Listed Building Grants

[b2dan]

I'm living in a grade 2 listed building (only listed on the front elevation to maintain the character of the street).

The current windows are all single glazed and I want to replace with double glazing, preferably take out the 70s leaded windows and put back in a proper set of sash windows as the house would of originally had (I've historic photos of the house to support this).

Having had a good snoop of google/English Heritage, I'm stuggling to find any info on whether grants are available to help with the window replacement. I was just wondering if anyone on here had any experience of this.

Cheers

b2

[MrV]

First good luck and fingers crossed your local conservation officer is a reasonable chap,he would be my first port of call to see whether he/she has any objections to you replacing them.

He/she is also a good call on whether you will get a grant.I know when I have tried in the past they are as rare as rocking horse manure.

[b2dan]

Cheers

I've just fired off an email too them but last time I contacted the conservation department (around Christmas) they informed me they hadn't had a conservation officer for around 6 months! Hopefully this has changed.

b2

[FlossyThePig]

Changes to listed buildings can be a minefield. If the leaded windows were listed you will need to get permission to change them. They may insist on secondary double glazing to retain the leaded glass.

Work on listed buildings should be VAT free though.

[b2dan]

I was thinking about the secondary double glazing but someone furthur up has recently had double glazed sash put in.

Also the leaded window isn't the original type of window he property had so hopefully the conservation officer will let me put sash in.

Will have to have a look into this vat free business.

Cheers

Dan

[pc.iow]

I am working on a Grade 2 now and i think you will be lucky if they let you fit double glazed windows.

We are having to re-use glass where possable,or using a company called histoglass.
They can supply hand drawn toughened glass at 3mm thick.

[FlossyThePig]

b2dan said:

I was thinking about the secondary double glazing but someone furthur up has recently had double glazed sash put in.

Have a quiet word with them. They may not have obtained permission and your questions may cause them problems.

Just because your house had sash windows in the past does not mean you can reinstate them. If the house is listed with leaded windows you will need to get permission to change them.

[sdmurray]

Good luck - we too have a Grade II listed building and it was a complete nightmare to deal with the listed buildings people to get constent to make alterations to our house. In one breath they approve of what you are doing but then when you submit the planned changes they object (but don't tell you what they want). Also, we kept getting different people and each one had a different view. They also never follow up with things in writing.

Our changes involved ripping out two old and mismatched 1970's windows (absolutely nothing special); re-fashioning the openeings to make them larger and the same size; installing new, but period looking sash windows. Our house is late Georgian/early Victorian in style.

They did not want the new sashes to be like the other Georgian ones on the house as "that would confuse the architectural history of the house" but they insisted that we put in brick arches at the tops of the openings which are exactly like all the others in the house! Go figure. So we planned in more Victorian style sashes (two lights up and two lights down) which they were ok with. They also didn't want them double glazed which goes against building regulations! After some talking they got approved as double glazed sealed units in four light wooden sashes with brick arches over the openings.

They also insited that we paint them white! What on earth the colour of the paint has to do with a listing, I have no idea!

Anyway, we did win through on logic and wearing them down (even my builder was prepared to kill the listed buildings officer and brick him up in the bread oven we uncovered in the job - no one would have missed him or known).

We did, however, get as much as possible VAT free as per:

Alterations to Protected Buildings

Sincerely, I hope you have a good listed buildings person to deal with.

[hidetheelephants]

Is there a factory somewhere that turns out these conservation officers? Our one conforms to the stereotype; middle aged overweight white male with beard, has no grasp of the yawning chasm which exists between what he wants and what is economically feasible, borderline OCD, and who never answers letters or the phone. All the ones I've seen on telly look like that too. Perhaps it's in the job description.

[sdmurray]

hidetheelephants said:

Is there a factory somewhere that turns out these conservation officers? Our one conforms to the stereotype; middle aged overweight white male with beard, has no grasp of the yawning chasm which exists between what he wants and what is economically feasible, borderline OCD, and who never answers letters or the phone. All the ones I've seen on telly look like that too. Perhaps it's in the job description.

^^^ Spot on!