The house that was ‘printed’ in a day

RMA Surveyors Ltd, Newbury, continually keep an eye on the latest building technologies and techniques. We recently we came across this unique house, built by a 3D printer.

We’re interested to see how 3D printing will be welcomed by the construction industry, the technology will change the face of construction as we currently know it.

View post on imgur.com

RMA Surveyors deliver professional building surveys and homebuyer reports. Contact us for further information and advice on 01635 579208.

Building Survey vs Homebuyer Report

House SearchBased in Berkshire, RMA Surveyors Ltd have recently surveyed properties in Newbury, Reading, Wokingham and Windsor.

When making an initial enquiry for a survey on a property, we are often asked what the difference is between a Homebuyer Report and a Building Survey. Our simple response is that while both involve a survey of the property, a Homebuyer Report details all the essential elements of a building but goes into less detail than a Building Survey.

If you would like to read more about the details of each report, take a look at our Property Surveys page.

As chartered surveyors, RMA Surveyors Ltd always provides professional advice and will recommend which type of survey best suits the proposed property. By analysing the age, type (e.g. semi-detached or bungalow) and whether there are any extensions to the property, we can determine which survey would best outline the condition of the building.

If you are unsure which type of survey would be most suitable for the type of property that you are intending to purchase, please contact us and we shall be happy to discuss this with you.

For a Homebuyer Report or Building Survey quote, please call RMA Surveyors Ltd on 01635 579208 or complete the enquiry form.

Commercial Building Survey

Steel clad roofRMA Surveyors Ltd recently undertook a commercial building survey of an office unit located in Kingsclere Business Park, nr Newbury.

Part of our remit was to inspect the roof, which was a low pitched profile, steel clad roof that could not be easily accessed from ground level. We organised for a lift access platform to be hired and meet us out on site to undertake this part of the inspection.

We advised the client in advance that this would be necessary and it would be worthwhile investigating the condition of the roof covering given that it was likely to be original to the property, which was constructed in the 1980s.

We discovered that the protective paint to the roof covering was rusting in places and that one of the internal gutters was blocked. Both of these items could be potentially costly to rectify, involving the requirement for scaffolding to be employed to safely access these elements.

There was no way to determine this prior to our inspection and our client would have been in a strong position to renegotiate the terms of sale taking into account the defects noted.

If you have a commercial property that you are considering purchasing or leasing, please contact us for advice and a free, no obligation quote.

Leaning Tower of South Korea

Leaning Tower in KoreaTake a look at this seven-storey building – still under construction in South Korea – leaning 20 degrees.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/may/13/south-korea-building-leans-video

Hopefully your building doesn’t have concerns of this magntitude. But if you are concerned about a defect, take a look at our Defects page to see how a Chartered Building Surveyor could undertake a defect specific survey and report on a property, or contact us to discuss your situation further.

Goverment boost pledged for flood repairs

High water in Reading, Berkshire

High water in Reading, Berkshire

An extra £30m has been pledged for flood repairs and maintenance, which is on top of the £100m announced by David Cameron earlier this week. Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26061795

If your house or building has been affected by flood or water damage, give RMA Surveyors Ltd a call for some professional advice on your situation.

Six Steps to a Party Wall Award

Party wallRecently we have had a number of requests for information regarding party wall procedure. With the aim of providing guidance the following is an overview of the basic procedure of serving Party Wall notices:

1. Firstly, do you need to issue a party wall notice? For the sake of argument let’s say you do. Do you know what type of notice needs to be served? A line of junction notice? A party structure notice? Or a notice of adjacent excavation? In some cases it may be just one in some cases it may be all three. This can easily be determined by any good Party Wall Surveyor who knows the Party Wall Act.

2. Secondly, on whom are you serving notice? Who is the freeholder? Are there any leaseholders? Does the proposed work affect more than one structure? If so, there are likely to be a number of parties to whom notice must be served.

