Welcome to Heritage House

Our business is one of Heritage Survey and Consulting - helping you with every aspect of working with Heritage buildings. 

We conduct Building Surveys on any old house - whether Listed Grade 1, Grade 2* or Grade 2, or an old Victorian town house.  We are the scourge of the Timber and Damp industry (or the Property Care Association, home of the damp wally) - we do Timber and Damp surveys which turn the myth of rising damp on its head.  We'll tell you if your house really IS damp, and why - we tell you how to deal with it, how to maintain it, and what it'll cost.

What IS an old house?  It's very simple - an 'old house' is a structure built with solid walls (stone, brick, timber frame) using breathable materials. Most problems with old houses result from inappropriate use of modern building materials which prevent your house from 'breathing' - things like cement and gypsum plaster, emulsion paints and waterproofing.  Where does the moisture come from?  Mostly you - cooking, breathing, living.

Everything on this site relates to old buildings.  The techniques and materials are essential to old houses, but they equally can be applied to new ones. You cannot apply new house techniques to old houses!  The Golden Mantra is: BREATHABILITY!

Is damp a problem? Flaking plaster, hollow render, paint bubbling and flaking off walls, mouldy wallpaper, leaky or rotting timber frame, stonework deteriorating, things just getting creaky and rotten? These are typical problems with old houses. We help with sensible solutions, showing you WHY the problem is happening, how to prevent it in future, often with only subtle changes in lifestyle. 

We offer a telephone consultation service.  Please don't email or call asking for advice - we just cannot handle the volume of enquiries! Most commonly asked questions are covered within the site - it's why we update the site with information to help you.