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Stephen Boniface - Stephen Boniface specialises in building conservation providing multi-disciplinary consulting services. He is Chairman of the Building Surveying Faculty and member of the Residential faculty. He serves on the RICS Building Conservation Forum Board and is the 'Agony Uncle' on the Period Property UK website (www.periodproperty.co.uk).

Ask our Agony Uncles ...

You can write to our panel of experts free of charge on any subject, providing it's got something to do with Period Properties.

Our experts are all specialists in matters directly involved with older properties. So, if you have a problem with an older building - or if you think you might have a problem - ask an Agony Uncle...

November 2007
Damp from five flues	Stuart Hayes (Essex)
Insufficient ventilation in roof void	Graeme Cooksley (Surrey)
Cob walls? then limewash	Rebecca Blake (Cornwall)
Lath and plaster and fire regulations	Helen Shaw (Cumbria)
Laterally penetrating damp?	Christine Boulton (Bristol)
Which flu liner?	Virginia Doran (Cambridgeshire)
Best finish for daub panels that are not covered in lime?	Matthew Norris (Suffolk)
"Nice house! Shame about the approach."	Martin Wilebore (Devon)
July 2007
I have found the cellar!	Nicola Dakin (Cheshire)
A couple of blows to the head	Richard Hall (Suffolk)
How to clean the beams of rust marks	Paul Marshall (Essex)
Should we use limewash, soft distemper, oil distemper or a modern "breathable" paint?	Nigel Brooks (Wiltshire)
Pesky Birds	Paul Whitlock (Kent)
Plaster and reed instead of floorboards	Anthony Heath (Warwickshire)
Flood waters above the chemical damp proof course	Gerrad Robinson
Should I use a high pressure washer to remove old lime wash?	Jon Jones (Somerset)
Turnerised roof	Rebekah Pearson (Devon)
Charred wood in my beams	David Cane (Norfolk)
May 2007
Salty deposits in so-called professionally renovated property?	Carolyn Ward (Gloucestershire)
Sooty Smell in rooms after thatch fire	Anthony Gunstone (Suffolk)
How do I remove paint from the exterior of my terraced home?	Paul Childs (Greater London)
If you can smell them I'm sure they can smell you!	Kevin Walsh (Cambridgeshire)
Neighbour refuses access to share gulley for repair!	D Maton (Kent)
Jackdaws make unwelcome visit in to our house via the chimney	Lynn Norton (Essex)
How do we stop our sandstone cellar walls crumbling in our dry cellar?	Tessa Howard (Derbyshire)
Have it thatched and add value!	Darren Middleton (Leicestershire)
Should I use an acrylic sealant to on my newly lime plastered walls?	Angie Darani (Newcastle)
April 2007
How do I insulate timber framed wall?	Paul Downham (Essex)
Pocket Shutters. How do we open them?	Christopher McLoughlin (Greater Manchester)
To HIP or not to HIP	Sean Hunter
Should I follow advice and inject a DPC in an old Cob wall	Richard Bence (Greater London)
How should we deal with our Artexed plasterboard?	Angela Brown (Essex)
Poor drainage leads to wall dispute	Tim Squire (Kent)
My stone mullion widows are crumbling away	Elaine Davies (Somerset)
One half is warm the other half is cold...	Richard Tinsdeall (Yorkshire)
Following incorrect damp advice could cost me £5,000	Jane Harp (Powys)
March 2007
Will Curing the damp help wipe-out Death Watch Beetle?	Sophie Hall (East Sussex)
Lime rendered wall still fails to solve damp.	Cindy Haskell (Carmarthenshire)
Inconsistent advice drives me potty	Reagan Blyth (Cheshire)
Do we need to protect our wiring from Squirrel attack in our thatched roof?	Kevin Harris (Wiltshire)
Can I learn to live with noise which is driving me bonkers	Lucy Strutt (Hertfordshire)
Surveyor does not know his cob from his stone built house	Jan Phillips (Cornwall)
Cascading pond work results in garden revamp being stopped by enforcement officer	Cath Twine (Gloucestershire)
February 2007
Different advice leads to confusion	Tontschy Gerig (Hertfordshire)
Will chronic damp damage our clunch property?	Erica Sneddon (Cambridgeshire)
Peeling limewash causes problem	Steve Tongue (Shropshire)
Will listed building regulatings prevent me installing flood protection devices?	James Morris (Bedfordshire)
Restrictive covenant	Geoff Redstone (Somerset)
How should I plaster my stripped clunch walls?	Andrew Sercombe (Norfolk)
Damp Xmas decorations lead to roof condensation problems	Sarah Retallack (Norfolk)
Can I vent my new bathroom in to the thatch roof void?	Sharon Green (East Sussex)
My house is being eaten by rats!	M. Mant (Oxfordshire)
Awol thatcher needs to be brought back onside	Mrs Green (Devon)
Non-standard building construction leads to mortgage problem	Miss Knight (Bristol)