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Nottingham Derby Surveyors RICS Homebuyers Survey Report. 1902 Terrace House 

Our surveyors inspected this terrace house. The front and rear walls of this property had been badly damaged by water because of failure to undertake a few hundred pounds of gutter and down pipe repairs. Intruders had damaged the kitchen and bathroom and run off with the boiler as well as damaging central heating pipes. An extension containing the bathroom and kitchen was single skin construction and likely to be cold and prone to water penetration. An attic conversion had dangerous stairs and no fire protection and probably no insulation of the ceiling.

Typical Nottingham Terrace House dating from about 1900. The property has a replacement tile roof with ventilators to help remove condnedation from the roof void. Not that the small bedroom window opener prvent escape in the event of a fire.

 

Damage to the rear corner of the room is likely to be due to a leaking rainwater downpipe soaking though the solid wall. The damage to the chimney breast is likely to be due to a pile of wet soot in the former fireplace or condensates from past fires that can deposit water absorbing salts in the brickwork. A hole approximating to the former firepalce has been sealed. It should be repalced with a vent to allow condendation to escp from the interior and keep the interior of the flue dry.

Intruders have smashed up the kitchen

The wall is no thicker than the window frame. It is single block and render construction and likely to be cold and vulnerable to water penetration if not maintaned. It should be relatviely easy to line the interior face of the wall with a timber frame with sheet of rigid insualtion betwen the timbers.

The missing / rotten skirting board is likely to be due to water spillage as there was no evidence of dampness in the plaster of the wall.

The angled ceiling is unlikely to be insulated and will be cold and prone to condensation. It may be possible to puch rigid insuation betwen the rafters from the main roof void.The textured coating may contain asbestos but it is well enmcapsululted. Simple preacautions such as wearing a mask shoud be undertaken if disturbeing it. It not wanted they are best plastered in.

Damp in the front bedroom wall. Most likely to be due to a now repaired gutter spilling. The expense of repairing this and the downstairs rooms is far in excess of the cost or clearing or even repaiing gutters and downpipes. Old solid walled properties are very vulnerable if rainwater goods fail.

The damp damage had extedned to the lounge.

Substandard attic conversion stairs. They are too steep and the treads too short to use safely. The hazard is maximised by a missing hand rail.

The thickness of the door confirms that it is not a fire door. The roof void occupant will not be protected if there is a fire. All doors to the landing and escape corridor in the ground floor should also be fire doors.

The intruders have run off with the boiler and also damaged the pipes in the floor.

The damp could be leaking metal work behind the chimney but is more likey to be caused by condensation as the metalwork will be particuarly cold. Chimney breasts and adjacent ceilings can also be damp due to contamination of the brcikwork from old flue condensates that can contain water absorbing salts.

The central stairwell limits the use of the attic room and thus probably makes even the substandard conversion uneconomically viable in terms of value added to the property. The widely spaced rail gaps are a trap hazard.

NOTTINGHAM DERBYSURVEYORS FOR RICS LEVEL 2 HOMEBUYERS SURVEYS

Surveyors for Building and Structural Survey in Deby Nottingham