Artificial ground, also known as made land is an area which has been previously excavated (worked ground) and subsequently been partially or wholly back filled. Building on artificial land can be known to cause structural problems if built upon with…
A significant contribution to the character of the West Country including Dorset are the commonly seen cob walled buildings. The oldest example in Dorset of a cob house dates back to the 15th Century. Cob is a mixture of earth…
Settlement of buildings. All buildings move to some extent and for a variety of reasons. During and after the building construction, settlement (akin to movement) of the foundation structure is considered normal and acceptable to a certain extent – especially…
A flying freehold is when part one property either overhangs or lies beneath another property. There are a number of different types of flying freehold, such as: a semi-detached or terraced house where two neighbouring properties do not have a…
Wessex Surveyors recently carried out a Level 3 Building Survey of a three-storey, terraced, period property in the Bristol area. This property had a butterfly type roof, in which rather than being pitched and ridged like most properties, this roof…
Vapour control lining forms part of a buildings external main walling. Vapour control lining, or VCL for short, is a plastic layer that restricts the movement of warm, moist air from inside a property into the external main walls. VCLs prevent…
When carrying out a Level 3 Building Survey at a Listed thatched house in Chardstock our surveyor was concerned about the height of the chimney in relation to the thatch. The top of the chimney pot must be at least…
It is reported by Environet UK that legal claims against vendors over Japanese Knotweed have risen sharply over the last year, due in part to buyers and sellers rushing transactions to win stamp duty holiday savings. Environet UK says there…
In the next 20 years thatched roofs in rural England could disappear, Historic England warned recently. Traditional thatching material is a straw made from long-stemmed winter wheat grown in the UK but harvests in 2019 and 2020 were poor, creating…
Our surveyor was called out to look at a chimney on a house that is part of a row of old coastguard cottages in Dorset. The chimney was leaning which was causing concern to the owner but was it a…