Robson Building are renovation and retrofit specialists in Ross on Wye working with natural, sustainable materials. They’ve got many years experience working on historic buildings and new-build extensions. Future Ready Homes heard about them when they were warmly recommended by a homeowner involved in Green Open Homes, and Founders of Herefordshire based Arbor Architects Elly and Matt. We had a chat to find out more about the business and the work they do. 

“Elly is an old family friend” explains James Robson, owner of Robson Building “and i’ve done work for Matt at his own home — I guess that was a good test”. 

James is sat in his workshop, an old barn in Penalt, surrounded by beautiful exposed brick walls. I ask him how he got into construction.

“I fell into building work. I had an art education — a fine art degree and photography MA — but I struggled with self confidence as an artist. My parents were doing up a place in the Black Mountains and I did a lot of lime and masonry work there during the holidays. The work continued to come in after that — always on older buildings. I didn’t receive any formal construction training, it was all self-taught. 

I’ve carried on all these years because I love doing it. I love building. I love doing practical things, designing, being outside. And I’m really passionate about sustainable materials like lime and timber. I’ve always used lime where I can and I avoid using cement. I try to avoid any materials derived from petro-chemicals where possible. Instead I use materials that are beneficial to the health of the occupants of the building as well as the health of the building itself.

We do a lot of work on buildings that have been renovated in the past that are now experiencing problems. It’s not that the work wasn’t done well, it was done to the standards of the time, but lessons have since been learnt about best practice, and the right materials to use. There has been a lot of change in insulation over the last 25 years. Kingspan was seen as the best thing in terms of thermal performance but it’s not always the most suitable material to use, especially in an old building. That’s not to say that i’d never use it — it has its place, especially in a modern build, just as concrete has its place in the right situation. 

I think there’s a gap in the market for decent retrofit, particularly of historic buildings. I don’t see many people doing that around here and I can see that as the way forward for the business.”

Tell me more about the retrofit work that you do. 

“I find it interesting that there hasn’t been much demand for pure retrofit eg. someone saying they want to upgrade their insulation to make their house warmer. It’s only ever part of something else. We do a lot of roofing so will always try and retrofit some insulation at that point, but no one ever asks for an insulated roof. 

But I do think people are generally becoming more aware of energy conservation and breathability. We always try to suggest insulation upgrades that can be made whilst we’re remedying or making alterations to their homes, and people are more open to it. So that has changed demand. But the work that I actually do has remained very similar over the years. 

I did a job in Monmouth last year, a 200 year old home, stone built and real problems with damp in the living room. The suspended timber floor had all the air bricks blocked up — all the usual sorts of problems. They got me in to have a look. We took out the floor and replaced it with Ty-Mawr’s [link] insulated limecrete and added their EcoCORK insulating render internally to the external walls. It worked! It solved the damp problems, made the house much warmer and more comfortable and the owners are really happy with it.”  

And the Green Open Home in Llangrove?

“That was a tricky job — so much detailing! I got to learn a lot from that project. It was a real collaboration between us, the designer and the homeowner who specified everything from the insulation levels to the detailing. They wanted a really high level of thermal performance which for many wouldn’t have been financially viable. But they understood the other benefits. I always say that deep retrofit using decent materials is never going to pay for itself, you have to look at it in other ways: the health of the occupants, the health of the building and the environmental credentials.“

So what’s next for Robson Building? Would you like to grow? 

“I work with my brother and bring in other people to do bits and pieces. I’d like the business to grow — I can’t keep physically doing it for the rest of my life. I would love to have an apprentice if I could find a suitable one, but where do I find another me — someone passionate about older buildings and sustainable materials?” 

And finally what about art? Do you miss it? 

“I still do photography as a hobby, but the building work is my creative outlet.“

James’ growth challenge is not unique. We often talk to one-man-band and micro building firms that want to grow but only if they can find the right employees. It appears that retrofit, particularly of older buildings, requires a type of person that Construction College is struggling to attract or produce: those with passion, tenacity, creativity and skill. Perhaps, I wonder, looking to the arts sector for his protégé wouldn’t be a bad idea for James, as I recall the theatre workers successfully turned retrofitters during Covid https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/22/manchester-theatre-staff-upgrade-homes-covid-layoffs-retrofitting-scheme

You can find Robson Building on the Future Ready Homes Directory: https://futurereadyhomes-directory.org.uk
And see some of his work at Green Open Homes this October: www.greenopenhomes.net