Listed building window survey
What is original, what can be repaired, and what your council will accept.
An independent survey of the windows in a listed or period home: what is original, what condition each one is in, which can be repaired and which cannot, written so your architect, builder and conservation officer can all use it. We have no interest in the answer.
- Scope
- Any number of openings
- Programme
- Confirmed with the fee
- Suitable for
- Planning and contractors
What is a listed building window survey for a home?
A listed building window survey is an independent inspection of the windows in a listed or period home, recording what is original, what condition each window is in, what can be restored and what should be replaced. It is written so that your architect, your builder and your conservation officer can all work from the same document, rather than from three separate opinions about the same windows.
Listed building window survey
Professional, on-site condition assessments for heritage windows, shutters and doors. Designed for planning applications or restoration work, this service documents what is original, what can be repaired and what should be replaced, all with clear photography and actionable advice.
Best for smaller properties, or those needing a detailed look at a mix of joinery types.
What is included
- Visual assessment of each item, up to ten
- Sash and casement windows
- Panelled front doors and internal shutters
- Signs of decay, past alterations or inappropriate repairs
- A full photographic report
- Restoration against replacement advice, aligned with planning standards
What is original, what can be repaired, and what your council will accept.
What the report is for
Two uses, mainly. The first is evidential: attached to a planning application or a heritage statement, it demonstrates that the proposals rest on an assessment of the actual fabric rather than an assumption about it.
The second is practical. A contractor working from a report that names each item and states what it needs is working from a brief. Without one, decisions get made on site, by whoever is standing in front of the window.
Repair against replacement
Most period windows retain more original material than is assumed, and much of what looks beyond saving is not. Equally, some windows have been repaired so often that little of the original survives, and continuing to repair them serves nobody.
The report makes that call item by item and gives the reasoning. We have no commercial interest in the answer, and where replacement is the right course, the report says so.
What happens after the report?
Most homeowners take the report to their architect or builder, so that everyone is working from the same assessment of each window, and where listed building consent is needed it forms part of the application. If your conservation officer or builder has questions once they have read it, we are happy to answer them, and if you would like a quote for the work we have recommended, we can arrange one through the right business in the group, but only if you ask us to.
Common questions
My builder says the windows must be replaced. Should I get a second opinion?
It is usually worth it. Whether a window can be saved depends on which parts have failed, and that is a judgement best made by someone looking at the window closely and with nothing riding on the answer.
Do I need a survey before applying for listed building consent?
In most cases, yes, because the survey is the evidence the application rests on. Refusals on windows are usually for insufficient information rather than because of the proposal itself, and a window-by-window record is what fills that gap.
How many windows does it cover?
As many as you would like us to look at, from a single window upwards. There is no minimum and no upper limit.
Will you quote for the work afterwards?
Not as part of the survey, because you are paying for the survey and the report and nothing else. If you would like a quote once you have the report, we can arrange one through the right business in The Barnsbury Group, but only if you ask us to.
Can you start from photographs?
Yes. A digital window survey gives you a written assessment from your photographs within 72 hours and tells you whether a site visit is worth commissioning.
Find out what your windows need
Homeowners. We reply within one working day.
Find out what your windows need- Practice
- Heritage Window Consultants Ltd
- Address
- London N1
- Enquiries
- 020 7164 6305