About

An independent publication about old houses

Slate Lane is a small independent magazine on repairing British period homes. It is not a surveying firm, a contractor or a public body, and it does not inspect buildings.

What we do

We read the guidance that owners tend to hear about second-hand, from bodies such as the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the Planning Portal and GOV.UK, and set it out with the drawings we wish had been included. Each article answers one practical question and says plainly when you need a surveyor, a conservation officer or a lawyer.

Who writes it

Articles are written and checked by the editors, who publish as Slate Lane. We may also publish guest articles under our contributor rules, marked as such.

How we check things

We only link to pages we have opened and read, and we list them at the end of each sheet. Historic England publishes a great deal of relevant guidance, but its site refused our automated checks when we prepared these pages, so we name it where another source refers to it and do not link to it. Look there too. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; unless we say otherwise, ours describe England. If you find an error, please tell us.

What this site is not

Nothing here is professional or legal advice about your building. An old house needs someone to look at it in person before you commit to significant work.

Image credits

Photographs are from Wikimedia Commons and cropped to fit. Diagrams and the logo are drawn for this site.