can be achieved by owners' vigilance and routine 'propping and patching', most buildings will eventually require a professional inspection.

The 'quinquennial' ('five-yearly') professional inspection and condition report is the basis of maintenance planning for most important historic buildings. A bit like car MOT tests, and recommended in the British Standard guide, BS 7913:1998, The principles of the conservation of historic buildings, the system was first introduced by the Church of England in 1955 and has been copied by most other denominations as well as the National Trusts in England and Scotland. Government historic buildings are inspected on a four year (quadrennial) cycle under DCMS guidelines. Periodic professional inspections are often included in Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and Historic Scotland grant conditions, and Home Information Packs (HIPs) represent an attempt to extend the idea into the realm of house purchase, although as initially introduced in 2006 they did not include condition reports.

Quinquennial inspection is a systematic risk management tool which can even result in savings in insurance premiums. Equally applicable to small historic buildings, the main aim is to inform the owner or other person responsible for caring for the building, about its maintenance needs.

Expert knowledge

To be of most use, historic building quinquennials should be carried out by professionals with special knowledge of traditional building materials and their expected service lives. This should enable them to identify patterns of decay and failure, and not be taken in by appearances. The 'patina of age' is part of the delight of old buildings and an ability to judge when to repair, rather than replace, is essential. Modern building standards are very often not applicable to old buildings and detailed knowledge of traditional construction is also required.

In addition to describing the materials and their general condition, the report should pinpoint ongoing and potential defects in the different parts of the building, and provide prioritised recommendations for phased repairs, taking into account such aspects as urgency and accessibility. Reports may be illustrated with photographs or video, and include recommendations for 'good housekeeping' and precautionary works, like the removal of debris in attics and improvements in ventilation to promote drying out. Some defects, like cracking, may need long term monitoring to ascertain their progress, and other investigations of possible or suspected defects may be recommended. A range of environmental factors which may indicate defects, or potential defects, can be monitored electronically and this may be worth considering, for example to give warning of leakage in inaccessible areas, or temperature and humidity levels that could endanger valuable historic finishes.

Record keeping

For most historic buildings, the professional report should form the core of a building log book or conservation manual. This may include measured plans, if available, and for larger buildings, the conservation plan or policy, historical and archaeological assessments, fire, disaster and salvage plans, health and safety file, security plan and disability access plan as well as reports by specialist conservators. Periodic reports on service installations, operating instructions and routine maintenance records should also be included. By putting all this information together, and keeping an up-to-date record of repairs and alterations, it should be possible to minimise disruption and make economies by co-ordinating future repairs, for example to avoid peak visitor periods or take advantage of scaffolding.

Contractors

Maintenance contractors need to be highly skilled individuals, selected on the basis of previous high quality work, and sensitive to the value of historic fabric. They need to abide by the principle of minimum intervention, which is often also more economic. They also need to be familiar with the principles of traditional construction. The use of impermeable plastics based materials and toxic chemicals is often misplaced in historic buildings. Apart from the issues of health and sustainability, most traditional walls were designed to 'breathe', absorbing moisture and drying out rather than simply trying to exclude it, so that modern cement mortars, damp proof courses and waterproof coatings are often not appropriate in historic buildings and can increase damp problems and accelerate decay.

Approvals

Though maintenance works do not necessarily require listed building consent, this can be required if they include an element of demolition or if repairs involve changing materials or colours or otherwise altering the character of the building, for example, repointing. Stone cleaning can sometimes promote building decay and lead to problems such as 'greening' or algal bloom, and requires listed building consent in Scotland but may not in England. Even maintenance works to scheduled ancient monuments usually require consent. Advice should always be sought if there is any doubt about the need for approvals.

Repainting with traditional lead based paints can only be carried out with special licence from government heritage bodies on Grade 1 and 2* (Category A and B in Scotland) listed buildings. Licences may similarly be required if works such as repointing or re-roofing may disturb bats. Maintenance works may also involve Health & Safety duties under the Construction Design & Management Regulations 2007 (CDM2007) including, under some circumstances, the appointment of a CDM Co-ordinator.

Despite the importance of maintenance works, government grants are currently not available for it, except to a few privileged historic building owners, including the National Trusts in England and Scotland. Historic building owners who have received historic building repair grants may even find them reclaimed if maintenance is consistently neglected, and charitable status, and the position of trustees, may also be jeopardised by ill informed or inadequate building maintenance.

Full rate VAT is payable on repairs and maintenance to historic buildings other than churches, whereas alterations are zero rated, so that our VAT regime actively promotes the destruction of our built heritage, despite many years lobbying for change by the conservation community.

Many historic building owners set aside maintenance funds with contingencies for unexpected emergencies. But, all too often, maintenance is dealt with on a purely reactive basis and insufficiently funded, or funds are wasted on minor repairs, or ill advised, short term, work which leads to more costly repairs in the long run.

In carrying out numerous condition reports and defects investigations, we have found that systematic professional inspections can enable essential repairs to be identified, prioritised and budgeted for in advance, safeguarding the financial value and cultural significance of historic properties. If you would like to discuss how we may be able to assist you with maintaining your building or buildings, please contact us.

ROBIN KENT

Robin Kent is a chartered architect accredited in building conservation in both England and Scotland.

NOTE | This article is copyright. No responsibility is accepted for errors or omissions. It provides pointers to general principles and should not be viewed as a comprehensive guide. Each historic building will need separate consideration.

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