One way the consevation...

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think there is a HUGE middle view.

Its your position that causes 90% of the problems. Consider: a case I heard related to me by a restoration builder.

Old 17th century housem used by various institurtions who covered up many features as part of adapting it for office use. Then it gets listed. Years later private owner is trying to restore it, and comes across a stud wall built in the 60's slap across a gothic door and frame. Wants to remove said wall to expose said gothic frame. No way Jose.

Aniother case entirely in point in these parrts. Rotten oak beams. Restore wants to haul most of them out and replace with similar. No. If more than 6" is sound, that must be presebred and new wood cut in round it.

Is the house a museum piece? No. Its listed more because the TYPE of house it is and the methods of construction are of interest.

But the listing process ensures that it will never be anything other than another piece of heritage that falls down because no one can afford to fix it to the required standards.

There is a wonderful old house no more than 400 yards from me..its in worse shape than mine was when I pulled it down - unlisted thank god - and needs careful restoration. but the consortium that was going to buy it pulled out. Too expensive to fix. The land with the building on is worthless as it can't be redeveloped. What is going to happen? The owner will keep it with the derelict house on till the bloody thing falls down.

Is it worth a listing? yes, probably. Its one of the few timber framed originally thatched cottages left in these parts. However, one would never be able to restore it to that, because when it was listed it had a shingle roof and corrugated iron roof.

Actually teh issue was cast alumnium. A material which te victorains would have creamed their trourses to use had it been available.

Apalling details can always be removed.

Structures that fall down due to being beyond economic repair are lost forever.

[Mark]

Like it or not, that is the way its done You cant just replace large parts of the reparable structure because you don 't like the look of it and then try and say its original, you may as well knock the whole building down and repalce it with new, but looks old. Oh but that's what you did !

When do you say this building will never _ever_ be restored? Once its gone and you have built another Tesco on the site its gone for ever in a 100years time it will still be gone for ever.

Er yes but they probably would have used Plastic if it was available and bought their door furniture from Ikea, but that did not happen. You just don't get it do you ?

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[Anna Kettle]

I was going to leap in and say "Yes but I would have bought that house if it had been on the market when I was househunting"

but then I thought a bit more deeply and probably I wouldnt have bought it. It would heve been yet another in a long string of houses which I didnt buy because the economics didnt stack up and I was outbid by someone who was buying a fantasy, not a hovel - and it _is_ a complete hovel and in spite of its lovely location and age, shouldnt really be worth much at all

There are many people with spare cash who dont do the sums so

Cost to buy + Cost to do up > Value when finished

And I dont think you can blame that on the fact that it is listed. I'd blame property ladder / grand designs and the dream of a rural idyll

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[meow2222]

When will that bubble burst? Some of those programs make such gushingly naive claims I thought they would have been publicly shown up and discredited by now.

NT

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Mark" saying something like:

£480K, iirc.

They made £4K profit. Not worth the bother, imo. Better to have walked away and let someone else have the hassle. They paid far too much for it in the first place and I suppose the seller must've been laughing his socks off.

[Mark]

Oh well at least two sets of people are happy The original owners and whoever bought it after the restoration, which was done for them at almost cost price :) I wonder if people are paid for appearing in these programs.

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