Posts Tagged ‘Wet Rot’

ARCHIVE ARTICLE THAT INCLUDES THE ONLY SURVEYOR JOKE I COULD FIND ON THE INTERNET:

MAN : This house is a ruin. I wonder what stops it from falling down.

SURVEYOR: I think the woodworm are holding hands!

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Who/What does the most damage to a home?

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Woodworm: Rot: Leaks: Frost: UV radiation: Acid rain: DIY: Cowboy-Contractors: Ground movements: Occupier neglect, ignorance & lack of maintenance: Poor design: Inappropriate materials: Storms: Damp/Condensation ?

Woodworm: Multiple forms of woodworm exist – some are “notifiable hazards”. Not usually treated until well-established. Can be costly if ignored for many years or you have Death Watch Beetle.

Rot: Basically only two main forms – Wet & Dry. Wet rot – treat/repair what you see. Dry rot – add a “0 or two” to what you think it might cost!

Contractors: Some are brilliant, some are not! Always get a recommendation – find out what is excluded/included. Always find out when payments are required.

Health & Safety is vital but it can also cause increased costs. Ignore standards and codes and YOU will be in trouble. Even simple low-costs repairs sometimes need massive access costs. Lives are lost needlessly every year because we ignore H&S!

Architects choose materials and designs that Builders must be familiar with to construct your dream home. Any mismatch of skills and understanding and the Surveyor will detect them when they become a problem later on (or advise you that XX may become a problem due to YY).

Suns rays degrade certain materials. Over-heating (thermal gain) can cause dimensional instability and cracking and inappropriate environmental standards.

Frost causes many materials to degrade or to de-laminate. Water pipes/drains can freeze and split/leak. Choose the wrong materials and early failure can occur. (Other materials within land and buildings also cause problems in differing weather or land conditions).

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The real answer to this riddle is “lack of, OR inappropriate monitoring and/or maintenance” causes the biggest problems. Any and every problem has a solution but the best answers always exist if problem diagnosis is both early and correct.

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This throws the spotlight on the -

(1)  common sense of the home owner/occupier (often DIY or Bob-the-Builder solutions make matters worse).

(2)  whether adequate insurances exist (under-insurance means your claim or claims will not be met, or only in part).

(3)  the experience and range of diagnosis tools of the Architect and/or Surveyor.

(4)  the knowledge and experience of all contractors and professionals employed to rectify the problems.

Nothing is perfect, all things degrade but the right choice of maintenance methods, choice of alterations and improvements, the choice of materials used, etc…. are all central to the quality of what you achieve with a property.

• Do you cut corners to meet your restricted budget?
• Is the cheapest contractor the best contractor?
• What alternatives to your needs may exist?
• Which is the best choice – basic repairs or green improvements to cut fuel costs?
• Have you pursued those alternatives to see if grants are available?
• Have you taken cost-v-value advice?
• Is it worth doing analysis OR would it be better to move to a better home?

The property cycle =  BUY  -  MAINTAIN  -  ALTER OR IMPROVE -  MAINTAIN  – UPGRADE & RENEW ELEMENTS  -  MAINTAIN  – MAKE A PROFIT OR LEAVE AN INHERITANCE

Your actions and decisions throughout the above property cycle will determine the eventual outcome of your initial investment in buying a home. Recessions come and go but, over the longer term, housing remains a good investment if you treat it wisely.

If you make the right decisions during your ownership of any home you will have a smile on your face: if you opt for DIY or bodged-solutions to problems, or, even worse, ignore problems or complete no maintenance at all, you enter a potential spiral of decline that may see your investment become a millstone around your neck from which you never financially or environmentally recover.

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Things to consider when investing in your next home.

• Can it be bought within budget?
• Have you the budget to maintain it?
• Have you commissioned and understood your own Surveyors Condition Report?
• Can and should you occasionally improve it to current green standards?
• Can you enlarge it if your space needs increase?
• Is there a price tone ceiling in your district (beyond this improvements may not add any value!)?
• Have you seen and understood the EPC on your potential new home?

• How exposed to frost and prevailing weather patterns is your potential next home?
• Is it within a known flood-plain?
• Does adequate, effective site/surface drainage exist?
• Has it been built upon, or next to, contaminated or filled ground?
• Can you obtain Buildings Insurance and at reasonable premiums without high excess payments?
• Is it traditionally or system built and is that method of construction mortgageable?

Do you need help in fully understanding the answers to the above information? CALL PROINSPECT.

ARCHIVE ARTICLE MID-2009

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For all you Pub Quiz freaks!

(22 mind blowing data bites on Homes, Energy, Risks, Life, Costs and Banks)

DID YOU KNOW? (a mixture of trivia, information and … nuts):

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1. Dry and wet rot can only form in damp wood – at least 20% moisture content.
2. The 1875 Public Health Act introduced, amongst other things, the concept of damp proof courses in new housing.
3. The role of Building Inspectors was introduced in the reign of Charles II, after the 1666 “fire of London” (that occurred just after the 1665 “great plague”).
4. Just after this timeframe, around the split between George I and George II (abt 1720), chimneys were moved, by design, on to party walls.
5. It wasn’t until abt 1800 that gutters and downpipes came into common usage.
6. Stucco, or rendered front elevations, became fashionable during the 1710 (George I) to Queen Victoria (1840) period. Stucco is a typical “Georgian” feature
7. Cast Iron house Balconies were introduced in the early 1760’s.
8. Government has stated that through Building Regulation step changes in 2010 and 2013 they intend to introduce “zero carbon” rated new homes in 2016.
9. Glass is a combination of sand and other minerals that are melted together at very high temperatures.

10.  Glass, chemically, is actually more like a liquid, but at room temperature it is so viscous or ‘sticky’ it looks and feels like a solid.

11.  When oil exists below a certain depth, the heat of the earth breaks the molecules and it becomes Natural Gas.

12.  Most small, domestic wind turbines generate direct current (DC) electricity. Systems that are not connected to the national grid require battery storage and an inverter to convert DC electricity to AC (alternating current – mains electricity).

13.  Roof mounted small Wind Turbines cost from abt £1,500.

14.  Mast mounted larger systems, in the region of 2.5kW to 6kW, would cost between £11,000 – £19,000 installed.

15.  Wind Turbines can have a life of just over 20 years but require service checks every few years to ensure they work efficiently.

16.  Wind Turbine battery storage systems, have a typical battery life of abt 6-10 years, depending on the type, so batteries will have to be replaced at least once, but perhaps twice, in a system lifespan.

17.  Around 5 million people live in flood risk areas in England and Wales.

18.  In 2002, life expectancy at birth for females born in the UK was 81 years, compared with 76 years for males. This contrasts with 49 and 45 years respectively at the turn of the last century in 1901.

19.  1.0% Bank of England interest rate — this rate is the lowest since the bank was founded in 1694.

20.  -30%: this is the current predicted fall in residential house prices since a 2007 high. Further – this 2007 level of values may not now be seen again until 2016.

21.  +67%: this is the required increase in the amount of land needed if government is to meet its current target of 240,000 new homes a year.

22.  In 2007, 47% of all new residential building was for Apartments. With higher density ratios expected nowadays this may shift to be about 25% soon.