External maintenance assessments can keep your property watertight and avoid expensive repair costs – if issues were to otherwise remain unnoticed and unresolved. We advise that a regular review of heritage properties be carried out by a competent professional.
Heritage churches typically have a Quinquennial inspection carried out by a Conservation Architect or Building Surveyor. As the name suggests, those inspections are undertaken every 5 years.
In periods between Quinquennial inspections, Church Wardens will make their own maintenance arrangements – just as a private homeowner maintains their own period property. Our works are undertaken in liaison with a Conservation Architect / Building Surveyor, or directly with a Church Warden.
The following example details our recent annual assessment of the Grade I Listed St Michaels Church. Near Skipton in North Yorkshire, the Church site dates back to 1100. We were asked to carry out the maintenance assessment by the Church Warden.
Access and high level works are important considerations when carrying out assessments of buildings. In this case, the tower roof could be accessed through internal means. We therefore allowed for two skilled heritage professionals to visit for one day.
Our review of the exterior building shell may include the following items:
- Clearing debris from high level gutters to prevent overflow
- Rodding downpipes that could be blocked from gutter debris
- Clearing hopper debris
- Clearing and rodding ground level grates
- Cleaning the roof of vegetation and debris
- Review any specific items requested by the Client
- Review internal high level access routes – such as tower roof
- Window seals and doorways
- Masonry and /or rendering integrity checks
- Pointing integrity: mortar is a weathering course between masonry
- Slates: fixings degrade and slates can delaminate over time
- Leadwork is a weather seal between joints and has installation standards
- Chimneys – a common form of weather failure
- Flagpole: similar to chimneys, may be an opening in a roof
- Making any repairs or temporary fixes reasonably possible during the visit
- Review of the recorded listed assets essential for preservation
Following the visit, we produced a report to detail the maintenance. The report would also include recommended works and any items that were not possible to address during the visit. Proposed corrective works would be rated in a traffic light system: essential, concerning or preferable. The report forms a record for future monitoring and upkeep, empowering the client to budget over the short and longer-term.
