We are now beginning to care more about our architectural heritage and there are plenty of signs that attitudes have changed. In Ireland, we've had listed buildings for years but, whereas in the past it was a planning aspiration, breaches will now have the force of law to contend with, following EU legislation introduced in January 2000.

There are around 35,000 listed buildings in Ireland and about 9,000 of these are in Dublin. They range from churches and public buildings to houses. Some local authorities have no listed, or protected, buildings - that's not to say they haven't got buildings worthy of such status, they just haven't been listed.

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Grants are available to do conservation work on houses - such as repairing damaged roofs or windows.

Some local authorities will only make these available for listed buildings, while others, notably those without any listed buildings under their remit, will allocate funds from their conservation budget to buildings they deem worthy.

Owners of listed buildings are allowed to do certain work to them but they have to apply for planning permission where owners of non-listed buildings don't. Normal planning exemptions, such as building an extension below a certain size, don't apply to listed buildings.

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All listed buildings are not the same, even in a single terrace of houses with identical exteriors, one may have been altered in the 1950s while another may be a prime example of an 18th century interior. Because of this, protected buildings often have what is called a declaration on their property, which a local authority will carry out. This states which alterations will need planning permission. While an interior that had all of its period features ripped out may be painted at will, a home that retains original murals on the wall will obviously not benefit from a coat of white emulsion.

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It's not just listed buildings that need care taken over restoration work and upkeep, all period houses benefit from sensitive building work. While older houses spring to mind, it doesn't mean that certain 1950s and 60s houses don't have architectural merit. The key when carrying out work on your property is to research its history. One way of doing this is to take a look at similar buildings in your area. Another is to contact the Irish Architectural Archive or seek out material on local history in your library.

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There's plenty of evidence around us that illustrates how poorly conceived work can obscure architectural character and make a house look clumsy. Getting it right isn't difficult, principally because the less-is-more principle holds in conservation. Its main tenet is to have as little intervention as possible. Many people realise now that it doesn't pay to remove parts of the building's historical fabric. Instead it makes economical and architectural sense to repair items such as windows, doors and plasterwork.

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Professional advice is important in assessing the condition of the building and advising on repairs and this help is much easier to get than it used to be. The Construction Industry Federation has just published a list of companies who specialise in various restoration techniques. "Much more thought and effort is put into the restoration of buildings of historical and cultural importance to Ireland," says Kevin Gilna of the CIF.

"Builders are now taking part in training courses on how to carry out intricate restoration projects." Companies on the CIF's list need to have had adequate practical training and experience in traditional building skills, completed at least three heritage projects in the last five years and carried out the work to the satisfaction of heritage and conservation professionals. The RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland) also has a list of around 100 architects who specialise in conservation work while the Irish Georgian Society has a list of specialist craftspeople.

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If you get expert advice and plan repairs in advance you will save yourself financial and construction headaches. A problem that is identified beforehand will protect you from scenarios where builders start the job without knowing what really lies ahead.

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When spending money on their homes, people's priorities tend to be on what they can see around them but if you concentrate on the roof your building will last a lot longer. After you have taken care of essential repairs then you can look at the decorating.

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When employing a builder, remember that you are in charge and that you make the decisions which is why it pays to be armed with knowledge, such as the fact that many period pieces can be repaired rather than replaced.

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Key areas in restoration work are brickwork, roofs, windows and gutters. Sandblasting can damage brickwork irrevocably and repointing should only be carried out when absolutely necessary. Original lime mortars and renders suit historic buildings better because lime-based materials are more flexible and allow buildings to breathe - which is what they were designed to do. Generally, throughout the whole house, it's better to steer clear of new-fangled building products and go for those which have stood the test of time - just as your building has done.

Using lime-based mortar is just one area where contractors are getting up to speed on employing older techniques. Roofs need to be inspected regularly as they can cause serious damage to buildings. When reroofing it's important to opt for like for like materials. Recent horrors have been asbestos cement tiles. Welsh natural slate is one of the most common roof coverings on period houses in Dublin. Although it is expensive to replace it will last for at least 75 years.

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If you want to stay true to the period in the interior it's worth considering issues such as the fact that wall-to-wall carpeting didn't appear until the middle of the 19th century, instead rugs were used on wooden floors while many hallways and high traffic areas were paved with large slabs of stone. If you really want to be historically true then you will introduce items that work chronologically. This means that you can have Victorian fireplaces in a Georgian house, but not the other way around as that would have been impossible historically.