Next Monday is an important date in the historic building calendar as it marks the start of SPAB’s (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) autumn Maintenance Week. This long running campaign aims to highlight the importance of conducting regular maintenance on historic buildings, especially in preparation for the colder, wetter and windier months of the year. As someone who works closely with historic buildings and as a member of the SPAB, I have seen first-hand the damage caused by the serial neglect of building maintenance. For most owners however, the problem is not a lack will, it is more a lack of knowledge. Beyond maintenance, being able to ‘read’ your home – it’s quirks and idiosyncrasies – will help to you understand your building’s needs. With that in mind, and rather than simply regurgitating SPAB’s advice, I thought I would take a more general look at how you can begin to develop an analytic view of your home.
In the UK, the most likely cause of damage to a historic building is water ingress. As a result, roofs, gutters and downpipes should be your primary focus of attention. Most roof plans are simple but historic buildings, particularly those which have been expanded or modified over time, often have a mixture of roof types and valley gutters in hard-to-reach locations. As a first step, try to draw a quick diagram or get a survey of your roof so that you know what’s up there and can identify potential problem areas. You don’t need to start shinning up ladders (especially if you are not able to); Google maps might give you a good enough satellite image for you to work from and lots of drone surveys can be conducted form ground level for relatively cheap. Make sure to mark on your roof plan where the gutters and downpipes are and try to understand how rainwater flows off the roof. Pay particular attention to any areas of flat roof as these are often the most problematic areas. Also take note of any slipped or damage tiles, and any damaged lead flashings or ridges.
The next thing to do is wait for a rainy day. The absolute best time to look at a roof is when it’s raining as it’s much easier to see where potential problems are. Grab your raincoat, head outside and start a slow walk around your home. Pay attention to drips or leaks at the junction between gutter sections or any obvious blockages. Look for damp patches directly underneath the eaves as this is often a sign that the gutter or roof in this section has failed. If you can, wait for an especially heavy downpour as this will show how your roof copes with a significant volume of water. Climate change has altered rainfall patterns to increase shorter, heavy bursts rainfall rather than drizzle and, often, drainage systems installed during the ‘Little Ace’ cannot cope with the modern volumes of rainwater. If you notice that you that your hoppers, gutters and downpipes are overflowing (especially after having them cleaned out) then this is a good indication that additional drainage capacity is required. Adding an extra downpipe is a relatively cheap option when compared to having to repair a water-damaged roof and while you may need listed building consent, most local authorities would be supportive.
The second area of I would focus on understanding is the ground levels around your home and the types of material that abuts the walls. Decades of gardening, landscaping and alterations can often raise the ground level around a building and this can obscure air bricks, vents and bridge any damp-proof courses. Generally, the ground level surrounding a building should be a minimum of 150mm (roughly 6 inches) below the internal floor level. This is often difficult to achieve, particularly on sloping sites where the original building was built into the slope, but if you are able, then scrape topsoil away from the wall and make sure any vents are uncovered and unblocked. Hard surfaces such as paving and driveways should be installed so that they fall away from the house but, ideally, they should be kept away from the external face of the walls. On your rainy circumnavigation, pay attention to any water pooling around the base of the building. In the days following a bout of heavy or persistent rain, check the walls (particularly the base) to see if there are any lingering patches of damp – this usually signals an area which is particularly affected. In addition to fixing any above ground drainage issues, installing a gravel-filled French drain around the perimeter of your home can reduce the amount of water which seeps into masonry and it also stops rainwater bouncing off hard surfaces back onto the walls in torrential rain.
The last area to look at is your doors and windows. Most historic buildings will have timber windows and doors which will degrade over time. Look at your windows and check for any signs of rot. Often, due to years of thickly applied gloss paint, rot in timber cills will go unnoticed until the timber fails completely. An early way to spot this is to press down on the timber and feel for any ‘spongy’ areas – this is likely evidence for rot underneath the paint – strip the old paint off and repair as soon as possible. Regular maintenance rather than installing a thick ‘protective’ coat of paint is far better in ensuring the long-term survival of external timber. It’s also vitally important to look at the putty or mortar seals around window glass and frames. Cracked or patchy seals will allow water, especially wind-driven rain, to get inside the frame and cause rot to occur in inaccessible areas. Checking seals and making repairs also helps to reduce drafts making your home warmer during the cold weather.
As with people, a good hat and a good pair of boots are essential to being comfortable in wintry weather and the regular maintenance of your home is the best, and cheapest, form of repair. For those who want to know more, please have a look at the SPAB website (https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/maintenance-week-2026) and follow their advice. I would also highly recommend Roger Hunt and Marianne Suhr’s book ‘The Old House Handbook’, published in collaboration with SPAB. This book goes into greater detail about the repair and maintenance of historic buildings and is full of easy-to-understand advice and illustrations to help homeowners. If you want any specific help with your own home or want more information on how to maintain your home, please get in touch with us at studio@openhousearchitecture.com or visit our website.