An early 19th-century lodge house, linked to a grand country estate, presented a fascinating challenge for our York building survey team.
This York property was not a typical lodge or gatehouse style property; it was large, with 6 bedrooms in the main property as well as cottages, barns and stables on site. It was set in several acres of well-maintained gardens.
The current owner had clearly spent considerable amounts of money maintaining the property and among other things had replaced the slate, tile, and lead roof coverings on the main house and the assorted additions and protrusions. The exterior of the roof looked like it was installed the day before the survey, and the work had been done by a very good roofing company.
So far, so good.
Part of what we do during a Level 3 survey is try to unravel what has happened to a building over its lifetime. What has changed, moved, been blocked up, or previously repaired. The pathology and history of a building is important to understand as it helps owners understand the need for regular maintenance, organise sympathetic repairs, and engage suitably qualified contractors.
Within the main roof space of this property was the original timber roof frame. A mixture of King post frames, tie beams, purlins, and secondary rafters. It was clear this was a historic timber frame as tapered wedges secured the purlins passing through the King post frames, and the original timbers had been previously treated with lime wash. A vapour permeable barrier was visible under the roof covering.
There was some damage to the roof frame. Steel plates had been clamped around a crack in the structural timber of a King post frame. While it is likely that this historic repair would not meet current standards of repair, it had not moved and was continuing to provide support to the damaged timber.
There was yellow staining to most of the timbers just below the roof line, as well as some visible decay to some roof timbers. We even saw decay on newer, replacement timbers that had been installed when the roof covering was replaced. It appears that spray foam insulation had been removed, possibly because of decay to the roof timbers.
The local fauna likes a nice dry roof space, and there was a huge redundant wasps nest in one corner of the roof space. A large cluster of droppings in a line under the ridge board indicated bats also roosted in the roof. As a protected species, bats cannot be disturbed, but thankfully they were not in residence at the time of the inspection.
The findings and images are highlighted in the report along with advice regarding future action. In this case, leave the joist repair alone, keep all the documentation for the roof refurbishment and foam removal, and do not disturb the bats!
If you require a thorough building survey of your historic property then contact us on 01904 819 081 or email info@allcottassociates.co.uk.
