Grade II* listed c:1721 London town house. 
Brickwork artistry was needed to repair wartime
 damage found under cheap-looking concrete wall render. 
1940's windows were replaced by period-authentic moulding-bars 
finished in special matt, dark green paint, 
with an 'instant' patina of age. 
This work created a VAT-free benchmark to add to an English Heritage
 repairs grant. 
With these savings the owners could afford expert advice to control building costs, 
and produce a premier residence. 

"There are unnecessary demands for chemical treatments such as damp proofing. "I have surveyed more than 300 old-houses and only one had true rising damp," said Adrian Dobinson. "More damage is done by the chemicals than any damp, if it existed in the first place."

The Daily Telegraph, London.

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Money saved is money made
"I was called to a newly acquired house in Somerset", says Adrian Dobinson of Renaissance, "and found the new owner staring at a £40,000 builder's Estimate to reinstate floorboarding and wallplaster that would be removed for a treatment operative to inject chemicals into structural timbers and into wall-bases". "The bank's valuation-surveyor has recommended that damp-proofing and anti-woodworm treatment is carried out before they will release the loan", said the owner, "when the treatment firm said injection would only cost around £400 I didn't realise that all the floors and walls would have to be removed. It will destroy the historic character I have just bought". So we assessed the house to see if there was any live woodworm and if dampness was present, "I found a leaky water tap was causing the alleged problem that a 40 pence washer will solve, then telephoned the owner's bank and referred them to a little-known Government regulation that potentially evaporates the bank's condition, then successfully removed the money-losing condition. The owner was very pleased to pay our £180 fee. See our pre-acquisition and pre-renovation service; 'Old-Building Survey' No 1.2.  

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Speeding-up Property Transaction

In the UK it can take 3 months to buy a house and 2 months to obtain planning permission because authorities are hampered by a lack of research into the building's history as documents are not passed-on to new property owners, exposing them to prosecution if they carry out unauthorised works. The Government's new 'House Sale Logbook' scheme is designed to speed-up transaction processes; prepared by houseowners before selling the house. Every time we have reported our research into a building's history it has produced surprises, such as being much older than is apparent, or an authentic part of old London Bridge that was found once.  See our pre-selling and pre-renovation service; Period House Research & Report, No 1.1. 

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Recruitment

Call for skilled trades  

All types of building trades wanted to form two teams for a programme of works. 

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 Renovation Story? 

We write articles, or if you are in media or education we research renovation  stories.  Our specialisim is VAT (value added tax). There are tax reliefs for listed building alterations and none for repairs. Maybe there's £600 million a year of zero-rated VAT reliefs aimed at listed building owners but due to confusions only a few claim around £70 million. State repair grants, worth around £1 billion a  year, attracts standard rate (17.5%) VAT so part of the grant is paid in tax. English Heritage wants to raise the VAT from 0% to 5% and call it a 'reduction'. 

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Bookshelf
'Restoration 1: Protected Building VAT', by Adrian Dobinson and Acedemie  Fiscale, is worth having. Published by;  Salvo; telephone 01890 820333, fax 01890 820499, Email: salvo@salvo.co.uk. Web: www.salvo.co.uk. 

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"Nothing improves the value of your property faster than the  appropriate colour." Indeed, Adrian Dobinson believes the feeling  that prospective buyers get when viewing a property of there being  something wrong but can't put their finger on it is often down to  colour; ubiquitous white in particular. "A shame, as Britain had a  long tradition of rich and deep colours." Press comment: The Daily Telegraph, 

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Previous & Current Renaissance Projects. 

Programme of conservation repairs of a Grade II* listed London town house, returning 25% of £1,250,000 ($200,000) costs in grants and VAT reliefs. 

Grade I listed pair of separate residential conversions of former agricultural barns in York area Green Belt. 

VAT relief's returning £108,062 ($172,899) saving on works to a Royal Berkshire Grade I listed stately home. 
Feasibility and optional design study of a Grade II* listed Gothic folly c:1439 in the  West of England

and presented to English Heritage.

Renovation and adaptation of a listed 1920's London town house, works valued at £150,000 ($240,000).

A pre-buying and renovation survey of c:1922 house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

within National Trust land in Devon. 

A multiple series of retrospective planning applications for change of use to a  restaurant of a Grade II listed

London pub c:1840. 

Renovation, adaptation and extension of a Grade II listed c:1680 Somerset house, works value; £1.1m ($1,76m). 

Renovation of a Grade II listed c:1843 manor house and historic gardens,

plus an attached traditionally styled new building. 

Renovation and adaptation works of Grade II  listed York house, works value; £400,000 ($640,000).

Renovation of Grade II* listed c:1621 Wiltshire house, extension  benchmark planning appeal,

works value; £150,000 ($240,000).

Consultation to a residents group fighting speculative development of a Gloucestershire conservation area.
Monitoring flooding of Yorkshire Grade II listed hall, dealing with loss and renovation,

developing flood prevention land engineering. 

Conservation programme of Grade I listed Renaissance period York hall house 'at risk' from

coal mining operations under the site.  

Architectural Conservation Design & Build          Listed Building Planning Agents
Renaissance Architectural Ltd   Regency  House 2 Wood Street   Bath   BA1 2JQ   England
 Telephone: +44  (0) 845 9000 907 
Email: Renew@RenaissanceArchitectural.com       
          

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Or click for Renovation Course, VAT reliefs, plus.

"You are, as William Morris put it, tenants in time," said Adrian Dobinson delivering the  Renaissance Renovation Course.  As the guardians of our shared heritage, Adrian  Dobinson believes  that listed homeowners necessarily have curtailed freedoms,  "Any  building protected by the State restricts the owner's rights."  Indeed, he has noticed that  some house-buyers are actively put off by the  potential of meddling officialdom,  outweighing the cachet of living in  a listed home. But we all rapidly established that, as owners, we were mere incumbents, a blip in our houses' histories. 

The Daily Telegraph, London.