Traditional Building Renovation & Restoration
Specialist Builders for Period Properties in Suffolk & Cambridgeshire
Period homes do not respond well to a modern toolkit. A cement patch on a lime wall traps moisture. A softwood rafter dropped into an oak frame rots from the inside out. Sympathetic, durable repair work takes a team that understands how these buildings were put together in the first place.
That is the work Emmerson Critchley Ltd is best known for. From rotten timber posts on Eastgate Street cottages to full structural repairs on seventeenth century shopfronts, our craftspeople have spent years learning how to read an old building and bring it back without stripping away its character.
Timber Frame Repair
Scarf joints, dowel fixings and oak sourced to match the original structure. We replace what has failed, keep what has not, and leave the frame reading as a single, honest piece of work.
Lime Work
Lime mortars, lime renders and lime plasters, mixed on site and applied by a team that uses them every week.
Brick, Flint and Stone
From bullseye brickwork detailing to flint panel repair, we work with traditional materials and patterns typical of the East Anglian vernacular.
Joinery, Mouldings and Cornices
We blend new timber into existing mouldings so the join disappears. Where something has been lost entirely, we work from surviving fragments or archive photographs to recreate it faithfully.
Roofs, Chimneys and Leadwork
Re slating, peg tile repair, chimney rebuilds in lime mortar and leadwork flashings. The parts of a building most exposed to weather deserve the closest attention.
Building Services for Heritage Properties
Most of what makes a restoration project succeed is invisible to the casual eye. The right lime mix. The correct timber species. A dowel joint rather than a screw. These are the details that keep an older property performing for another hundred years, rather than another ten.
Builders for Listed Buildings
If your home is listed, any material change will require listed building consent before work begins. Our team is used to working alongside conservation officers, drawing up heritage statements and choosing methods that will pass scrutiny. If you are not sure whether a piece of work needs consent, speak to us before making any decisions.
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Contact our Suffolk builders
If you are searching for a builder to restore or renovate your period or listed property in Suffolk or further afield, get in touch today.
Call us on 01359 240 573
or email us at sales@emmersoncritchley.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
If your property is Grade I, II* or II listed, almost any alteration that affects character will need consent, including some repairs that change materials or appearance. Like for like repairs in the original material can sometimes be carried out without consent, but we always recommend confirming with the local authority first. Our planning team handles this regularly.
Pre-1919 solid walls were designed to breathe. Lime allows moisture to move through the wall and evaporate. Cement traps moisture, which causes damp, salt damage and timber rot. On almost any period property, lime is the correct specification.
Yes. We source matching timber species, lime mixes, brick and tile to suit each property. Where something has been lost entirely, we work from surviving fragments or archive photographs to recreate it faithfully.
It depends on the scope and the condition of the building, but most full restorations take between three months and two years. We provide a written programme at the quote stage and update you regulary once the project begins.
Yes, regularly. Our team is comfortable working under the eye of a conservation officer and we have long standing relationships with heritage architects across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.