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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...

September 2008
Stained new bricks blend in beautifully	Michael Groom (Hertfordshire)
Does whitewash need to be removed before decorating?	Isabel Wallace (Nottinghamshire)
Do I want a smooth or bumpy finish?	Karolina Kliskey (Oxfordshire)
How do I repair & preserve my concrete repaired beams?	Alex Ford (Berkshire)
How do we stop getting wet in exposed position?	Rachel Lawrence (Gwent)
Help - everything is turning mouldy!	S Bush (Worcestershire)
How should we hide our oak frame shakes?	Rosemary Ryan (Suffolk)
Unprofessional repair leads to bottom of villa being covered in glue and re-coated in sand	Liz Wilson (Central Scotland)

August 2008
Erupting sandstone	David Anderson (Scotland)
Restoring a brick floor	Rebecca Crawford (East Sussex)
Damp caused by neighbours concrete path?	Simon Dearnley (Lancashire)
Damp in Dorset	Helen Dodd (Dorset)
Inappropriate paint on lime render	Andrew Miller (Suffolk)
Ongoing odour from original wet cellar	James Bradley (Norfolk)
We can't put our curtains up!	Jonathan Tyler (Worcestershire)

May 2008
Poor re-pointing leaves me in tears	Peter Grant (Nottinghamshire)
Bitumen covering ruins Welsh slate roof	Helen Spittle (Gwent)
Address & development type error leads to call for plans to be re-submitted for LBC	Sheila Berry (Merseyside)
Builder's ideas on home improvements could ruin terrace of properties	Delilah Policane (London)
Fire regulations causes problem for stained glass door	Ann Hawker (Northamptonshire)
French drain advice required for sandstone villa	Richard Fowles (Central Scotland)
Death watch beetles could hide more serious damp threat	Erica Betts (Norfolk)
Can I get the original drain reinstated?	James Ross (Cheshire)
Trust seeks payment to lift restrictive covenant	Mark Ashton (West Midlands)
Do my timbers need moisturising?	Ann Street (Dorset)

March 2008
Removing sandtex solution	Adam Houghton
Do I need to get consent?	Lucy Van Houten
Tanking the basement	Lesley Flood (Dumfries and Galloway)
Matching Hardwood	Karen Glasse
Why is Building Control involved?	Alan Williams (Hertfordshire)
Lovely house - noisy road	Sian Bucknor (Kent)

January 2008
How do I strip paint from chimney breasts?	Glen Beamson (Kent)
Modern injected damp proof course in 1840s house?	William Wright (Wales)
Reinstating Cornices	Andrew Gibb (Bedfordshire)
Draughty holes	Kirsteen Paton (Cambridgeshire)
Damp protection following flooding	Pamela Watkins (Worcestershire)
Damp ingress due to different roof levels?	David Baker (Northamptonshire)
After the flood	Nigel Madeley (Oxfordshire)
Mundic Blocks	Tresca Pascoe (Devon)