BOTCHED makeovers by DIY rookies may be destroying the fabric of Georgian Ireland. Reality television programmes such as the BBC’s Changing Rooms have spawned a generation of well-intentioned home wreckers, claim conservationists, with quality renovation being replaced by quick-fix alternatives.

“Our biggest concern about restoration work on historical homes is the use of PVC windows,” said Donough Cahill, a planning officer at the Irish Georgian Society (IGS). “If you have a wonderful 18th- century home and you replace its original windows with PVC, then you have essentially marred its beauty.

“If people are being influenced to take their homes apart, maybe these programmes should carry a health warning.”

The society is running a campaign to educate people who heavily renovate period homes without fully understanding the process. Conservation groups and local authorities have already come into conflict with a number of owners of Georgian houses after objecting to their restoration attempts.

Cahill said: “We generally say repair rather than replace.

It can be cheaper to repair something than replace it. It’s a cost issue and a lack of knowledge.”

Duncan Stewart, the presenter of About the House, a DIY show on RTE that includes advice on restoring period homes, agreed that the public has been misled by irresponsible home improvement advice.

“A lot of these programmes are very superficial and though entertaining and interesting, are only about ratings at the end of it,” he said. “People are being misguided on home improvement. They are being influenced without fully understanding what they are doing.”

Ian Lumley, a spokesman for An Taisce, said the owners of historical homes had become complacent.

“Genuine features that were hand-crafted and original are being replaced by off-the-peg castings that don’t work,” he said. “People are looking for an instant transformation, a quick fix of sorts, and are missing out on the chance to restore and maintain their homes.

“People need to appreciate how they can continue to keep their home in line with its original look.”

“The whole idea about restoration is that you minimise the interventions and you try and make sure that you have a viable economic use for the building so that it doesn’t fall into disrepair,” said Stewart.

“It is possible to make historic homes comfortable for modern living without causing damage in the process. But once the damage is done, it’s very hard to return to the original look.”

Rising costs for builders and lack of information had led to a wave of people taking on improvements themselves. The result, according to the IGS, is irreparable damage.

Mary Bryan, the society’s chief executive officer, said seemingly small mistakes could cause huge amounts of damage to period homes.

“One of our hobbyhorses at the moment is the use of unsuitable plaster and repointing materials,” she said. “What people don’t realise is that most houses built before the early 20th century were porous — they needed to breathe. They were plastered and filled using lime-based materials, which allowed this. People come along and repoint and replaster using cement-based materials which are effectively sealants. The result is that the moisture finds its way through the bricks instead and destroys the structure of the house.”

An Taisce has described PVC windows as “a national disease”. Last year An Bord Pleanala stepped up efforts to put an end to their use in historical buildings. The board said the offending material could not be used in buildings of architectural merit. The landmark ruling followed objections by conservationists about the use of PVC windows in the conversion of a Georgian building in Dublin into a pub.

Dublin city council had refused planning permission. The John Hanlon pub, which had already installed the windows, took its case to An Bord Pleanala and lost.

A historic Georgian building on Merrion Square in Dublin owned by Dermot Desmond, the millionaire businessman, is at the centre of a long-running dispute after An Bord Pleanala refused planning permission for a dumb waiter to be installed in the house.

Michael Flatley, the multimillionaire dancer, ran into trouble with planners over restoration work at his 17th-century north Cork mansion. He was refused permission for some of the alterations on the historic property.

Flatley insisted that the €30m refurbishment was in keeping with the original features of the house. “We are bringing the house back to her former glory,” he said.

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