There are currently around half a million officially listed buildings in England and Wales and while they are always keenly sought after when they come onto the market, owning and living in a listed property is not always easy.
All listed buildings come with a number of rules, regulations and restrictions which can severely limit the kind of work and alterations that you may wish to carry out.
Overcoming difficulties with listed buildings…
The windows of any listed building are one of its most important architectural features, comprising as they do a significant part of its history. Although they may have become cracked and draughty over time, letting in cold air and external noise, they are almost always protected under the terms of the listing and so cannot be legally altered or replaced. Which is where Storm Windows’ bespoke secondary glazing comes into its own.
When dealing with the constraints of owning a listed building, you will have to liaise with the local authority Conservation Officer, whose job it is to make sure that your building’s original features are preserved. Your Conservation Officer will advise you whether the jobs you wish to carry out are legally permissible. As glazing plays such a key role in creating and maintaining the character of all listed buildings, there are naturally very strict guidelines concerning alterations and reparations, which must be complied with at all times.
Thankfully, most Conservation Officers in the UK recognise that Storm’s secondary glazing is a discreet and sympathetic remedy to conserving energy in historic buildings. They recognise that the slimline nature of our unique system offers both a reduction in heat loss and an increase in acoustic performance, whilst remaining fully reversible and, crucially, causing almost no impact to the fabric of the building.
Having said that, we would always recommend that you liaise with your Conservation Officer and discuss your plans regarding your windows before proceeding, as you may still be required to obtain listed building consent in advance of any work being carried out. We would also advise you to provide all literature to your Conservation Officer, including samples and cross section drawings. If necessary, you should also meet on site to explain the unique design of our secondary glazing product and installation.
At Storm, we have vast experience with listed buildings…
We have now been trading for almost two decades and in that time we have carried out countless installations on a huge variety of different kinds of listed building, including Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian properties. We know from this experience that each building has its own unique requirements and that no two windows are ever exactly the same.
We also have a great deal of experience of working alongside the National Trust and English Heritage, both of whom value our high levels of expertise and the sympathetic solutions we provide to the glazing problems associated with listed buildings. They also appreciate the fact that we are extremely flexible in our approach, making sure we meet their requirements and accommodate their needs. Add to this our unique product and an outstanding level of customer service and it’s no surprise that we are one of the chosen suppliers of both the National Trust and English Heritage.
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with your listed building, give us a call today on 01384 636365 or drop us a line here: sales@stormwindows.co.uk and we’ll be in touch.