Untitled Document

PROPERTY PRESERVATION

Timber is probably the most adaptable and useful raw material available to man. It can be used by the most professional carpenter to construct a complicated roof or flooring structure or by a mere novice to build a few shelves.However, because of its popularity, good quality softwood is scarce and contains an increasing amount of sapwood.Most houses these days are constructed with this type of material and they can be subject to extensive wood boring beetle insect attack (woodworm) and, if the property becomes damp over a long period of time, it is liable to fungal decay (e.g. dry rot) as well and both these problems, left unchecked, can be very expensive to remedy. Every year in Britain, damage costing millions of pounds is caused by wood boring beetle attack and dry rot fungal decay. The most common enemies of timber are the Common Furniture Beetle, Death Watch Beetle, wet rot and dry rot fungal decay.These problems can be aggravated by the presence of both rising and penetrating damp in a property, either where a damp proof course was not inserted at the time of construction or where an existing damp proof course has failed due to the age of the property.

Another problem, common to the Bath area, is that the majority of the Georgian buildings are constructed over large basements and vaulted cellars. Nowadays, with residential space at a premium, it is often useful to convert this wasted basement and cellar space into further accommodation and thus add additional value to the property. There are various specialist damp proofing and waterproofing systems available to ensure that both rising and penetrating damp can be alleviated and to ensure that basement and ground floor rooms are kept in a dry condition. If you are buying a house in the City which is more than 30 years old, you would be well advised to instruct a specialist company, or Chartered Building Surveyor, to inspect the property for all timber infestation defects, rising damp problems and any problems related to penetrating damp in lower ground floor or basement.

There are many such service companies to choose from and it is recommended that only those able to offer fully bonded insurance backed guarantees are approached and, where basement/cellar waterproofing is required, members of the British Structural Waterproofing Association are recommended. If any work is necessary, you will receive from the remedial treatment contractor a written report, specification and quotation for the cost of any treatment. If no treatment is recommended there may be a small charge payable if you require a written report, but companies will advise you of this when you ask. On completion of any remedial treatment works, the chosen contractor will normally issue a long term insurance backed guarantee, generally 30 years in duration, and if any work under the guarantee is required you can claim against that contractor without any further expenditure.

The reason for ensuring that the contractor is able to offer an insurance backed guarantee is to cover the houseowner if the contractor should go out of business during the guarantee period. Where companies do not offer this additional cover, the guarantee certificate will probably be worthless and not worth the paper it is written on!

							PROPERTY PRESERVATION Timber is probably the most adaptable and useful raw material available to man. It can be used by the most professional carpenter to construct a complicated roof or flooring structure or by a mere novice to build a few shelves.However, because of its popularity, good quality softwood is scarce and contains an increasing amount of sapwood.Most houses these days are constructed with this type of material and they can be subject to extensive wood boring beetle insect attack (woodworm) and, if the property becomes damp over a long period of time, it is liable to fungal decay (e.g. dry rot) as well and both these problems, left unchecked, can be very expensive to remedy. Every year in Britain, damage costing millions of pounds is caused by wood boring beetle attack and dry rot fungal decay. The most common enemies of timber are the Common Furniture Beetle, Death Watch Beetle, wet rot and dry rot fungal decay.These problems can be aggravated by the presence of both rising and penetrating damp in a property, either where a damp proof course was not inserted at the time of construction or where an existing damp proof course has failed due to the age of the property. Another problem, common to the Bath area, is that the majority of the Georgian buildings are constructed over large basements and vaulted cellars. Nowadays, with residential space at a premium, it is often useful to convert this wasted basement and cellar space into further accommodation and thus add additional value to the property. There are various specialist damp proofing and waterproofing systems available to ensure that both rising and penetrating damp can be alleviated and to ensure that basement and ground floor rooms are kept in a dry condition. If you are buying a house in the City which is more than 30 years old, you would be well advised to instruct a specialist company, or Chartered Building Surveyor, to inspect the property for all timber infestation defects, rising damp problems and any problems related to penetrating damp in lower ground floor or basement. There are many such service companies to choose from and it is recommended that only those able to offer fully bonded insurance backed guarantees are approached and, where basement/cellar waterproofing is required, members of the British Structural Waterproofing Association are recommended. If any work is necessary, you will receive from the remedial treatment contractor a written report, specification and quotation for the cost of any treatment. If no treatment is recommended there may be a small charge payable if you require a written report, but companies will advise you of this when you ask. On completion of any remedial treatment works, the chosen contractor will normally issue a long term insurance backed guarantee, generally 30 years in duration, and if any work under the guarantee is required you can claim against that contractor without any further expenditure. The reason for ensuring that the contractor is able to offer an insurance backed guarantee is to cover the houseowner if the contractor should go out of business during the guarantee period. Where companies do not offer this additional cover, the guarantee certificate will probably be worthless and not worth the paper it is written on!