Purchasing a new home or property can be an exciting time, but there may also come a point in time where you wished you had never purchased it. Agents and persons showing you around the property will only be too keen for you to buy it and in your mind, you might start to imagine where your furniture will go and what colours to paint the walls, but hold fire for just a moment, what about a survey…
Upon arrival take a moment to survey the area, look at the ground levels outside of the entire property to see if they are higher than the internal floor level. Building regulations state that the external ground level must be 150mm lower (15cm or 6 inches) than the internal floor level, although this is rarely the case with older properties, this can be the cause of damp on the internal walls (for more information, see the video under section ‘High Ground Level’). Also note potential flood scenarios around the property, does the property sit in a bowl, do rivers or streams run close by, has the property flooded in the past. Another thing to look out for is trees. Trees near to the property can cause major structural damage, particularly Willow trees.
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Spend a moment looking for cracks, cracks may look alarming but are usually no more than settlement in most cases, however, cracks that start from the base of the property can indicate subsidence. This can be rectified by underpinning in extreme cases, and though this can be expensive to repair, it will be a considerate amount cheaper by doing it yourself. In older properties cracks can appear above windows and doors, this could be down to shrinkage as it was common practice to use wood as lintols. Cracks around ceiling level (particularly in new build houses) may be due to the materials used behind them drying, ceiling timbers for example can take 2 years to fully dry out and will twist and bow, causing cracks. Keep an eye out for chimney cracks...
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Once inside the property look at the floors on all levels, though floors might be carpeted or covered in another material such as lino or wood flooring, check to see if they feel solid or bounce. By walking around the floors and shifting your weight onto each leg you will soon discover whether they are made up of concrete or wooden beams covered with floorboard. If they are wooden, you will feel underfoot any areas that could need future attention, if the boards/joists are defective in any way you will notice a considerable amount of movement. Check to see that the floors are fairly level, skirting boards can indicate if part of the floor is subsiding as there will be a gap under the skirting board. If the ground floor is wooden, check for air bricks on the outside of the property (these will be under the internal floor level on the outside of building). In older properties it is common for the upstairs floors to bounce quite a bit, this is worth noting and adding additional support if you are planning on putting heavy furniture in these rooms...
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Keep an eye out for rooms that may have been opened into other rooms. Though this work is supposed to go through Building Control and checked by Structural Surveyors, this is rarely the case. We have come across many cases where the beam (Rolled Steel Joist / RSJ) has not been put in correctly, or built into an unstable wall, again, cracks under these will be visible from the inside...
Read More About Structural Beams Survey...
Doors and windows can also expose structural defects, if the lintol above is not adequate this will allow the weight of the brickwork above to sit directly on top of the door or window, this will be noticeable if the door / window is difficult to open. It is also worth looking at all external windows to ensure they are double glazed, in the wintertime especially, single glazed windows will heavily condensate on cold days and will let most of the heat straight outside. Single glazed windows may also freeze when the heating is turned off.
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Try to take a good look at the roof and notice any missing tiles/slates, look along the very top of the roof at the ridge tiles, lead flashing around chimneys and connecting walls, these are all vulnerable points for water to get inside and cause damage to joists, ceilings etc. If you are unable to properly assess the roof, it is a good idea to look inside the loft and see if there are signs of daylight and water ingress. Other things to look for in the loft is insulation, ideally this should be 300mm (30cm) deep. In cases where the roof looks wonky, make sure the (purling) support timber in the loft is intact or worse still, not installed. Whilst inspecting the roof look for any guttering that is hanging away from the roof, this could mean that the facia boards they are fixed to are rotten and may need repair.
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After purchasing a property, it is always a good idea to hire an Electrician to do a thorough inspection. Prior to purchasing the property, be sure to look at the consumer unit (fuse box). Ideally this will have some protection in the form of a Residential Current Device (RCD), this device could save your life and reduce the risk of electrocution. Some older fuse boxes are the rewireable type and a lot of newer consumer units (fuse boxes) have a mini circuit breaker which you manually turn on and off. In either case you must ensure that your fuse box has a RCD, which will detect faults and instantly stop the electricity from flowing. Look closely at any ceiling lights, try to make a note and take a photo of these (I'll explain more in the ‘Read More’ link).
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The first thing to check when looking at the properties plumbing is the boiler. A lot of older boilers may appear in good working order and you won’t necessarily need a new one
It is highly advisable to get the boiler checked by a Plumbing and Heating Engineer after purchasing the property. As with the electrics, gas is something you do not want to cut corners on. Examine the flue pipe which will either be located through one of the exterior walls, or up through the roof.
Look at the radiator valves and other pipework for signs of leaks or pipework that might need replacing, it is also worth asking if there are any tanks in the loft, these could be asbestos, galvanised steel or plastic. Remember a lot of these tanks feed upstairs/downstair toilets and wash basins, the same water you brush your teeth in. It is a simple job to bypass these to the cold taps and have fresh water instead of tank water which can easily build up with all kinds of filth on the bottom. If you are unable to lift the manhole cover to check for broken sewer pipes, you can flush the toilets to see if the water drains away quickly and does not back up, a tell-tale sign that something may be wrong with the drains...
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