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Does best practice cover contemporary requirements?

The Repair, Conservation & Restoration of Historic Roofing - Philosophy, Process, Principle and Materials.

This seminar will be a detailed investigation looking at all aspects of roofing in historic buildings covering all periods, all roofing types and giving a special emphasis to traditional detailing. Lead work and thatching is included as will be the problems of conflict of conservation projects with modern insulation requirements.

Case studies showing best practice, situations to avoid and fit for purpose solutions in the context of listed building and conservation practices are core to the presentation and the event will consider what the often emotively used terms 'Repair…', 'Restoration…', and 'Conservation…' mean in the context of historic building and particularly roofing.

The talk will be impressively illustrated with a wide range of examples covering most historic roofing types. It does not so much aim to teach to specify, but rather looks at a diverse range of examples and discusses the good, the bad, and the anachronistic in each, and weaves these conclusions thro’ the web of conservation philosophy, functionality, primary purpose, aesthetics, cost, and value etc.

The speaker particularly asks the question on matters of detailing… 'If it was good enough for them, then surely it is good enough for us?' ...... and suggests that there are few instances where the use of modern detailing or materials is appropriate. The problems of modern insulation requirements and the conflict with traditional standards of construction and ventilation will also be investigated.

The session will be biased as much to the technical as to the philosophical and aesthetic and argues that the local vernacular tradition is in danger of subjugation to the exigencies of British Standards.

The seminar gives you three hours of general awareness and detailed knowledge CPD under the ‘Construction Skills – Specification and Materials’ section of the RIBA Core Curriculum.

Speaker: Ian Constantinides: Ian is a freelance Historic Building Consultant advising on all aspects of repair and conservation. He trained as a materials scientist before founding St Blaise Ltd, one of the country’s leading firms working in Historic Building Repair and the Conservation of Architectural Works of Art. Ian has an international reputation and presents events in the English Heritage Master Class series and teaches on many post graduate courses in Building Conservation.