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Buildings and architecture are part of our everday lives and we often fail to notice. Everything from new office blocks, churches, cathedrals, town halls to guildhalls, there is a good chance that there are some interesting and fantastic buildings where you live. Unlike a large percentage of modern countries, Great Britain has a older history, which has meant that many different building styles and building methods have been used in order to create extravagant buildings of all shapes and sizes. As a nation we often want to look after and protect these buildings, so we can hold on to the different eras in our communal history.
In Great Britain laws have been created to take care of buildings and other structures that have been set apart from the rest as being of special historical, architectural or cultural significance. These structures are known as listed buildings and there are around half a million in the UK. Listed buildings are not allowed to be demolished, extended or changed in anyway, unless permission has been granted by the local planning authority, this is so they can protect these places of interest.
There are three types of listed buildings in the UK, Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II. Grade I listed buildings are of outstanding historical or architectural interest, Grade II* are significant buildings that are of interest to the wider population, while Grade II are of special architectural or historic interest. People who own listed buildings may have legal issues if they don’t maintain and restore damage to these buildings. For this reason many people are trying to hire listed building restoration businesses for help. These are specialist builders and craftmen who focus on listed building conservation use the traditional supplies and methods used when the building was first built.
Building restoration is the process of refurbishing and renewing a buildings materials. This can consist of anything from completely reconstucting a damaged property that is beyond repair to major repair work and cleaning the building. Building restoration is basically about maintaining the original design and shape of a building, whilst helping to extend the life and functionality of the property.
Some building restoration specialists also build extensions and new builds to a property but these often require planning approval before construction can begin. heritage restoration builders can do this by using reclaimed bricks and stone as well as traditional bricklaying and roofing methods to maintain the style of the original structure. You can also now build within an existing structure and this is referred to as adaptive reuse. If a historic building had previously been used as a flour mill and has been sold to a property developer who wants to turn it into some apartments then it is possible to maintain the exterior structure of the building whilst also providing all the comforts of modern life within the interior of the building.
