Not all as it seems
It has been a familiar them of late that what we look at isn’t always as clear cut as it seems. A friend of mine has bought a bungalow and has noticed within a few months that there are signs of damp in a couple of corners in one of the rooms. In the survey it pointed out the need for good ventilation under suspended floors. This is of course the correct thing to say and he had recommended that the build up of debris in front of the air vents was cleared to make sure the full air vent was exposed to allow a draught under the floor. This is essential to keep the timbers from getting damp and not drying out. There is only a small gap under the floor so all the more important for the vents that are there to work properly.
These vents had been cleared before my arrival to the property. Still not convinced that there was not another additional problem, I asked to be able to take up a couple of floor boards. When I did, I could see the beginning signs of rot starting to affect the joists where they went directly into the wall. We would, if constructing the floor now, put a DPC around the timbers of course, but these were not. On then checking the air vents we discovered that although there were plenty of air vents outside, they were blocked on the inside. In fact the brickwork did not have a gap on the inner brick wall. This means that from the day they were installed as part of the original house build, they have been ineffective. This is now resulting in damp problems requiring work to be carried out to repair and prevent a recurrence of the moisture building up. We can fix this fairly easily but what you see is not always what you get.
The moral of the story is that the surveyor was not wrong in his advice but until the floor was taken up no one really knows what the cause of a problem is. If there is the sign of damp get it sorted. Try the easier routes first a small damp patch does not always end in a full scale project.
A house I worked on years a go needed a new roof according to the roofer. I solved the problem by moving some games piled high on a wardrobe that prevented air flow around the room. In the cold spots, normally external walls with family junk stacked against the wall the air condensates and a damp patch can occur. Poor old roofer lost an £8,000 job and I got a cup of tea - fair exchange indeed. I did get a lot of work from the client from then on because of this ability to save him money. Of course had he replaced the roof, whilst it would look lovely I am sure the problem would have remained the same.
My advice is start with the easy things first. They are normally cheaper and quicker to identify and change and then if they are not the cause move on to the next thing. Points to remember is that there can be more than one cause to a sign of damp. The signs you see can be seasonal therefore keep an eye out to see if it comes back with rain in a certain direction or the water table changing as examples. If you don’t see the problem for a few days it doesn’t mean it is solved.
Water travels so don’t think the problem can only be where the signs are, it could be further afield. Be vigilant - repairs don’t happen by themselves!
Give us a chance!
No crystal balls used here!
I do understand the importance of service and like many other builders that I know, the office and estimating side of the work sometimes falls behind when you are busy. We do have to, however, rely on suppliers coming back with prices for us to work on. Keeping track on millions of products in your head just doesn’t work. It is why I will not give a price whilst visiting a job on the first visit. It isn’t fair to the client or the builder and will result in one of the parties feeling let down. The builder may have to cut corners half way through to save money and then, well, you know what happens - it all kicks off or falls down.
I was asked three days ago to price up a kitchen in an empty house. I gave the quantity of units (as specified by the client in a letter by post) to my supplier and then was trying to get and look at the property. I could not gain access as there are no keys locally and the owner cannot travel the 200 miles from where he lives. I explained that I needed to see to determine not only where the units are to be fitted, but also to see about the electrics, plumbing, decorating, tiling, flooring etc etc.
I have learnt today, that the owner has gone elsewhere as he feels I am obviously not interested in the job. W H A T?
I would be interested to find out how the other builder came to his figures. At the moment he will be King because he has satisfied the client by giving him what he wants. We will see if he has over charged or will he cut corners? He could be Derren Brown of course and just sense it all though the walls!
I am going back to my crystal ball and will see you later!
