Buildings and architecture are part of our everday lives and we don’t notice them at all. From art deco office blocks, churches, cathedrals, town halls to guildhalls, there is a good chance that there are some interesting and beautiful buildings near you. Compared to a wide range of countries, Britain has a very long history, which has resulted in many different building styles and building methods have been used in order to erect fantastic buildings of all shapes and sizes. As a nation we often want to preserve and maintain these buildings, so we can hold on to the different eras in our communal history.
In the United Kingdom laws have been set up to look after buildings and other structures that have been designated as being of special historical, architectural or cultural significance. Structures such as these are called listed buildings and there are about half a million in the UK. A listed building cannot be knocked down, extended or developed in anyway, with out the permission of local planning authority, in order to protect these places of interest.
There are 3 different types of status of listed buildings in the United Kingdom, Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II. Grade I listed buildings are of outstanding historical or architectural interest, Grade II* are significant buildings that are of interest to the wider population, while Grade II are of special architectural or historic interest. People who own listed buildings can get into trouble with the law if they don’t maintain and restore damaged buildings. As a result of this many people are trying to hire listed building restoration businesses for help. These are skilled builders who focus on listed building conservation use the original methods and materials originally used when the building was first put up.
Building restoration is the process of refurbishing and renewing a buildings materials. This can consist of anything from totally reconstucting a damaged property that is beyond repair to major repair jobs and cleaning the building. Building restoration is basically about keeping the original design and structure of a building, whilst helping to extend the life and increase the functionality of the property.
Many building restoration companies also build permitted extensions and new areas to a property but these nearly always require planning permission first. heritage restoration builders can do this by using reclaimed bricks and stone as well as traditional bricklaying and roofing techniques to maintain the look of the original building. It is also possible to build within an existing structure and this is referred to as adaptive reuse. If a historic building had previously been used as a flour mill and has been sold to a property developer who wants to turn it into some apartments then it is possible to maintain the exterior structure of the building whilst also providing all the comforts of modern life within the interior of the building.