Many of our historic and traditional buildings were well designed and well constructed but we need to give them a fighting chance in the face of climate change.
One in five of Scotland’s dwellings were built before 1919 - so traditionally built in materials like slate and stone.
That’s nearly half a million dwellings in Scotland.
Scotland has always had a wet and challenging climate and the buildings that were built here were designed to cope with that climate.
They were built with thick, solid walls, with pitched roofs, with overhanging weathering details and other elements to the construction that help them cope with a wet climate.
Traditional buildings have many familiar details and some of them will seem to be decorative details but in fact they also have a weathering function.
So for example, typical details such as drip details that help to throw the water away and overlapping masonry details which protect the joints...
...these all can be decorative but they will also have a weathering function.
Sometimes the existing detail even when it’s well looked after is not sufficient to protect a building against the changing weather...
...and so discreet adaptation measures can be carried out to traditional buildings which will help improve their resilience against the changing climate.
Here at Hobkirk Parish Church in the Scottish borders there has been some really nice discreet adaptation measures carried out...
...and these include lead cloaking at high level on the skew cope at the gable end and also a discreet lead detail that’s been introduced below the sill, underneath the window.
‘So this isn’t an original feature?’
‘It’s a lead drip detail and it means that when the water runs off the window, it doesn’t saturate this masonry underneath.’
In Culross we’ve been working quite closely with Historic Environment Scotland.
Some of the work that we’ve been doing here has been looking at very specific details on how water is shed and how water affects the gable ends of buildings.
‘This little slate detail that we’ve put in – when the building was undergoing routine repairs, there was the opportunity to introduce this adaptation detail...
...that just helps to cast that water away from the vulnerable gable end.’
By taking action it allows these properties to be maintained, to be fit for purpose and allows them to be comfortable places to live.
It’s important to remember that if a building is designated in any way, if it’s listed, if it’s scheduled or if it’s in a conservation area...
...then alterations that change the appearance may need consent. So it’s always important to check first before you plan any work.
What we really want is for people to look at what we’ve been doing, to access the information that we’ve provided on our website and through our free publications...
...and to equip themselves with the knowledge and take that and apply that to their own homes.
It’s really important that we make sure our buildings are wind and watertight – that’s the first step towards making them climate ready.
The most important thing that homeowners can do to prepare their buildings for climate change is to undertake routine maintenance and repair.
So looking out for things like slipped or missing slates, rainwater goods and gutters that aren’t functioning well.
Undertaking routine repair and maintenance on a small scale will help increase a building’s resilience.
It is really important that the work we are doing now can be understood, taken on board by everybody and make a real difference.
It is not an academic exercise - it is about actually making a difference on the ground.
It is really about getting the message across that this is important.
There are big changes already happening in Scotland and we have to equip ourselves if we are going to deal with those in the future.
Traditional buildings are by their nature very resilient. Some of them have been with us for many hundreds of years – that’s why we have such a rich historic environment...
...and if we look after them properly, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be part of our future for many centuries to come.