It’s often
the case that building defects take a while to notice, which summarily leads to
further damage to the property and the development of further defects. A good
example is roofing problems, whereby some loose tiles lead to water ingress
which can rot support beams and potentially allow parts of the ceiling to
collapse (this is what happened to my student house)!
This means
that it’s a good idea to get any potential problems examined at an early stage,
but it’s often difficult knowing if there is a problem in the first place, let
alone how it came about and how it can be fixed! This makes hiring a
professional, who can conduct what is called a ‘Building Defect Analysis’, a
great way to put your mind at ease and to save money in the long run!
What is a Building Defect Analysis?
Your
landlord will likely arrange for an end-of-tenancy dilapidation survey, which
is when the building is examined to uncover any problems which may have
occurred or developed during your tenancy. This is so any necessary repairs can
be made prior to new tenants arriving and to make sure that previous tenants
pay for their damage.
A good way
to ensure that this is done fairly is to hire a professional to conduct a
building defect diagnosis on your property. This will ensure that the origin of
the problem and any potential remedies are fully understood by the tenant. For
example, you could end up being pushed into paying for existing damage because
you didn’t know where and when the problem began, or you could end up paying
for a service which doesn’t fit the indicated problem.
This means
that having a building defect analysis conducted will lead to greater comfort,
safety, and security in your property.
Water Ingress
Don’t worry
(too much), water ingress through brick walls is a relatively common
occurrence. Generally, this can occur for a number of reasons which vary in
terms of severity. At one end of the spectrum is cracking in the building’s
brickwork and substrate and at the other end are serious structural
deficiencies which cause long term damage to entire walls.
There are
two tricky water ingress situations that you should be aware of, as they are
normally down to structural issues:
Cavity wall ties
: If a cavity wall tie uses too much
or too little mortar, or if it uses metal which has since corroded and cracked,
then these ties can attract water which inevitably soaks into the wall.
Water ingress around windows
: This is a fairly common form of
water ingress and is usually caused by the window unit moving over time,
creating gaps around the window frame. Generally, if the window leak is visible
where the window sash meets the jamb then the window is the cause of the leak.
Mould Propagation
A huge
80-85% of mould problems are caused by human-made condensation, so this is a
building defect which tenants are definitely liable toward. Even though most
people can fairly easily detect mould, it comes in a huge variety of types,
sizes, colours, and textures, so it’s important to consider some universal ways
of detecting it as opposed to relying solely on its appearance:
-Firstly, if it has a musty, earthy
smell.
-Secondly, if there is more moisture
than usual combined with little sunlight.
-Thirdly, if it turns white when
exposed to diluted bleach (1 part bleach, 16 parts water).
-Fourthly, if it grows - it is an
organism after all!
It’s also
possible to tell that you have mould if you display any of the following
symptoms: coughing, sneezing, a sore and itchy throat, a runny nose, sinus
headaches, wheezing and difficulty breathing, itchy and watery eyes, itchy and
irritated skin. This is especially true when these symptoms fluctuate at
roughly the same time and when they are displayed simultaneously.
Structural Weaknesses
‘Structural
weaknesses’ is really an umbrella term for a host of potential issues with your
building. The most common are cracks in brickwork, gaps in windows and door
frames, bowed walls and ceilings, and gradual building movements which may, for
example, cause the porch to move away from the house or cause a wall to lean in
a particular direction.
The problem
with structural weaknesses is that they can be hard to accurately locate.
Symptoms will include leaking water, draughts, and cracking but these don’t
necessarily point to one problem and could be the effect of a number of
problems. This is a key reason why a professional building defect analysis is
an important consideration, so that you can fully understand the extent of the
problem (instead of surfing through Google or asking Alexa)!
Furthermore,
sound penetration is a reliable symptom of structural weaknesses because most
building defects result in either cracks or gaps. If you notice that sounds are
louder in particular rooms or sides of the house, or that you can hear inside
the house from the street particularly well, then you ought to book a
consultation.
Distorted and Bulged Walls
Distorted or
bulged walls are most common in older stone buildings and in more wintry
settings. They are particularly worrying because unless they are addressed the
wall’s distortion will develop to the extent that its centre of gravity will
lay outside
the middle of its base.
This will cause a whole plethora of other structural issues which will
inevitably arise in a dilapidation report. This is also common in roofs with
too little support or in properties with too little, or weak, retaining walls.
In fact,
this is a structural problem which is particularly easy to detect because all
it requires is a spirit level. Just hold it up against the wall and if the
small bubble doesn’t land within the two outermost lines then the wall isn’t
level - you’d better be good at Jenga!
Roofing
A whole
range of problems can occur to the roof during your tenancy. In the hum and
drum of day-to-day lives, the roof can become neglected over time. Here are
some of the more common problems that occur with roofs and which are detected
in building defect diagnosis:
Tiling
: Depending on how your roof tiles
were fixed to the roof’s battens, either the nails corrode over time and tiles
become loose, or where concrete or clay tiles are used they can crack and spool
over time. This is often a primary cause of top-down water ingress.
Rotting
: If the tiles have become broken
over time or were fitted improperly then the structural beams holding the shape
of the roof can begin to rot from the water ingress. Although most houses no
longer use wood for such important structural properties, older houses may
still have wooden roof beams and these aren’t likely to be as strong as they
once were.
Sagging
: A direct result of rotting
structural beams is that either the roof itself, the floor of the roof, or its
structural beams begin to sag. This lowers the integrity of the upper half of
the building’s structure and can lead to a whole new set of problems.
Clearly,
neglecting the roof can quickly become detrimental to the rest of the building,
especially as one roofing problem often leads to another. This means that
roofing issues form a snowball effect which makes identifying the source of the
problem particularly difficult, often requiring professional assistance such as
that provided by Simon Levy Associates.
Simon Levy Associates
It should
now be clear what sort of symptoms you should be looking out for, especially
when nearing the end of your tenancy. These can be indicative of a range of
building defects which have been discussed above, from mould to bulging walls
and from cracked bricks to door frame gaps. Getting these examined by a
professional ahead of your landlord’s dilapidation assessment can save you
hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds in the long run!
A great way
to save money is to organise a building defect diagnosis with a specialist like Simon Levy Associates
so that you can get a head start on
these repairs before moving out, rather than running the risk of paying more
for a dilapidation survey - forward thinking is key in this respect!
If you have
any further questions then don’t hesitate to get in contact
on 0208 207 6100 to understand more
about our services which include building defect analyses, party wall matters
and boundary disputes, insurance claims, planning matters, and dilapidation
surveys!
