Independent advice and retrofit design.
Old, solid wall houses are often cold, draughty and uncomfortable – and improving them can feel risky. Conflicting advice about insulation, ventilation and heating systems means many owners delay decisions, or even make changes which unintentionally create new problems.
Redstart Projects helps you understand how your building actually works – and how to improve it safely. We combine building physics with conservation expertise to design retrofit strategies that improve comfort, reduce energy demand and protect your home’s fabric.
What we do
We work with the owners of old houses of traditional construction – including those built in the Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian and interwar eras – to diagnose comfort, moisture and performance issues, and carefully identify the most effective improvements.
We plan retrofit work which is carefully sequenced, ensuring that costly or irreversible mistakes are avoided.
Some of our clients simply want a clear starting point, whereas others want a full retrofit plan. In both cases, the goal is the same: a house that feels better to live in, and performs as it should.
How we’re different
Most retrofit advice for old houses comes from two, usually separate, worlds: on one side, building physics and energy modelling focus on performance; and on the other, conservation and heritage are concerned with protecting historic fabric.
Both are essential, but in practice these domains don’t always connect successfully – and they can even sometimes pull in different directions, with the result that a building’s retrofit strategy is constrained. In some cases, this leads to unnecessary risk or retrofit strategies that fail to reach their full potential.
Redstart brings these two worlds together. The practice is built on a careful synthesis of Passivhaus methodology and conservation expertise, to understand how solid wall houses behave, and to design improvements that work as a whole. Technical considerations such as ventilation, insulation and heating are approached as part of a coordinated strategy, with respect for heritage, ensuring that changes in one area don’t create problems in another.
This joined-up approach reflects Graeme Semple’s background as a Certified Passivhaus Consultant with an MSc in historic conservation, alongside several years spent managing a Grade I-listed building. This combination of multidisciplinary training and practical experience informs a balanced approach – technically rigorous, but grounded in how buildings are actually used and maintained.
How our service works
1. Initial conversation – a short call to understand your house and what’s concerning you.
2. Site visit – an assessment of how the building is constructed and where heat loss and moisture risk occur.
3. House plan – clear recommendations showing what to do first, what to do later and what to avoid – with realistic costs.
4. Next steps (optional) – further design and support if you choose to proceed.
Arrange an initial consultation
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Redstart Projects 