I am not a surveyor nor an architect but I am carrying out a buildings defects survey in advance of an expert witness architect coming to do a building defects report.
This architect has said he won't find every fault in a two/three hour survey and he wants me to shortlist faults for him to look at before his site visit.
I have found loads of faults but what in your opinion are the most common and serious faults cowboy builders make? I am sure I have not found everything yet.
This is a masonry barn conversion but new build faults are probably just as relevant.
Common faults in house construction... - Which are the most common?
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Ted
- Posts: 585
- Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:02 pm
- Location: Luanda, Angola
So far I have found these faults...
i) failure to overlap DPM sufficiently
ii) failure to use jointing tape to hold DPM in place
iii) assumed failure to blind hardcore below DPM
iv) assumed failure to follow instructions regarding depth/compaction of hardcore
v) very poor/unacceptable screeding of concrete floor slab
vi) failure to place DPC into blockwork inner leaf adequately
vii) Failure to marry DPM to DPC
viii) failure to tie insulation satisfactorily to inner leaf
ix) poor brick and blockwork
x) failure to keep cavity clean
xi) snots on wall ties
xii) failure to use wall ties according to manufacturers instructions
xiii) leaving site in an unsafe condition
xiv) inadequate purlin supports
xv) failure to follow Dulux's instructions regarding paint usage
xvi) nailing all roofing baton ends to same rafter
xvii) gaps between tiles on roof
xviii) failure to follow instructions regarding nailing every fourth course of roof tiles
ixx) poorly executed valley on roof
xx) building of an inspection chamber under a wall
xxi) poor pipework, (ie, not plumb coming out of slab and hard to connect to)
xxii) failure to stagger plasterboards
xxiii) use of plasterboard around a shower enclosure
xxiv) work signed off by architect that has not been done (ie, Fraud!).
http://www.sfo.gov.uk/news/prout/pr_247.asp?id=247
i) failure to overlap DPM sufficiently
ii) failure to use jointing tape to hold DPM in place
iii) assumed failure to blind hardcore below DPM
iv) assumed failure to follow instructions regarding depth/compaction of hardcore
v) very poor/unacceptable screeding of concrete floor slab
vi) failure to place DPC into blockwork inner leaf adequately
vii) Failure to marry DPM to DPC
viii) failure to tie insulation satisfactorily to inner leaf
ix) poor brick and blockwork
x) failure to keep cavity clean
xi) snots on wall ties
xii) failure to use wall ties according to manufacturers instructions
xiii) leaving site in an unsafe condition
xiv) inadequate purlin supports
xv) failure to follow Dulux's instructions regarding paint usage
xvi) nailing all roofing baton ends to same rafter
xvii) gaps between tiles on roof
xviii) failure to follow instructions regarding nailing every fourth course of roof tiles
ixx) poorly executed valley on roof
xx) building of an inspection chamber under a wall
xxi) poor pipework, (ie, not plumb coming out of slab and hard to connect to)
xxii) failure to stagger plasterboards
xxiii) use of plasterboard around a shower enclosure
xxiv) work signed off by architect that has not been done (ie, Fraud!).
http://www.sfo.gov.uk/news/prout/pr_247.asp?id=247
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flowjoe
- Posts: 1136
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 9:25 am
- Location: North West
Ted
I do a lot of pre-purchase work through estate agents, surveyors and insurer`s. I find that if they F%$£ up the cosmetic stuff then the rest will be b$ll%^$.
In your case there has to be line drawn between spending ££££ on getting expert witness/statements and spending £££ on putting it right.
Unfortunately most cases require that you get an expert from each trade plumber/spark/roofer but trades such as the one i have the pleasure of working in don`t have a single body to oversee things.
Did you have the works carried out or did you inherit the job?
I do a lot of pre-purchase work through estate agents, surveyors and insurer`s. I find that if they F%$£ up the cosmetic stuff then the rest will be b$ll%^$.
In your case there has to be line drawn between spending ££££ on getting expert witness/statements and spending £££ on putting it right.
Unfortunately most cases require that you get an expert from each trade plumber/spark/roofer but trades such as the one i have the pleasure of working in don`t have a single body to oversee things.
Did you have the works carried out or did you inherit the job?
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matt h
- Posts: 607
- Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:14 pm
- Location: gosport
seems like your expert wants you to do his work for him. I have had surveyors assume that dpc are felt when they are two layer slate, dado rail supposedly installed 'probabably to hide damp' and 'amatuerish wainscotting prossibly to hide poor or defective plastering'.In actual fact the wainscotting was top quality tgvand b douglas fir at £6.00 a metre! You will note the choice of words though... probably....possibly... not definately or surely. If your expert cant find the majority of faults as you have he should take up a new career... any suggestions? ps have recently had to condemn a basement flat with about 70 contraventions to building regs. Lady was not pleased having spent some £20,000.00 on having it furbished, only to be told it all required ripping out and redoing, and that the work had affected the structural stability or the rest of the property as they had excavated below the founds.
general builder, maintenance engineer, gas and plumbing installations, extensions etc
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lutonlagerlout
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15184
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:20 am
- Location: bedfordshire
