If you're a fan of home renovations, historic properties, or jaw-dropping transformations, you’ve likely heard of Greg—better known on social media as “Man with a Hammer.” In this episode, we dive into his epic journey of restoring the Admiral’s House, a massive 8000-square-foot ex-Naval officer’s quarters in Plymouth, into a stunning forever home. Built in 1804, this grand Georgian property boasts 30+ rooms, 5 floors, and 60+ windows—but it needed serious TLC. Greg shares his Yorkshire upbringing, his DIY struggles as the self-proclaimed 'office wally,' and the inspiration behind his gorgeous interior design style. We also explore the challenges of tackling such a huge solo renovation project. Whether you’re a DIY enthusiast, a lover of historic homes, or just curious about this viral renovation story, this episode is packed with inspiration and insights. Don’t miss it! Link to Greg's Sunday Times Best Seller Book: https://bio.to/ManWithAHammer #oldbuildings #restoration #interiordesign #conservation

In this episode we explore what many homeowners have experienced during the purchase process of buying an older property; the dreaded "you require a separate timber/damp survey".

Stephen and Rich discuss the reasons you may get such a requirement, usually from your mortgage lender, the history that surrounds it and finally what people can do about it to ensure you both satisfy the lending conditions but also do what is appropriate for your home.

Thanks for listening.

Links:

Joint Position Statement, September 2022: "Investigation of moisture and its effects on traditional buildings" - https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/sector-standards/building-surveying-standards/investigation-of-moisture-and-its-effect-on-traditional-building

To book a consultation with a heritage professional regarding damp & timber: https://expertible.com

MYTHBUSTING!

James Wright

We are talking to James Wright - the Historic Buildings Mythbuster!

We start off by looking into his background and how he got into building archaeology, and then we go on to tease a bit more out about him in terms of some of the grand buildings he's dealt with to some of the smaller historic buildings, and the lessons that he's learnt from those. We talk about some of the science involved in building archaeology, so dendrochronology what it is, how that works and how he uses that, as well as some of the other investigation techniques and the technology that's used.

The historic reuse of building materials is discussed and how that can throw you off the scent of a particular building in terms of it’s age and legacy. From this we go ont to talk about where to start with understanding your own building and some of the resources that homeowners can use to research their own building's history.

Then, onto the myths. In particular we talk about the myth of reusing ship timbers, as well as touching on the issue of the oldest pub.

And then James mentions his favourite books, including Linda Hall’s ‘Period House Fixtures & Fittings’. When we go on to talk about his favourite building, we benefit from a fantastic overview of the history of Knole House in Kent.

Of course, we mention how to contact James.

We think it's a really good episode, this one, very engaging, hope you enjoy it, do let us know.

00:00 - Intro to James

04:28 - How do you take the lessons from studying grand buildings into smaller historic buildings?

09:46 - Dendrochronology

19:58 - How do you deal with something that’s covered up?

26:04 - When to involve a building archeologist

29:09 - Buildings archaeology isn’t very expensive in the grand scheme of things

31:46 - Investigation techniques and technology

43:35 - When changes occur to buildings and changes of ownership

53:20 - Reusing of building materials

57:54 - Where do you start with trying to understand your own building?

1:02:24 - Resources homeowners can use to research their building’s history

1:13:49 - The myth of reused ship’s timbers

1:22:09 - James favourite books

1:24:39 - James’ favourite building

1:29:04 - How to contact James

Links:

James' website: https://triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/

James' Historic Building Mythbusting: https://amzn.to/3OvF4Q5

Linda Hall's Period House Fixtures & Fittings: https://amzn.to/4i980el

The books of Ronald Brunskill: https://amzn.to/4fOuIHb

Knole House: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/knole

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