I am looking at the renovation of a 17th century cottage, and hoping that there might be some knowledge here to share.
I have found the green building forum, Are there any other good online resources to sift through?
Any specific experience about insulating an old protected building?
Tips for getting on with listing officers?
If we take it on it will mean no new bikes for a few years, but I am not shy of hard work and love the romance of a stunning old home.
Depends upon its listing, why not have chat with your local authority Conservation Officer about it and what you might be able to do. Just be aware that if you wind them up to start with they'll make your life somewhat difficult.
I'd suggest that you speak to a conservation architect about what you want to do and the likelihood of being granted listed building consent for doing so.
Hopefully you'll get a conservation officer with some common sense.They can be a real pain in the arze to deal with when it comes to listed buildings. Best advice I can give you is it will require patience
I live in a Tudor barn and was once treated to a muppet telling me every blade of grass in my garden was listed.....
Recycled materials, bricks, rood tiles etc are always good, matching everything for colour is also a help and if the building is rendered on the outside you're probably looking at having to use Lime Plaster which doesn't some cheap.
I'd also be inclined to suggest finding a good local architect who's used to dealing woith your particular crop of conservation officers.