3. With the aforementioned identified notice can be served. RMA Surveyors Ltd are often asked to become involved in Party Wall matters after notice has been served. Clients sometimes see an early saving being made by not appointing a Party Wall Surveyor, as the process seems simple at the outset. However, as the process develops it can become more complex and Building Owners seek to appoint Party Wall Surveyors to untangle the knots. We would say two things at this juncture. Firstly, fees for initial notice are usually minimal. Secondly, issue of the correct, properly drafted notices at the outset will save time. If a notice is not correct, it is invalid and another valid notice must be served. It can take two months before works can start from date of issue of a valid notice.

4. Valid notice is served to the Adjoining Owner. They now have fourteen days to respond. The adjoining owner can assent or dissent to the proposed works. If the adjoining owner does not respond in this period, works are deemed to be in dispute. If the Adjoining Owner agrees to works, the Building Owner may, by written agreement, proceed with works. We strongly recommend a condition survey of the Adjoining Owner’s property be undertaken prior to works commencing, to provide a benchmark and avoid later dispute.

5. If no response is received or the Adjoining Owner dissents to works the building owner will need to write to the adjoining owner to request they appoint a Party Wall Surveyor. The Adjoining Owner may opt to use the Surveyor appointed by the Building Owner. They may prefer to appoint their own Surveyor. In most cases the fee for the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor will be borne by the Building Owner.

6. Once appointed the Agreed Surveyor or Surveyors should then work to draw up a Party Wall Award. A Party Wall Award is the framework whereby works affecting the party structure are to be executed. A condition survey of the Adjoining Owner’s property will be undertaken. Once the Party Wall Award is agreed and published works can commence from the date stated within the Award.

Please also see our Party Wall Pitfalls blog with more useful guidance about the Party Wall process.

Insurance Reinstatement Experts

Impact damge to house We keep hearing from clients that they never knew they could use an independent building surveyor to oversee the insurance reinstatement of their property. Here are a few reasons why it is better to use RMA Surveyors Ltd, an independent chartered building surveyor, to oversee the reinstatement of your property.

Larger insurance brokers offer their own in-house surveyors to oversee fire, flood, water and impact damage claims to property. These companies will appoint the services of their surveyors, to act on your behalf, after they have undertaken their initial assessment of the damage to your property. Often these brokers do not fully explain that you are not obliged to use their in-house surveyor’s services. You are free to appoint your own independent surveyor to specify, tender and oversee works on your behalf under your policy cover. Because your insurance policy covers the fees of an independent surveyor, like RMA Surveyors Ltd , it will not cost you a penny to get impartial, qualified and quality advice and management for the duration of the insurance reinstatement works.

Using an independent chartered building surveyor like RMA Surveyors Ltd is a better option for many reasons. Firstly, using RMA Surveyors Ltd guarantees you are using a qualified professional who is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). As RICS surveyors we are governed by a code of conduct and must act reasonably and impartially at all times.

Secondly, as chartered building surveyors we are professionally obliged to undertake projects diligently and must have the resources and capacity to fulfil a project. Large insurance broker surveyors often have many projects on the go at any one time over a large geographical area. They do not have the time to provide a tailored, bespoke service to each project. Consequently they cannot provide the same attention to detail, often missing important elements critical to the smooth completion of the project. A high turnover of staff and reallocation of resources in these companies can mean you deal with a number of different surveyors. Often works can be specified by the broker’s in-house surveyors by using template documents that do not fit the criteria of an individual project. RMA Surveyors Ltd provide a personal service with a meticulous approach, tailored to each individual property.

Thirdly, RMA Surveyors Ltd provide a fully accountable service which is efficient, detailed and comprehensive at all stages of the project. We also understand the stress and upheaval caused by such events as flood, fire, impact and water damage and endeavour to provide swift reinstatement of your property. As a result of their limited resources, broker’s in-house surveyors are often difficult to contact, do not properly oversee the quality of materials and workmanship on site, are slow to react to problems that arise and provide incomplete documentation.

