Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Stephen
Have not used this as, like you, I am old school.
I once used Quest but have changed to Autotext, which is part of Word. Basically phrases are given numbers or letters etc and are then stored. When this is typed, followed by the F3 key, it copies the allocated phrase into forms automatically – very quick and easy once you have a library of standard phrases. I am sure you already know about this but thought it worth mentioning just in case it was of use.
Sounds like a very unpleasant experience but thank you for sharing this information as it serves to warn others of this practice. I doubt this is the first time they have stung people.
What a cheek: having effectively not paid the agreed fee they surely have no right to the report and its contents. Yet they are prepared sell it on to others for a profit, even though they claim it is deficient. Very suspect and probably pre-meditated.
Maybe copyright/confidentiality clauses should start with “Subject to payment of the agreed fee,” as this would make clear that the report may not be used or relied upon unless and until payment is secured.
It is tempting to further contest their claim but, given the circumstances as explained, I suspect that this would be drawn out and ultimately difficult/costly to resolve.
I was involved in repairing a number of Airey houses a few decades ago using the Leeds City Council repair system which basically involved forming masonry walls to relieve the faulty posts of their load bearing function. Option 1 dealt with the external walls only, and left the Party and Internal wall untouched on the basis that these were internal and therefore much less likely to deteriorate. The second option was to deal with all the walls (internal and external) and those repaired in this way were then considered to be conventional houses and therefore acceptable for mortgage lending purposes.
These houses a have all sold and some resold since that time and it therefore appears to be the case that there are lenders out there who will take these on providing there is proof that they have been fully repaired and that the necessary Consents were obtained and complied with. In these case PP was required, in addition to B Regs, as they increased in size due to the additional masonry outer wall
I also believe (but have not been able to verify) that some of the partially repaired houses were later mortgaged following the issue of a “Certificate of Structural Adequacy” by an Engineer, and I presume that this certification was only required to cover the mortgage period
As highlighted by Stephen Quirk this is an inferior form of construction as the cladding is not separated from the structure by a drained cavity. This being the case water exclusion is reliant firstly on the render and more importantly on the breather membrane (Infiltration barrier), especially where cracks have developed as these will tend to draw in water by capillary cation.
If the render is of breatherable lime, this should allow moisture to evaporate unless it has been sealed with a plastic paint?
It therefore appears to be the case that the serviceable life of the cladding is determined by the infiltration layer, and unless the material is known the remaining serviceable life cannot be predicted.
Interestingly modern comparable materials such as Tyvek Structure Guard are said to have “a lifetime equal to the building element in which it is installed” However 20 years ago things may have been different in the USA.
The fact that the render has cracked in multiple places suggests that thus is overly rigid and/or un-reinforced (metal or plastic) as is now considered to be good practice when render is applied to a flexible background (ie the sheathing layer of a timber-framing building).
Given the above I would suggest reporting that the remaining serviceable life of the cladding is limited and that periodic maintenance will be needed until it is eventually replaced. In the meantime, the existing cracks should be repaired using a pliable material to match the original materials, which may include plastic mesh to prevent re-occurrence.
Personally, I believe the best form of cladding for timber-framed buildings is timber (eg weatherboard) but thats another issue, but could be considered if and when the walls are eventually re-clad. This is the usual cladding for timber-framed “Colt” houses in the SE.
The roof tiles definitely have a limited remaining serviceable as bitumen generally is not a long-lasting material. Even high-performance bitumen lasts no longer than about 40 years. I would check these close hand to assess the condition and whether or not they are becoming brittle.
Hope this is of interest
