Know what your walls are doing before you spend £40,000.
A fixed-scope fabric assessment for Fife homeowners — plain English, Scottish building standards in view, no product catalogue.
The problem
You've had the quotes.
One builder says cavity wall insulation is enough. Another wants external wall insulation on the whole house. Someone on Facebook had mould after the "cheap" option. Passivhaus sounds like another certificate nobody can explain.
You are not confused because you are stupid. You are confused because every answer is selling a product — and nobody has looked at your house as a fabric problem.
Before you sign anything:
- You don't know what "good" looks like for a 1970s semi in Fife
- You don't know what to do first — and what not to touch
- You don't know when a building warrant applies — and when a builder is guessing
- You are about to spend money you cannot un-spend once the walls are closed up
The process
Get the sequence before the scaffold goes up
Before: Spreadsheets of quotes. You default to the middle price because the expensive one feels scary and the cheap one feels risky. You still don't know.
After: A written Fabric-First Path Map — what to do first, what to do later, what not to do, with budget bands and warrant flags you can read in one evening.
- You send your EPC, photos, and three questions you need answered
- I review documents remotely — then spend a half-day on site on heat paths, moisture, and ventilation in your actual stock
- You get a plain-English decision brief — share it with your partner or hand it to a builder
- We walk through it on a 45-minute readout call
The offer
Fabric-First Path Map
- Free 20-minute fit call — we both decide if this is the right engagement
- Document review before site time is booked
- Half-day fabric site visit in Fife
- Written decision brief: prioritised sequence, budget bands, Scottish warrant/consent flags
- 45-minute readout call
Three Questions Promise
At kickoff you list three questions in writing. If the readout does not answer all three, you get a 60-minute follow-up call within 14 days — no extra fee.
£2,200
Fixed fee
21 days
Kickoff to readout
½ day
On-site fabric read
Full architectural design is a separate engagement. If you proceed to a full Feder appointment within 90 days, £500 is credited toward Stage 1 fees.
Fit
Who this is for
- Fife homeowners in 1960s–80s semis and detached houses
- Cold rooms, rising bills, sale EPC pressure, or a retrofit quote you cannot evaluate
- A professional second opinion before a £20,000–£60,000 spend
Not for: new-build full architectural service on this page (email for appointment). Not for EPC tick-box only.
Practice
Who I am
Licensed architect (Germany). Ten years on schools, police stations, and civic buildings — building physics and site supervision, not brochure architecture. Relocating to Fife. Pursuing ARB Part 3.
No UK domestic case studies on this page yet. German public-building work available on request where client consent allows. This assessment is how we start.
Questions
FAQ
Do I need an architect for a retrofit?
Not always. This is a fixed-scope assessment — sequence, risk, and compliance flags — not a full design appointment.
Is this Passivhaus certification?
No. Fabric-first logic: performance and moisture safety without selling you a certificate.
What about building warrants?
The report flags when Scottish warrant or consent is likely required. It is not a substitute for warrant drawings.
You are new to the UK — why should I trust this?
Fair question. Ten years on large public buildings in Germany — DIN, site supervision, building physics. ARB Part 3 in progress. The assessment is fixed scope so you can judge the method before a larger commission.
What if I am outside Fife?
Email first. Travel outside the core area is quoted separately.
Stop guessing. Get the sequence.
Three quotes, no shared picture, walls you cannot open again once closed — or one sequence you can explain to your partner and hand to a builder.
Book a 20-minute fit call — no fee until we both agree this is the right fit.