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The above photograph was taken by one of our building control surveyors carrying out a site inspection, and shows how attention to detail (or a lack of!) can lead to future problems. This extension will suffer from moisture problems, but there is not one reason why – there are three.
Look…
This image shows an external cavity with the insulation removed because of damp penetration through the wall. If you look closely, the wall ties fall backwards to the internal leaf - allowing water to track across the cavity. This is because the mortar bed to the brick skin is too thick, resulting…
The Each Home Counts review was launched in 2015 to consider issues relating to consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement in relation to home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in the UK. It was published on 16th December 2016.
The review covers:
Consumer advice and…
There have been some recent house fires where the fire has spread across the line of the party wall and caused extensive damage to the neighbouring property.
If you are involved in the construction of new housing you should remember that fire-stopping has to be completed above and…
Representatives of the home-building industry are engaged in a nationwide campaign to defeat attempts by councils to ensure more accessible homes are built in their areas, research by the Disability News Service (DNS) has shown.
The objections to councils’ draft local plans concern their…
Can you see what the problem is with this roof?
If you look closely, the purlins connecting to the hip rafter don’t make contact with one another and make very little contact with the hip itself.
Traditional roofs work by distributing loads from the rafters down through to the…
Perimeter upstand insulation performs a vital function in the thermal envelope of the building. It’s used to prevent cold bridging at the edge of the floor where it meets the wall. Basically, it stops the heat from seeping out of the edges of the floor where the screed/concrete meets the wall.
A…
A major new recruitment drive by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is targeting schools in a bid to reverse the poor image construction still suffers among teachers and their pupils in the 14–19 age group.
CIOB have recently launched their ‘Think Construction’ toolkit. Developed…
Article updated on 31 January 2024One of our surveyors recently sent in this photo, taken in a brand new commercial building. It’s the ground floor of a protected staircase and shows the door swing directly over the bottom of the stair within the landing space. Clear space should be…
One of our officers was surprised to be greeted with this novel approach to childproofing windows at a recent completion inspection - a child safety gate.
An earlier inspection had highlighted the need to provide some form of guarding to the window because it was within 800mm of the floor.…