‘Green’ damp solving systems from the ‘Neverlands’ now come with a ‘lifetime’ guarantee. How do you define “lifetime” The inventor’s lifetime? The customer’s lifetime? the lifetime of the house? the installing technician’s? the installing limited company? – or the Daily Star advertising director’s? I don’t know. What I do know is that all companies who […]
Another one bites the dust (or when is a guarantee not a guarantee).
01 Aug 10 by
Oh dear. Another call this week from someone in Leeds, looking for a damp-proofing firm so they can claim on their guarantee. Most companies involved in damp-proofing, timber treatment and basement waterproofing offer some form of guarantee. This may vary in length from 10 years to as long as 30 years. Once issued, the guarantee […]
Property Care Association Flood Remediation course July 2010
26 Jul 10 by
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
08 Jul 10 by
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?
20 Jun 10 by
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 […]