Lastly, RMA Surveyors Ltd ensure that all works are undertaken by quality independent building contractors, using industry standard building contracts which protect you and clearly define your rights. Therefore, in the unlikely event that something does go wrong you are protected. Often broker’s in-house surveying departments use contracts that heavily favour themselves and their own approved contractors; effectively absolving them of responsibility should a problem arise.

If you have an insurance claim that is causing undue stress or you need some free advice please contact us. We would welcome the opportunity to help you.

Why pay for a construction professional?

Judges gavel and the scales of justiceWe have picked up several projects in the last 6 months where the clients have had builders start or about to begin works with no formal contract, specification, scope of works or even a sketch on the back of a beer mat. As building professionals we see these as shocking omissions. We implore anyone thinking of embarking upon a building project, whether it is a refurbishment, extension, alteration, repair or cyclical maintenance, to only do so if they have taken appropriate professional advice.

Invariably construction is expensive. People want to limit costs as much as possible. Often the services of construction professionals are first to be omitted, in a bid to shave some of this cost. True, in the first instance money has been saved. The fees of surveyors, architects and structural engineers have been avoided. But the saving often doesn’t remain as the project spirals out of control without formal professional management. Worst case scenario the building owner ends up paying for professional fees to put it right or act as an expert witness in court.

Often a good contract administrator or project manager’s value cannot be immediately seen. But a project that has benefitted from the process of feasibility, design, specification, tendering, contractor appointment, management and communication by a qualified professional adds value to a project. Using a professional to steer you through the process will save you money.

A good proportion of RMA Surveyors Ltd instructions are generated by clients who wished they had sought professional advice in the first instance. We have seen sewer pipes terminate below ground floors, all manner of poor masonry detailing and poor mortar specifications, non-compliant roof conversions, unsupported chimney breasts, undersized lintels, dangerous electrics and all manner of other defects. Often work has not been passed by building control and there is no formal contract in place to protect the client.

Many problems encountered are not even considered at the time of installation, but would have been picked up by an experienced professional. Even if a problem is not noted during or immediately after construction the chances are the problem will manifest itself in years to come. Most likely when the property is sold and a purchaser’s surveyor highlights defects or shortcomings. Inevitably the value of the property is reduced at the point of sale.

Coupled with the above, a project that has not been properly specified will undoubtedly result in spiralling costs during construction. We often hear of clients whose builder invoices an inflated final account where no agreement has been made for the extra costs. But with no formal contract or defined contract sum the client is often bamboozled by the contractors’ technical explanations when trying to negotiate. The result is that both parties become entrenched.

A construction professional may not always seem appropriate and can be a cost to be avoided. But RMA Surveyors Ltd experience is although the value we bring cannot always be calculated; the cost of putting it right when it goes wrong cannot either.

If you have a project you would like to talk about please contact us.

Small Business Directory

RMA Surveyors Ltd are now registered with UK Small Business Directory (Free SEO Advice).

Condensation

Condensation on a windowThe RMA Surveyors Ltd guide to condensation within buildings.

One of the most widely misinterpreted and misunderstood building defects is condensation. It can often be confused with service leaks and external water penetration. The key to understanding how and why condensation occurs is surface temperature.

Condensation occurs because water vapour in the air can no longer be held by the air. The water vapour condenses and becomes liquid water.

The warmer the air, the more water vapour it can carry. When warm air comes into contact with a cold surface, air temperature is reduced and the volume of water vapour must also be reduced.

When condensation occurs it will manifest on surfaces colder than the surrounding air temperature. We are all familiar with condensation on windows. In most circumstances windows are usually the coldest surface on an external wall. When condensation occurs on other surfaces in a room it is usually a good indication that that surface is colder than other surrounding surfaces that are unaffected.

