The Refining House

About this project

The Refining House is one of several historic listed buildings in Faversham, Kent, part of a larger residential development. Believed to date back to the late 18th century, the building was originally part of a government gunpowder works, specifically used for refining saltpetre, a key ingredient in gunpowder, to improve its consistency and quality.

The building is single-storey, featuring pitch pine king-post trusses. Over time, the structure had fallen into disrepair, prompting BDC to conduct condition surveys of the existing structure and specify specialist material assessments.

BDC prepared detailed drawings and specifications for repairing the existing masonry walls. Due to the poor condition of the timber, the original trusses could not be preserved. We designed new replica trusses using green Douglas Fir, including detailed truss connections. These new trusses were designed to replicate the original connections, utilising timber-to-timber bearing wherever possible and incorporating metalwork only when absolutely necessary.