We have just recently carried out a Full Building Survey of a property which has a large number of fields which can be used for Equestrian use; however, the grazing on the land is limited by the fact that the fields and paddocks are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The fields in the summer are home to a variety of orchids. Therefore, the fields cannot be ploughed, treated with weed killer or modern fertilisers used. This therefore, restricts the number of horses or amount of livestock which can be kept and the SSSI also relates to parts of the garden.

Therefore, when buying property especially in rural areas and not just down land, it is important that solicitors carry out all relevant checks and any conditions from English Nature or equivalent bodies are disclosed, otherwise enforcement action can be taken if the sites are damaged.

Recently we carried out a Full Building Survey on a property in Croydon. We came across this interesting installation of a gas pipe in a kitchen. Any movement would force the joints apart and cause a gas leak. Relocation of the pipe should be carried out or the pipe should be sleeved.

Brian Gale Surveyors recently undertook a Full Building Survey in Reigate on a 1970’s house valued at £1.3m. The property was a Repossession in May 2013 with the survey undertaken in early June.  It was in structurally sound condition although required general upgrading and improvement and this was duly reported upon in the Building Survey.

After a long and protracted period between offer, exchange of Contracts and eventual completion; our Clients moved in during mid December.  Soon after, we had a telephone call stating that the property was causing them to have tingling sensations to the tongue, swelling of lips and irritated eyes.  We were asked to reinspect and were baffled. Our Surveyor also suffered tingling sensations to lips and tongue after a few minutes in the house.

The property has cavity wall insulation – polystyrene beads glued together with an adhesive – however, we had never been aware of any issues relating to fumes from this type of insulation. Urea-formaldehyde pumped into cavities for insulation can give off fumes.

Our attention was also drawn towards the carpets as they had recently been cleaned by a professional carpet cleaning company.

We felt that it was prudent to have an air testing and monitoring company carry out an inspection.

The cause has finally been identified.

The carpets which were in the property at the time of the inspection and when the Clients moved in were 100% wool and of high quality.  It appears that the carpets were treated with a product to prevent staining, thought to be something more robust than Scotchgard.  Our Clients said that their dog was also affected by the fumes / smell .  Now that the property has been properly ventilated over the Christmas period, the irritations have diminished and Clients ( and their dog ! ) are starting to enjoy the property and thinking about the refurbishment.

It appears that this problem can only occur if carpets have been treated with a chemical water or equivalent repellent and the house is left shut up for numerous months.  The problem has also been exacerbated by the fact that replacement windows have no trickle ventilators and in effect the house was sealed.

These blocks of concrete are anti-tank defences around Reigate Town Hall dating from the second world war!!  They are Grade II Listed and therefore of historical importance.  Therefore when surveying a property, do not automatically consider that something can be removed/demolished even though it looks like a chunk of boring concrete!

We carried out a Full Building Survey in Reigate, Surrey last week and very fortunately we were able to gain access to the large void under the ground floor.

Here we found the heating pipes were lagged with White Asbestos (a known human carcinogen called “Chrysotile”) part of which had deteriorated badly and was crumbling allowing micro-fibres into the air – potentially a very health hazardous situation as our client (the buyer) has a young family. We are now arranging for a specialist firm to check this and give a quotation for full, safe removal and decontamination of the whole sub-floor area. It was a good job that they decided to have a Full Building Survey done before committing to buy.

If boundaries appear to be irregular or recently altered we will point this out. Whilst undertaking a Building Survey in Horley the boundaries appeared to have been relocated by nearly two meters from the original boundary line.

In this case it was clearly evident that a tracked vehicle had been on the land belonging to the house that we surveyed; made a large clearance, pushed debris from the adjoining property’s land onto this property and put up new fencing. Trees had also been smashed by bucket / arm of a JCB.

A defining document for boundaries is normally the deed plan or any other conveyancing plan. These documents always need to be checked when buying a house especially large country estates, to avoid boundary disputes. We would typically report this evidence during the course of our Building Survey.

We act as Project Managing Surveyors for a client whose holiday lodge on a lake was recently severely damaged by fire. The client had taken out Buildings Insurance several years ago which had only been index linked year on year without a proper and full reassessment of the rebuilding costs by a Chartered Surveyor. The sum insured is around £120,000 however following our specification of works and tendering procedure, the tenders have come in ranging between £150,000 to £200,000 all plus VAT and with professional fees yet to be included. Regrettably, the shortfall will be the Insured’s responsibility to find as Insurers will simply pay out the maximum sum insured. The moral of the story is, always have your properties reassessed on a regular basis by a Chartered Surveyor for full Insurance Reinstatement costs so that if the worst scenario occurs, you will be adequately covered. Ask us about our fire insurance valuation services.

We recently undertook a specialist “Diminution in Value” Expert Witness Report for Solicitor clients with regard to a development plot which a client had purchased. This had Planning consent for a detached house on it however it could never be properly developed. The client’s Solicitors (acting in the purchase) failed to carry out full due diligence, omitting to undertake a full water and drainage search. Had they done so, this would have revealed that three large diameter urban water mains pass directly under the site. Thus Thames Water ruled that no development can take place above ground on this site. We typically undertake development plot pre purchase “due diligence and investigation reports” for clients ensuring that all necessary investigations are undertaken and the information pulled together for the client for a single report before they commit to purchase. In this case, relying solely on solicitors standard residential pre purchase procedures, crucial matters were overlooked. We are experienced at Brian Gale Surveyors in development site pre-acquisition due diligence procedures.

Sean Steer noticed on this Building Survey in Carshalton that the chimney breast had been removed to the first floor bedroom but not the roof and the support comprised timber wedges on some scaffold boards. Despite the obvious divergence from good working practise it has been like this for more than 25 years! Best solution is a new steel beam (RSJ) spanning between two loadbearing walls and a Building Regulation Application to obtain a Completion Cerificate.

How many damp courses do you need?

The answer is one.

This Victorian house wall in Reigate would normally have a slate damp proof course which should be identified and exposed before any new damp proof course is fitted.