a section for period propertys and/or restoration work

[thatbloke]

i have noticed a lot of people come on here asking advice on older property's and it would seem that very few people giving the advice actually know how to work with older propertys.
for instance telling someone to use cement render on a timber framed building or putting dpc's down where there shouldnt be one in the first place.
what do you guys think?

 

[ladylola]

Whilist practically all of my work is restoration and part of me says this is a good idea I'm not sure how it would work in reality.
With the gas forum it's easy what with the registars and so on but with most other aspects of the building it would be much harder to say just who could be giving advice. My qualifications don't specfically refer to restoration and there are probably those who have spent their working lives on new build wimpey homes with the same qualifications. Further more those people are better placed to answer questions about new build than I , does this mean that myself and others like me should be barred from answering on new build forums? Logically I think it should, can't have one rule for one and another for someone else.
Better I think to leave things as they are. Questioners can be advised by a number of people which I think gives one good insight and prevokes conversations.
As I say I like your idea and do think it is good that members are aware of differing aspects of construction.

 

[thatbloke]

im not saying to bar anyone from any forum but perhaps a forum designed to accommodate people who need advice on older property's?
I know of only one such forum and although it is frequently used by very knowledgeable people it may be good to hear things from professional builders as well. I am pretty sure , for instance , that there are many plasterers who use this site who are well clued up on lime plaster and its uses for example , it would/could also be a good way for trades men to learn new skills to work on older houses if they dont know them already or for people to learn how to apply modern building techniques to older houses in a none damaging way.