3 SKILL REQUIREMENTS Work to historic and traditionally constructed buildings may be considered under the following headings: repair and maintenance work to prevent their deterioration; retrofit to reduce their contribution to global warming in use; and adaptation where necessary to ensure long term sustainability. Repair and maintenance Where repairs to historic and traditionally constructed buildings are required, making the correct decisions requires a thorough understanding of the cause of the problem, its extent and the options for remediation. For any architect or surveyor tasked with investigating the problem, this will require an understanding of just how complex historic buildings can be, and when they need to bring in other specialist consultants. For example, damp at the base of a wall is often diagnosed as rising damp but could equally have tracked down through the core of the wall to the bottom where it collects and surfaces as a damp stain. Often the cause is far from the original source. As well as knowing which technology to use to identify the problem and the experience to interpret the findings, the specialist consultant also needs to understand how the structure was originally built and the most appropriate methods of repair. The knowledge and skills required for this work are acquired partly through specialist conservation course, partly on the job and partly through continuing professional development. For the contract or craftsperson carrying out a repair, knowledge of the materials and construction systems used historically is crucial. Construction skills are taught in over 113 colleges and training institutions across the UK but most focus exclusively on the construction skills required for modern buildings, and very few courses teach the use of traditional crafts such as the use of lime mortars, which are essential for the maintenance and repair of historic and traditionally constructed buildings. Retrofit Aside from the value of historic and traditionally constructed buildings to our cultural heritage and the quality of our built environment, these buildings represent a vast resource of embodied carbon. Replacing them would require the expenditure of an even greater amount of carbon (or CO2e as it is not just carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming) and is not an option. All can, however, be retrofitted to some degree, reducing drafts and heat loss if treated correctly, and with the replacement of high-carbon heating with more sustainable solutions, all can play a part in meeting netzero objectives. Unfortunately, adding insulation in the wrong way can cause major problems. According to a report recently published by the National Audit Office (NAO) most (98%) of homes that had external wall insulation installed under ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme between 2022 and 2025 have problems that will lead to damp and mould if left unaddressed. In some cases the Getting the local vernacular roof details right not only preserves their distinctive character, but also keeps them watertight.
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