When giving you the most up to date advice available on your period house, over 30 years of enthusiasm for the subject goes into my knowledge.

I have been an enthusiast of period houses for over 30 years, having first developed a keen interest in the differences between period and modern houses, in the mid 1970s.

Over the years, I have gained considerable first hand experience of all aspects of period houses, such as diagnosing and rectifying defects, buying and selling, sympathetically maintaining and improving, and advising owners and prospective owners. This experience has been gained by training and working as a traditional surveyor for local firms in Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as running my own specialist period house agency in the 1980s. Further experience has come from owning a variety of period houses and, when repairing and restoring them, learning from specialist craftsmen when discussing problems with them.

Ideas and best practice techniques for looking after period houses do not stand still and lessons are continually being learnt from the mistakes of yesteryear. To keep abreast of the latest research findings and methods, each year I attend various specialist courses on the conservation, repair, maintenance and restoration of period houses.

In 2008, I became one of the few people in the country to be awarded a licence to practice as one of the new building pathology trained surveyors, called Home Inspectors. The type of buildings Home Inspectors are permitted to inspect and report on is tightly regulated, and their work is independently audited to ensure high standards. This means they cannot carry out unsupervised inspections on house types they are not experienced with. As a result of my background and interest in period houses, on the granting of my licence I was registered as a specialist in pre-1900 buildings - the first Home Inspector in the country so registered. (My licence to practice as a Home Inspector was granted by BRE Global who are part of the Building Research Establishment, my certification number is BREC200662.)

What is the relevance of being a Home Inspector?

The key difference between traditional surveyors and the new Home Inspectors is the nature of their training and expertise:

  • As a building pathologist, a Home Inspector is trained to inspect buildings for the sole purpose of searching out and identifying defects to establish a prognosis for the building. This then enables him to report not only his findings, but the urgency or otherwise of any building works required to rectify the defects;
  • A traditional surveyor is not trained in building pathology but is instead trained to inspect buildings for a wide range of specific purposes and report accordingly (eg. planning change of use, mortgage valuations, rebuilding costs, etc.). If any noticeable defects are apparent, he is trained to take them into account as required for the purposes of the report, but is not necessarily trained to search out defects, identify their cause, and the prognosis for the building if the defects are not attended to immediately.

By consulting me you gain access to my first hand knowledge and experience of period houses obtained as a direct result of over 30 years enthusiasm for the subject.

In order to provide a thorough service to you without cutting any corners, I am forced to restrict the number of new clients I take on across East Anglia each year to 50. If my new client list is full when you contact me, or I do not think I am personally the right person to assist you, there is a good chance I can still point you in the right direction for assistance and technical guidance. I regret, I am unable to accept clients who only want advice and assistance on period houses situated outside of East Anglia.

Guarantee

I operate a 100%, no quibble, money back guarantee for all my clients - if you are not totally satisfied with any service you purchase from me, I will give you a 100% refund.

For specific advice and assistance regarding a period house you either own or hope to own, write, telephone or e-mail me using the contact details at the bottom of the page or just use the enquiry form below.

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