I don't know why so much steel has to be introduced onto roofs these days, but they do, probably at the behest of 'Building Control'. Jobs for the boys, I always think. The Elizabethans could build timber framed houses that lasted, seemingly for ever without a hint of steel about except for the nails. All through the centuries thereafter steel was not used, until now. Now it seems that it is almost 'mandatory'. Stresses and strains have to be calculated by structural engineers, who (sorry structural engineers) no doubt add a bit on in case of their 'safty margin' and I suspect to 'appease' Building Control, who probably want even more. The result is that you have a structure that would probably take one of the Seven Bridge spans, but here it just supports a few hundred weight of timber and tiles...Anyway, the roof was sound, and my client should be able to build into it, subject to planning consent and, wait for it - Building Control...

That is THE Blairs (ex pm and all that), but not when I was there! I have just seen a two bedroomed flat in this 'acclaimed' office conversion, now purpose built into 50 plus self contained flats with 'secure' parking. The whole building is quite secure (possibley the reason why they bought into it in the first place), and largely in good condition throughout. I liked the layout, the size of the accommodation, it was light and bright and neatly fitted out. It has two lifts and underground secure parking. I liked it; so does my client, other wise she would not be buying it! Welldone!

I have designed a report for younger houses that I have called Houseproud! I felt that there was a need for such a report (otherwise why bother) for clients who are purchasing younger property, but who want a professional report on it. So it was armed with the skeleton report that I inspected an eleven year old house just around the corner from Tesco in Kelloway Avenue. The house was well built by the developers and had been welll maintained by the vendor who had lived there since new, having only expected to be there two or three years...

Been back to this Grade II listed terraced property just off Park Street (I went there in July), but not alot has altered ...

I was in Rudgeway today looking at a barn conversion. However, this barn was probably converted in the 1930's, judging by the brick surrounds to the door and window openings. The original may have dated back to the mid 1700's, or there abouts, but I could only guess by looking at the roofing timbers. It was 'