Archives for 2010

Property Care Association Flood Remediation course July 2010

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I attended this two day course at PCA HQ in Huntingdon. Whilst I’ve been involved in a few flood repair jobs, I was keen to learn more, especially following the PCA flood remediation CPD I attended the other week, courtesy of The institute of specialist surveyors and engineers.see this post Some […]

Effect of mortar type on wall tie corrosion

Most surveyors are well aware that black-ash mortar causes wall tie corrosion.  However, there are not many opportunities to see this as clearly demonstrated as it is in my video.  I was fortunate to be asked to survey a property in Gargrave, North Yorkshire today.  The pre-war semi, is constructed in a combination of sand […]

Where do all these damp and timber treatment solutions come from? Can they be relied upon?

It’s all very well specialist damp-proofing contractors making promises, to solve damp problems and eliminate timber infestations. The thing is though, on what facts are these promises based on? To find out, I spent a couple of days at Safeguard Europe’s UK headquarters in Horsham Sussex. I found the semi-industrial unit on a none descript […]

Doctor Eric’s paper – nails the coffin lid on the rising damp ‘myth’.

It’s refreshing to know that talented people are working on solving preservation problems. Dr Eric Rirsch’s new paper on the issue is a fascinating and detailed study, which should be at the top of anyones reading list. The most striking thing I found is the way mortar type effects how damp rises. As a surveyor […]

Why are these basement conversions so bad? And, is there anything we can do about it?

Lately I have been looking at quite a few converted basements in and around Leeds.  Many are in terraced housing, back-to-backs, and such.  Conversions are attractive on these smaller dwellings, especially if the project adds an extra bedroom or two. Add student letting into the equation and there is a real financial benefit in squeezing […]

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.