Guidance

The right specialist should understand both the work you need and the way your building was constructed. Look for experience with comparable historic buildings, materials and repairs, not simply a general interest in older properties.

Ask to see examples of relevant work, check references and discuss how they would approach your project. Qualifications, professional accreditation and trade membership can help you assess a specialist, but should be considered alongside their practical experience. For complex work, an independent conservation architect, surveyor or other adviser can help establish what is needed before you appoint a contractor.

Use the directory to find potential specialists, then speak to them about your building, their services and their availability. A directory listing is a starting point for your enquiries, not an endorsement or guarantee of suitability.

Understanding your building is the first step towards looking after it. Regular maintenance and well-considered repairs help preserve historic fabric, using materials and methods appropriate to the building.

We're developing practical guides organised around the directory's categories, from lime plaster and traditional masonry to timber structures, windows, roofing and building services. Each guide will explain what to look for, common problems, questions to ask a specialist and when further advice may be needed.

The guides will help you prepare for a conversation with a contractor or adviser. They won't replace an assessment of your building or a project-specific repair specification.

Until the guides are published, use the directory to find relevant specialists and explore the advice already available from Recept.

Start with a clear description of the work you want priced. Where possible, give each contractor the same information so that you can compare their proposals fairly. Ask for a written quotation that identifies the work, materials, exclusions, VAT and any assumptions or allowances. An estimate is an indication of likely cost, rather than an agreed fixed price.

Before giving the go-ahead, record the agreement in writing. It should cover the scope of work, materials and finishes, expected timetable, access arrangements, payments, site protection and clearing up. Agree how additional work or changes will be authorised and priced, rather than leaving those decisions until the final bill.

For heritage work, make sure the agreed scope reflects any approved drawings, specifications and consent conditions. If the proposed approach changes once work begins, check whether further advice or approval is needed before proceeding.

Before commissioning work, establish whether any permissions or approvals are needed. In England, listed building consent is required for demolition and for alterations or extensions that affect a listed building's character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. This can include internal work as well as external changes, and applies even where the intention is to improve the building.

Routine maintenance and minor repairs may not need listed building consent where they do not affect that special interest. However, describing work as “like-for-like” does not settle the question: the materials, methods and extent of the work all matter. If you are unsure, discuss the proposed work with your local planning authority before starting.

Recept's advice can help you understand the heritage issues to consider before developing your proposals. Where a heritage statement is needed, it should explain the building's significance, the proposed work and its likely effects on that significance. It supports the application; it does not replace consent.