50 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Notes from the chair Let’s break this destructive and wasteful cycle note on TraditionalWindows: their care, repair and upgrading, published last year and now rebranded and reissued by Historic England. This contains well-grounded research and a wealth of information useful to those challenged by owners and applicants with their desire to remove traditional windows and replace them with inappropriate modern units – usually doubleglazed. (See www.historicengland. org.uk/images-books/publications for this and other related guidance). In the majority of instances I come across, replacement is tabled as the first option and not, as it should be, the last.Yet in the great majority of cases my inspections reveal that any rot is localised and over-stated and that repairs are readily achievable, using piecing-in combined with Windowcare repairs (other two-pack repair systems may be available).While no one is pretending that timber windows and other features can last forever, rot tends to take hold in the all-too-familiar rainpockets at the bottom of stiles, bottom rails and cills leaving the majority of the remainder unaffected. So why unnecessarily lose that historic fabric? Of course external timber tends to be more vulnerable today since the banning of lead-based paints, but acrylic resin paints are reported in the above guidance to offer very good results. All we then need is clients and owners willing to keep to reasonable paint cycles. A conservation surveyor can dream… Readers may know that I have changed day-job in recent months. After 30 years practising in London I am now located in rural Hertfordshire. This has exposed me to much of the above breadand-butter conservation work. One of the pleasures of my new workload is working with early timber-framed structures and thatch (there are not a great number of these left in London). I am on a sharp learning-curve of knowing when to duck and avoid cracking my head open on a ridiculously low beam or doorhead. The adaptability of these vernacular forms is refreshing and, armed with a positive approach to conservation and change-management, it is surprising what can be achieved with little or no harm being done.Yet, only a tiny minority of agents and applicants Another summer has come and gone with its now traditional grey, gloomy skies and miserable day-after-day of rain. All so very notably far-removed from the fondly-remembered endless hot blue skies and lazy days of childhood cliché. But it is clear that things have changed in recent years and the weather with it. The need for clear thinking on climate change and how best to tackle it was never more acute. The flawed Green Deal may have been abandoned by the new government (and thank goodness for that), but appropriate measures to make homes more energy efficient are slow to emerge. Few in the heritage sector will have been surprised at the many instances of failure and moisture penetration following cavity wall insulation, or the damage being done to the character of buildings and areas by exterior wall insulation. I suspect that much damage to the nation’s stock of traditional buildings is yet to emerge, given the often astonishing ignorance about how such buildings work. The IHBC’s remit extends to all historic buildings (although we often have to prioritise listed buildings and other designated heritage assets), and we continue to subscribe to and support building sector initiatives and organisations that seek to explain to the public (and, it must be said, regrettably, other professionals) on how the wetting and drying cycle works and how flexible structures can be ‘broken’ by rigid and impermeable additions and alterations. The need for better skills associated with maintenance and repair at all levels is most pressing, particularly when charged with the need to improve thermal and energy performance.We all have our part to play through our dayto-day advice and decision-making. Let’s not forget, however, that traditional buildings often perform much better in these matters than has previously been assumed – that assumption, I would hazard, being the product of years of propaganda by the manufacturers and installers of modern materials and fittings. I do recommend downloading the guidance
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