Engineering in Skipton
The town and the villages around it are built of local stone, much of it old enough to predate any formal foundation design, with heavy stone slate roofs and walls that are often rubble-filled behind their faces. A good share of it sits in conservation areas or is listed, which shapes how any structural repair or alteration is done as much as what is done.
Our instructions here are mostly surveys for purchasers, cracking and movement in older stone property, extensions and alterations to cottages and townhouses, and the conversion of agricultural buildings.
Old stone buildings, read properly
Most old stone buildings have moved. Floors slope, walls lean, openings are out of square, and most of that happened a long time ago and stopped. The job of a survey is to separate that historic movement from anything that is still going on, and to say clearly which is which.
The defects that recur are the ones you would expect from the construction: faces of rubble-filled walls separating and bulging, roof spread under heavy stone slates where ties have been removed or have failed, cracked stone lintels, decayed timber where it is built into damp walls, and cracking where a later extension meets the original house.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Where a building is listed, work that affects its character - which includes most structural alterations - needs listed building consent as well as Building Regulations approval, and repairs are expected to be sympathetic to the original construction. That usually means lime rather than cement, repairing rather than replacing, and keeping intervention to what is actually needed.
That is an approach that suits an engineer who does not sell the remedy. The least intervention that makes the building safe is often the right engineering answer as well as the right conservation one, and we design to it.
Barn and outbuilding conversions
Converting a barn is mostly a structural question before it is a design one. The walls may have stood for centuries carrying a roof and nothing else, with shallow or no foundations, and the conversion adds floors, openings, insulation and a change of use that Building Control will assess as new work.
We start with a structural appraisal of the existing building - what it is, what condition it is in, and what it can carry - because that decides what the conversion can realistically be. Planning authorities often ask for a structural survey to show a building is capable of conversion without substantial rebuilding, and we prepare those reports too.
Planning, Building Control and the National Park
Skipton and most of Craven are within North Yorkshire Council's area, which took over from Craven District Council in 2023. Addresses inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park have their planning decided by the National Park Authority instead, which matters for conversions and extensions in the villages to the north. Building Regulations approval is a separate process in both cases, and the structural calculations are what it relies on.
What it costs, and how long it takes
A structural survey and report is a fixed £580 + VAT, with the report inside 10 working days of the inspection, guaranteed. Conversion appraisals, design work and Building Control packages are quoted individually against what the building and the project actually need.
We do not sell repairs and take no commission from anyone who does.
Services available in Skipton
- Structural Surveys - Professional structural inspections and engineering reports for all property types.
- Structural Inspections - An engineer on site, looking at the thing that is worrying you, and a written answer.
- Structural Calculations - Clear, accurate calculations for beams, steelwork, timber, foundations and more.
- Structural Engineering - Structural design for extensions, new builds, conversions and commercial projects.
- Building Control Design - Technical drawings and design information for Building Regulations approval.
- Crack Investigations - What the cracking means, whether it is still moving, and whether it needs anything doing.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Skipton?
No. We are based at the Techno Centre in Horsforth, Leeds, and cover Skipton and Craven from there. Inspections are carried out on site.
How much does a structural survey cost in Skipton?
A fixed £580 + VAT for a structural survey and report, with the report inside 10 working days of the inspection, guaranteed. Conversion appraisals and design work are quoted individually.
Do you work on listed buildings?
Yes. Structural work on a listed building usually needs listed building consent as well as Building Regulations approval, and repairs are expected to be sympathetic to the original construction. We design for minimum necessary intervention, which is often the right engineering answer anyway.
Can you tell me whether a barn is suitable for conversion?
Yes. A structural appraisal of the existing building establishes its condition and what it can carry, which decides what the conversion can realistically be. Planning authorities often want that evidence before they approve a conversion.
The walls of my stone cottage lean. Is that a problem?
Often not. Most old stone buildings have moved at some point and stopped. A survey separates historic movement from anything that is still active, and says plainly whether anything needs doing.
Do you cover the Dales villages?
Yes - the villages around Skipton and into the Dales are within our working area, including addresses inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.