Extending an old house – online webinar

Last week we presented an online webinar for SPAB [The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings] – about extending an old house and how to do it right. We were delighted with the invitation to lead such an event, considering the status of SPAB as a highly respected national organisation. 

The course was a whistle stop tour of the following topics.  

• Preparation – selecting the right team. 
• Freedom – let the team do what they are good at. 
• Legislation – key statutory legislation to be aware of. 
• Investigation – initial surveys and site investigations. 
• To match in with the existing or go different Part 1 – architectural style and aesthetics. 
• To match in with the existing or go different Part 2 – structure and systems of build. 
• Sustainability – the extension and the existing host building. 
• Energy – renewable sources of energy. 
• Material selection – options, behaviours, embodied energy and good health. 
• Glazing – things to consider. 
• Detailing – a small selection of key junctions to think through. 
• Drainage – things to consider. 
• Heating – options for staying warm and comfortable. 
• Ventilation – you and the building need to breathe. 
• Afterwards – post occupancy evaluation. 

The webinar was only an hour long, and we had to pack in quite a lot of information. As a result it moved quite fast. To help the retain the information, we produced a little takeaway booklet [just 97 pages long] so attendees had a reference guide + information on where to look for further information. This will be released as a standalone downloadable guide on the website at some point in the future, so keep your eyes peeled.  

We attended the SPAB Old House Eco Course back in 2016 and it’s helped us on our own projects, making sure if a client is extending an old house, we get it just right. As a result it was nice to be presenting a short course for SPAB themselves. If you are involved in retro-fit to old buildings, the SPAB Old House Eco Course weekend training event and accompanying books are a must. The books are published by SPAB, details are below:  

• Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair.
• Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability.

The course preparation took longer than we anticipated but it was worth doing. Helping to spread some of our knowledge to people wishing to do things properly, gained from nearly 25 years of working in the industry [and making a few mistakes] was really rewarding.