If you love a good property programme, you’re in for a treat, with the chance to follow along as a house in Appleby undergoes a very clever renovation.
Starting next month, you can tune into fortnightly video diaries and watch as 33a Chapel Street is transformed from an uninhabited house that was previously flooded, to a warm and cosy home that’s ready for rain in the future.
The owners of this 1800s terraced house have chosen to renovate it in a way that makes it more resilient to flooding while taking into account how older, solid-wall buildings are designed to work.
They’ve given permission for the build to be filmed by a professional film-maker, so that anyone living in older properties or in a flood-risk area can pick up tips to help them improve and adapt their buildings, too.
“This renovation is really exciting because it’s a unique insight into the different things to consider when you’re retrofitting a solid-wall house, especially when you’ve got flooding in mind,” said Emma Greenshaw from Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS).
“Viewers can follow the decisions that the building team and their architects are making, and see all the adaptations they do and the materials they use. It’s all about minimising the damage done by flooding and making it quicker, cheaper and less stressful to get moved back in if it happens again.”
CAfS is overseeing the filming, which is possible thanks to a grant from Historic England as part of their funding of the Appleby Heritage Action Zone (HAZ).
It’s an opportunity that CAfS has long been hoping for, as a charity that helps people to reduce their heating and electricity bills.
“Here in Cumbria, a high proportion of people live in solid-wall homes that they struggle to keep warm and dry,” Emma said. “Judging by the enquiries we’ve had down through our twenty years of supporting people in the county, we know that a lot of householders will benefit from seeing how these kinds of walls and floors can be insulated and how to maintain them without damaging the building structure.”
One of the owners of 33a Chapel Street, Chris Morphet from Long Marton, specialises in renovating older buildings using traditional skills and materials through his firm, Lake District Lime. He’ll carry out most of the works himself.
“My hope is that the videos will encourage more builders to get involved with products such as lime and help give them a better understanding of its uses on traditionally built buildings,” Chris said. “Unfortunately, there’s a real misconception about lime, so I hope that seeing it used on this build will bust some of the myths and show the benefits over materials like cement, which can trap moisture in these older buildings and damage the stone.”
Chris added: “There’s more and more demand from the public for lime work, so there’s a real opportunity for everyone in the building trade to meet that – from builders to suppliers and architects.”
He has chosen local architects sympathetic to the needs of older buildings, Joseph Architecture Ltd, and he’ll tap into advice from a conservation architect, James Innerdale.
The videos should also attract audiences from across the UK, with Historic England planning to share them widely through their social media channels.
Darren Ratcliffe, Historic Places Adviser at Historic England, said: “Appleby is home to a number of wonderful historic buildings. Through this project we hope that both home owners and professionals will pick up some useful tips to help them repair, conserve and prepare properties for potential future flooding well into the future.”
Historic England’s specialists will be installing moisture and thermal monitoring equipment under the lime plasters in the Appleby house, so that the building’s overall performance can be measured over time.
“Our specialist conservators, research and imaging staff are delighted to be working alongside CAfS and the building’s owner on this exciting project,” Darren said. “The learning from it will help us nationally, considering how many terraced homes there are across England, many in flood-impacted historic areas.”
Adrian Banford, the Appleby HAZ Programme Officer, said: “This renovation aims to equip people living and working in Appleby and beyond with vital knowledge so that they can better protect properties against extreme weather and flooding. It’s very much in keeping with our aims to improve things here for residents and business owners after the major winter floods a few years ago.”
Appleby HAZ is a partnership between Historic England, Eden District Council and Appleby Town Council to deliver a five-year heritage programme focusing on restoring and reviving Appleby as a tourist destination, benefitting the local economy and the people who live and work there.
As well as the fortnightly vlogs, film-maker Paul Johnson from Kendal-based Explainer HQ will produce how-to videos on topics like preparing for flood, tackling damp and rain, and insulating traditional properties.
There’ll also be opportunities for the public to visit the property at various points during the year-long build, along with demonstration sessions for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the skills and materials that’ll be used.
The first chance is during Cumbria Green Build Festival, with tours of the house on Sunday 16 September.
CAfS is able to offer these off-screen extras as part of the Rebuilding Together programme to increase Cumbria’s resilience to extreme weather, funded by the Big Lottery Fund and delivered by CAfS, Cumbria CVS and ACTion with Communities in Cumbria.
The professional vlogs will start in September, and meanwhile you can see the house and get introduced to some of the people involved in a short video made by CAfS – including Nettle, the Lake District Lime dog! It’s available on the CAfS YouTube channel now: youtube.com/user/cafsgreenbuild.
There’s more information about the project at www.cafs.org.uk/readyforrain, with ongoing updates on CAfS social media using #ReadyForRain.
