ABSTRACT
Historic buildings which have been altered, adapted and repaired over many years tend to have many more areas that require individual detailing and specification than would be the case for a new or relatively construction. Prior to the construction of the canal network in Britain, most buildings, even large ones, were built using locally sourced materials because of the sheer difficulty, and hence prohibitive cost, of transporting large quantities of bulky, heavy materials, such as brick, stone, lime, sand and gravel. Vernacular architecture is often described as buildings made from locally sourced materials whose design has evolved empirically to make the best use of those materials. Many fires in historic buildings have been caused by ‘hot work’ on site. Some people consider it good practice to ban all hot work on the building itself, only allowing hot work at a specified distance away from the building, if at all.
