Level 3 Building Survey. A Cruck-Framed Cottage in Thornton-le-Dale
Not every survey ends with a set of keys. This one ended with a client thanking me and walking away from the purchase, and I would put it in the column marked success.
Earlier this year I was instructed to carry out a RICS Home Survey Level 3 on a cruck-framed cottage in Thornton-le-Dale, one of the prettiest villages in Ryedale and firmly inside the North York Moors National Park. Stone and pantile, roughly 1,700 square feet over two floors, an attached L-shaped range of outbuildings of a similar footprint again, and a walled garden behind it that most people would happily spend a whole summer in. The cottage sits in a conservation area, and the buildings around it are part of the same historic street scene.
Its bones are late medieval. Cruck framing of that sort points to a building that most likely started life somewhere between the 16th and early 17th century, with a pantile roof laid over what would originally have been thatch. It has then been added to and altered repeatedly through the 19th and 20th centuries. That layering is what makes a building like this so interesting, and it is also exactly what makes it complicated.
What a Level 3 building survey is actually for
A Level 3 is the most detailed of the RICS Home Survey products, and it is the only sensible choice for a property of this age and construction. It is not a tick-box exercise. It looks at how the building was put together, how it has been altered, what those alterations have done to it, and what is likely to be hiding behind the finishes.
On this cottage, the picture was mixed, and I set it out plainly. Cement-based render and pointing had been applied to the front elevation at some point, which stops a solid stone wall from breathing and holds moisture in the fabric rather than letting it out. There was dampness at low level internally and localised timber decay. The suspended timber floor was deflecting, with signs of joist deterioration. Timber lintels over openings in the workshop range had decayed. One roof slope over the garage workshop was covered in asbestos cement sheeting. The flat roof to the small rear office had been patched more than once. Services were functional but tired, with an inefficient oil-fired system and an electrical installation needing an upgrade, and the EPC sat at F.
Putting the client in front of the right architect
The report is where my formal duty ends. It is not where the help ends, as we provide a hand-holding service.
These buyers were not looking at this as a house to move into and leave alone. They were looking at it as a project, and a project on a cruck-framed building in a conservation area needs a designer who understands historic fabric, not just someone who can draw an extension. So I introduced them to two architects I felt were suited to the building, and let them choose who they wanted to work with.
The conversation that came out of that was with Nathan Oliver of Ikonografik Design, and by all accounts it was a good one. That is exactly the point of the introduction. A survey tells you what the building is doing now. An architect tells you what it could become. Put the two together early, and you get a realistic conversation about cost, sequence and risk before anyone is legally committed, rather than eighteen months later when the scaffold is up.
Nathan runs a small architectural practice in Sheffield and has been in the industry since graduating in 1997, setting up on his own in 2005. In his own words:
"Any project, no matter the size, has the potential to change someone's life for the better. Whether that is a small-scale rearrangement of a couple of existing rooms, to a large-scale remodel and extension, to a full strip back and deep retrofit, to a new build project. As long as the project makes a positive difference to the lives of my Clients, I am happy. I do, however, have a particular interest in historic buildings and reusing them in creative ways while maintaining the building's story. I also have a specific interest in low energy buildings and bio-based natural materials, and I love being able to work alongside Clients and Contractors to deliver truly sustainable buildings."
He also describes collaboration with the wider project team, clients, surveyors, engineers, specialist designers, contractors and the council, as a two-way process of testing and feeding back ideas until you land on the right solution. That is how it should work on every historic building, and it is why I make introductions like this in the first place.
I definitely recommend Nathan and his services; he is simply one of the best architects I have had the pleasure to know!
Nathan and his details are below:
Ikonografik Design
0114 398 4360
The buyers did not proceed, and why that was fine
After the report, we spent time on the phone going through it together. Not reading it out, but talking through what each item actually meant, what could be lived with and monitored, what had to be dealt with first, and what could realistically turn into something bigger once the work started. With a building of this age, some of that is unknowable until it is opened up, and I said so.
The buyers took all of that away, added the design conversation to it, weighed it against their own circumstances, and decided the risk was more than they wanted to carry. They withdrew.
That is not a failure of the process. That is the process working. The whole point of paying for a Level 3 survey before exchange is to buy yourself the information to make that decision while you still can, for the price of a survey fee rather than the price of a building contract. Holding a client's hand through that, including putting them in front of the right people, is as much a part of the job as the inspection itself. I would far rather someone walked away informed than proceeded hopeful.
Here is what they said afterwards:
"Richard was the perfect choice for us. We needed experienced advice on a very old property in a conservation area. Richard created a very detailed level 3 report, but most importantly he gave us his time to review and walk through the complexities. He helped build our confidence whilst also flagging the things we needed to sort or monitor. Generous, professional and knowledgeable at a competitive price. His services were exactly what we needed." 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Google Review
A note on the cottage itself
I want to be clear about something. This is a wonderful property. A cruck-framed cottage of that age, in that village, in that setting, with a walled garden and 1,800 square feet of attached outbuildings, is a rare thing. The potential in it is real, whether that is a sympathetic deep retrofit, a reworking of the outbuilding range, or simply bringing the cottage back into good order and living in it. It is steeped in history, and it deserves an owner with the appetite and the budget to do it properly.
It just was not the right building for these particular buyers at this particular time, and there is no shame in that on either side.
Thinking of buying an older or historic property in North Yorkshire?
If you are considering a period cottage, a listed building or anything in a conservation area across North Yorkshire or the East Riding, get advice before you commit. A Level 3 survey on a building like this is not an expense; it is the cheapest decision you will make in the whole transaction.
If you are weighing up which level of survey you need, our Home Buyer's Survey page sets out the difference between a Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 in plain terms, and what each one will and will not tell you. For older buildings like this one, our Traditional and Heritage Property Survey page explains how we approach solid wall construction, timber frames, conservation areas and listed buildings, and why they need a different eye from a modern house.
Skyline Property Surveys is a RICS-regulated practice based in Scarborough, covering Scarborough, Whitby, Filey, Pickering, Bridlington, Driffield and Malton.
Thanks for reading.
Best wishes
Ricky Savage Building Surveyor
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