Review: Rice’s Language of Buildings
After getting some feedback following an Instagram post that I made last week about Rice's Language of Buildings, I thought I'd give this book a quick review. The first thing to note are the beautiful, water colour style illustrations, all of which show the various...
read more
French Drains
If you live on a road comprised mainly of period houses, next time you are walking down your street, have a look at where the ground meets the walls of the buildings. You will probably notice that some of the properties have a gravel filled trench at the base of the...
read more
Air Quality, Mould Growth & Covid-19
There is undoubtedly a link between air purity and Covid-19 and now more than ever has the cleanliness of the air we breathe become such a critical factor. For the first time that I can recall, aspects of my field of work such as ventilation and air quality are being...
read more
Active Woodworm or Historic?
"Is the woodworm infestation in my house active?" - I am asked this question all the time. Usually this comes as the result of an observation made by a RICS surveyor during the initial Homebuyer survey where signs of woodworm attack might have been noted. Most...
read more
Condensation: Causation and Cure
Condensation is the most common form of “dampness” within UK properties. The main moisture producing rooms in most households are the kitchen, bathroom and utility room. These areas are what are known as "prime sources" of moisture production which leads to...
read more
Tools of the Trade
The majority of surveyors working within the damp and timber industry will use an electronic moisture meter. There are numerous makes and models available with varying degrees of accuracy. When I started surveying houses with damp in London in 2007 I was using The...
read more
Lime Pointing in Older Buildings
Having visited many old houses during my career, I have on numerous occasions seen examples of where external mortar joints have been re-pointed using modern Portland cement in place of what would have originally been a lime-based mix. It is quite common for old lime...
read more
Dry Rot or Wet Rot??
Look at the image below: Now look at this one: And finally this: All of these images are taken from decayed timbers found in different houses that suffered from damp issues of one form or another. However, only one of these properties was suffering from an outbreak of...
read moreGET IN TOUCH
07790 858 386 / oliver@owsurveyors.co.uk