Historic Building workshops

Care and repair of historic timber roof structures and historic brickwork

Date: 7 April 2017

When: 1000 – 1630

Where: Weybrook Park Golf club and the Vyne National Trust, Basingstoke

Cost:  £120.00 plus VAT (£144.00) to include seminar proceedings, all refreshments, lunch and comprehensive delegate pack

The day’s course will consider in depth three aspects of building conservation:

• The care and repair of historic timber frames and roof structures
• The care and repair of historic brickwork
• Problems of decay and methods of repair

The venue has been carefully chosen as The Vyne represents a fine example of a 16^th century country house which was modified and improved in later centuries. The building is at present undergoing a major programme of repair at roof level and public viewing areas have been provided on the scaffolding. This gives a unique opportunity to observe the historic fabric at close quarters and understand some of the repair problems. The day will include formal Power Point presentations, to be held in the nearby Golf Club House in the morning and first hand observations of The Vine in the afternoon to include a visit to roof level to view the ongoing programme of repairs.

Speaker

Kevin Stubbs BA(Hons)  DipBldgCons(AA)  IHBC   CertEd

Kevin Stubbs is a Historic Buildings Consultant and comes with a background of education, archaeology and building conservation. He was Director of Archaeology for the Test Valley in Hampshire and later moved to Hampshire County Council to join the Historic Buildings Bureau, where he became the Principal Buildings Conservation Officer for the County. For eleven years he acted as the Director of a Conservation Centre and now runs his own Historic Building Consultancy and Training Company.

He advises on the repair and maintenance of all historic structures and provides training at all levels for the building conservation industry.  This includes the development of historic building technology, traditional materials and hands-on craft training.  Work for Local Government Authorities includes Conservation Area appraisals, historic building condition surveys and feasibility studies.  He has provided training exercises with local communities to raise awareness of their village plans and local heritage interpretation documents and he has provided Traditional Skills Awareness Courses for a number of bodies.

He undertakes the Historic Analysis of buildings and produces: Statements of Significance; Method Statements; Impact Assessments and Specifications for the repair and conservation of traditional buildings.

He lectures for various CPD providers, Universities and national building conservation organizations including SPAB, RICS and the Weald and Downland Museum.  Topics include: Bricks and Mortar; Lime, Plasters and Renders; Cob and Earth, Timber Frame and Stone Structures and Traditional Roofing.

The day will include formal Power Point presentations, material handling sessions and first hand observations of the building.

Main themes

The History and development of historic roof structures

•  The historic development of timber frames and roof structures
• Causes of decay and failure including mechanical failure, rot and insect attack.
• Approach to structural repairs, selection and use of materials and techniques.
• Case Studies

 Historic Roof Covering

• Tile, history, manufacture, problems of decay and repair.
• Lead, flashings and lead sheet, problems including under sheet corrosion, acid attack, correct detailing and installation.

The History of brickmaking and building in Brick

Bricks have been a principal building material in many parts of the country since the 16^th century.  The history and development of brick buildings and brickmaking will be examined up to the middle of the 20^th century when bricks ceased to be a mainly local vernacular material and became a mass produced product by a few large international companies.

Interpreting Historic Brickwork

Looking closely at historic brickwork can give clues as to how the bricks were manufactured and laid and what alterations the building has gone through since its original construction.  This process can be likened to reading a detective story: the clues are there, they just need interpreting by the observer, thus enabling a correct and aesthetically pleasing repair/restoration to be achieved.

Care And Repair of Historic Masonry structures and Selection of Mortars

The first important stage of this process is to identify the sources which have caused the problems of decay to occur; these must be resolved before the brickwork can be repaired.  It is also important to understand the nature and function of historic mortars and the dangers of the use of modern cementitious products.  The use of inappropriate mortars can result in the rapid deterioration of historic masonry and long term structural problems. The problems of water movement, salts, frost and the cleaning of brickwork a will be examined.  The methods of re-pointing will also be considered, not only for aesthetic reasons, but to ensure the correct performance and durability of the new joint.