Mould and mildew associated with condensation is not always going to appear. The mould occurs only because the conditions for it to exist are present, namely a food source and moisture source. Moisture is provided courtesy of the condensation process. Food can be any organic material, including cellulose in emulsion paints and oil on fingers transferring to a wall or ceiling surface.

Often people attempt to clear away mould with a cloth end up with worse mould staining as organic material from the cloth creates a further food source for the mould to establish. There are a multitude of mould and mildew removal products on the market. In cases of condensation it is better to resolve the cause rather than just treat the symptoms.

Surface temperature alone is an oversimplification of the problem. The warmer the air the greater the capacity of water vapour. However, the quantity of water in the air is not always at full capacity all of the time. If that were the case almost every window would have condensation. Therefore the volume of moisture in the air, or relative humidity, is critical to each situation where condensation may arise. Understanding the relationship between the air’s relative humidity and the temperature at which air can no longer carry that volume of water vapour (otherwise known as the dew point), is critical to determining how to resolve a condensation problem.

To deal with condensation a number of options are available. All of the options simply require a difference in the parameters that allow condensation to occur.

Firstly, you can increase the surface temperature above the dew point. This could mean increasing insulation levels, providing secondary glazing or double glazing or providing a source of heat such as trace heating, like that on our car heated rear windows.

Increasing room temperatures also allows the air to carry a greater volume of water vapour, which, providing the relative humidity does not also increase, can alter the dew point and prevent condensation forming. This can be a rather arbitrary approach and is unlikely to be economical in terms of heating bills.

Altering insulation levels of external walls and roof structures can create condensation problems. There are many examples where blocks of flats and houses have had cavity wall insulation fitted and condensation problems have begun to manifest elsewhere. Localised spotting condensation can also occur in such cases. Where insulation has been unevenly distributed and the resulting gaps in insulation cause differential surface temperatures internally. Interstitial condensation can also occur. This happens when the dew point occurs within the wall or ceiling structure. Interstitial condensation can be a real problem as it can saturate the internal structure of a building elemnet for a long period before a defect begins to manifest itself. This is a particular problem in timber framed housing, when the internal vapour barrier within the wall structure has been damaged or poorly installed.

Secondly, you can reduce the amount of humidity in the air. This means isolating water sources. This is easier said than done. The fact that a property is inhabited by eating, breathing mammals who evaporate, perspire and respire their way throughout the day makes it difficult to reduce the amount of water vapour in a property. People tend to want to eat, boil kettles, wash and dry clothes, stay clean, use the toilet, keep pets and generally undertake activities that require the use of water, a proportion of which ends up as vapour carried within the air.

Reducing our use of water may not always be practical. Managing the way we use water can be. For example opening trickle vents on windows or keeping high humidity environments such as bathrooms and kitchens well ventilated with regular air changes from external air will help reduce relative humidity. Keeping toilet seat lids in the closed position will also contribute to reducing humidity.

Thirdly, good ventilation is also key to reducing the liklihood of condensation occurring. Where air is kept moving there is less likelihood of water vapour within the air condensing on cold surfaces. This is why opening a window, even only partially, can radically reduce instances of condensation as the water is yurned back to vapour and is carried off by unsaturated air.

Leaving condensation to establish long term can cause a multitude of problems both to the building and the individual. Mould spores can not only look unsightly but can affect human health. Associated respiratory illness is well documented with mildew moulds.

Condensation in buildings can result in longer term damp problems allowing dry and wet rots to develop and damage timber elements. As well as this surface decorations can be damaged and goods and furnishings can also be affected. Often clothing and stored goods in humid properties can be ruined, as condensation forms in wardrobes and moulds establish. Very humid properties are particularly prone as humid high pressure air forces its way into less humid cooler areas. Often such losses are not covered by standard insurance policies.

If you want to read more about condensation the RICS have produced this guidance note. Further information is also provided by the ISVA which is available here.

If you have a condensation problem and would like some further investigation and advice from RMA Surveyors Ltd please contact us and we will be happy to assist.