Property Care Association course – timber identification for surveyors

Property Care Association members learning about wood identification

A great day of learning at the Property Care HQ – as usual!   The PCA have a great suite of courses in timber infestation and damp diagnosis. Dry Rot, wet rots and all woodworm species are covered. This year the program has been strengthened with a course dedicated to the visual identification of timber [...]

What are wall ties ?

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  What are wall ties ?   Wall ties are unseen metal components of all cavity walls. Built into the wall by the builder as he constructs the wall. They are crucial to the stability and safety of cavity walls and here’s why. When you look at a house constructed of brick or stone, built [...]

Penetrating damp solved with modular cavity trays

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  Rainwater pouring into a 1970’s apartment in Leeds…. I thought I’d just post a quick one about the use of these handy modular trays. I specified them on a site in Leeds, where tenants of a block of apartments had real problems with rainwater penetrating over window and door heads.  The problem was inherent [...]

Advanced Damp diagnosis – gravimetric testing

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Is it Rising Damp or just a plastering problem? Most damp problems can be diagnosed with a good pair of eyes and some experience.  However, sometimes problems can be more complex and even the most experienced need more information. One such situation is a rising damp profile or visible rising damp tide mark, where there [...]

Membranes for damp control… the good, the bad and the rotten.

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What has damp-proofing using membranes got to do with Dry Rot?  Read on… This article is about the use of vertical damp-proof membranes in buildings as a way of controlling damp. DPM’s have been used for years under floors and such, but recently they have really taken off for use above ground, just to stop [...]

Copyright © 2010 Preservation Expert. Legal Stuff: All the advice and information in the posts on my blog is made in good faith and is based on my experience and knowledge at the time of writing. However, nobody is infallible and whilst I’m confident that most of what I write about preservation issues is accurate, there’s a good chance there’ll be an error or two somewhere. I do change my mind about stuff, as I gain more experience. In view of this you must make your own decisions on whether to follow any advice I write and think about this; I could be wrong. No responsibility will be accepted by the author for any losses anyone may suffer as a result of any mistake or for the consequence of any action you take as a result of reading this blog. If you do suffer a loss, resulting from anything I’ve written, a verbal heartfelt apology will be your only compensation.