As Historic Building Consultants, we provide Period Property Building Surveys. We are trained and skilled to give you the best advice when buying a Period property.
There is a bit of confusion in terminology here, so we’ve included a page for anyone searching for a Period Property Building Survey. Our Building Surveyors have extensive experience of the style and period of your property. A Period Property Building Survey includes very specific details about the way your potential home was built, the materials used, its important features, and the things you need to know in order to maintain the building.
What actually is a Period Property? A lot of people use the term, but perhaps don’t actually know what it refers to.
Until recently, an old, or Period Property was defined as anything built before 1919. Now we don’t really know what it was in 1919 that made something special, or Period – but after that, houses were supposed to be new, and presumably not particularly interesting. Nowadays, there is a far better description of what an old house is: Its defined as a ‘Solid walled structure, built using breathable materials’. It doesn’t matter whether it is pre, or post 1919 – the important thing to be aware of is the construction, and the way in which the materials interact with water in particular – causing, or avoiding dampness issues.
We tend not to use the description Period Property Surveyor, because it doesn’t really describe our abilities – we are experts in historic properties – and in particular with the materials they are built of. Understanding these materials, and the way they behave, is the key to any historic building survey.
Our Period Property, or Historic Building Surveyors are all highly qualified and experienced in working with historic fabric.
The House with the most Wisteria on below is the first house Richard restored (and lived in). Is this the quintessential Period Property ? A Georgian facade over an earlier timber framed cottage to the rear.
What are the main Periods for houses?
Medieval – 5th -15th C
Tudor period – 1485-1560
Elizabethan and Jacobean period – 1560-1660
Restoration period – 1660-1714
Georgian period – 1715-1790
Regency period – 1790-1830
Victorian period – 1830-1900
Edwardian period – 1900-1918
Art Nouveau period – 1890-1910
Art Deco period – 1908-1935