When I first started out in wall tie replacement in 1985, I didn’t own a boroscope, so all inspections were done without one. This is still one of the best ways of inspecting cavity wall ties, though it is time consuming and messy. The boroscope is king these days and if used carefully it does […]
Property Care Association awards 2010
29 Mar 10 by
Blimey! On Friday night, at the awards in London, I was presented with a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the PCA training category. It was a good night, spent at Lords Cricket ground with the great and the good of the preservation industry. Guest speaker was the superb batsman Alex Stewart, who scored over 8000 runs […]
How a sump and pump keeps a basement conversion dry (Type C waterproofing)
22 Mar 10 by
A Type C cavity drain membrane waterproofing system cannot hope to work without some means of taking water away. If water builds up a head against the membrane – IT WILL FAIL. Gravity drainage works well, where it can be used, but for many occasions a sump is needed, with one or more pumps to […]
This council house has been damp for three years – why?
17 Mar 10 by
The other day I visited a local authority house in the North of England. This semi detached bungalow is occupied by an elderly couple. I was asked to carry out a damp survey because of the persistent damp, which had defied numerous attempts to rectify it. Various opinions had been expressed and much work done. […]