Weekly Web Page 25th November 2005

Being Independent Chartered Surveyors:

I went along to help survey a property on Monday.

I was given the task of checking for dampness throughout the property. The house was Duke of Bedford build 1847 regency – I learnt this from the crest on the front and the style of architecture was particularly impressive. Bedford is a clay area and therefore the soil expands a lot when wet and causes problems with damp in buildings of this era. Nearby is the famous Hampton House property.

We noted the property was on a sloping site and sits within a row of terraced houses. Interestingly the occupiers use the back of their properties for entry and exit. This particular property had a large tree in the front garden which could cause further damage to the foundations due to the sheer root size.

The vendor was at home and Mark asked him about any existing guarantees for the property and gave him one of our question and answer sheets. We found out that there were no neighbourhood disputes as well from the vendor.

After checking the downstairs for signs of damp (there was minimal) we checked upstairs. Mark pointed out a crack where the wall joins in the nursery room and explained to me that lightweight and heavyweight materials together will cause cracking of this nature. Mark explained good or bad cracking in properties and this mostly depends on the age of the building. Progressive cracking shows movement within the property and in this case there was none. We had to check the outside and look at the other properties to confirm this was ok. Looking at the roof covering we noted a square hole to the front and back of the property – this is where water can run off the valley gutters and into the downpipes.

The front of the house we checked for signs of mushrooms in the grass – I have to say the garden was very damp indeed. We noted a green bolt higher up on the wall to the outside (a structural tie). When there is a sloping site property Mark uses a tripod and laser level to se if there is a problem. Overall an interesting day.

My task this week is to ring three surveying companies and get a quote on my own house! Will give feedback next week…………

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