Buildings Advice

Our key role is to supply advice to owners on how best to look after their buildings. See:

• Owners guide to listed buildings
• Maintenance
• Technical notes

See our contact details should you wish to get in touch. We are also happy to visit your building and offer on-site advice, and this can be arranged by contacting your Area Senior Conservation Architect as indicated on the map below.

Northern Ireland Building Regulations and Historic Buildings, Part F

NIEA Guidance Booklet on Building Regulations and Energy Efficiency (2006) (.PDF 373Kb)

We have recently published a guide to historic buildings and energy efficiency. The guide considers in detail the impact of increased building control regulations upon historic buildings.

The regulations seek to achieve a 40% improvement over current standards. Elements in existing buildings which will be 'substantially replaced as part of the works' or a material change of use could trigger the requirements.

However historic buildings will be given special consideration. A balance can be struck between the needs of improved energy efficiency and changes which may reduce the special character of listed buildings.

New Technical Guidance

NIEA’s historic buildings unit has recently published detailed guidance booklets to help advise those involved in conserving historic buildings.

‘Historic Buildings and Energy Efficiency, a Guide to Part F of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations’, has been revised to reflect developments in this area since it was originally published in 2005 (see above). Some of the themes of the original publication have been developed in more detail and so aligns with current regulations.

Windows, a Guidance Note on Openings (.PDF 1.65Mb) provides information on the types and history of windows found in Northern Ireland and gives detailed practical advice on their repair and maintenance.

Both booklets aim to encourage a conservative approach to the repair and maintenance of historic buildings, following the international principles of minimum intervention, maximum retention of historic fabric, reversibility and clarity.
They can be downloaded from the NIEA website or obtained on request from the Historic Buildings Unit.