Building Defects

Question 1

How do you look for defects?

Answer 1

Start from the roof and work your way down

Question 2

What is an inherent defect?

Answer 2

A defect in the design or the material which has always been there

Question 3

What is a latent defect?

Answer 3

A fault to the property which could not have been discovered through a reasonably thorough inspection

Question 4

What is the purpose of snagging?

Answer 4

• Check the newly built property to identify defects in the build
• Enables you to highlight them to the developer to allow them to fix the issues

Question 5

What did you do to identify any building defects?

Answer 5

1. Take photos of the defect
2. Try to establish the cause of damage whilst on site
3. Inform your client of your investigations
4. Recommend specialist advice from a building surveyor or in the case of movement, a structural engineer

Question 6

What are the three common causes of defects?

Answer 6

• Movement
• Water
• Defective or deterioration of building materials

Question 7

What is subsidence?

Answer 7

The vertical downward movement of a building foundation caused by the loss of support of the site beneath the foundation. This could be as a result of changes in the underlying ground conditions

Question 8

What does heave mean?

Answer 8

The expansion of the ground beneath part or all of a building – this could be caused by a tree removal and the subsequent moisture build up in the soil.

Question 9

What are the common causes of cracks in a property?

Answer 9

• Subsidence
• Heave
• Cavity wall tie failure (indicated by horizontal cracking in brickwork)
• Shrinkage cracking (often occurs in new plasterwork during the drying out process
• Settlement cracks
• Thermal expansion / movement

Question 10

What may horizontal cracking indicate?

Answer 10

May indicate cavity wall tie failure

Question 11

What may shrinkage cracking in a building indicate?

Answer 11

New plasterwork – in the drying out phase

Question 12

What is wet rot? What are the signs of wet rot?

Answer 12

Caused by damp and timber decay

Signs include wet and soft timber, a high damp meter reading, visible fungal growth and a musty smell

Question 13

What is dry rot and what is it caused by?

Answer 13

Caused by a fungal attack

Signs include mushrooms, spores, cracking paintwork and crumbling of dry timber – can destroy and masonry

Question 14

What is rising damp?

Answer 14

Comes from ground and travels up through the brickwork – generally stops at 1.5m above ground

Question 15

What can condensation be caused by? What are the signs of condensation?

Answer 15

Caused by lack of ventilation and background heating

Signs include mould and streaming water on the inside of windows / walls

Question 16

What are the causes of damp?

Answer 16

• Wet rot
• Dry rot
• Rising damp
• Condensation
• Leaking plumbing / air condition units / pipework

Question 17

What are the common building defects with period resi/office/retail properties?

Answer 17

• Dry rot
• Wet rot
• Tile slippage on the roof
• Death watch beetle
• Damp penetration at roof and ground floor level
• Water ingress around door and window openings
• Structural movement / settlement
• Regent Street disease - water penetrates the building and rusts the steel frame. Can damage the masonry attached to the outside e.g. Portland stone, terracotta or brick

Question 18

What are the common building defects associated with modern industrial buildings?

Answer 18

• Roof leaks around roof lights
• Damaged cladding panels
• Cut edge corrosion
• Blocked valley gutters
• Water damage from poor guttering or burst pipes
• Settlement / cracking in brickwork panels

Question 19

What are the common building defects with modern office buildings?

Answer 19

• Damp penetration at roof and ground floor level
• Water damage from burst pipes or air conditioning units
• Structural movement
• Damaged cladding
• Cavity wall tie failure
• Efflorescence
• Poor mortar joints in brickwork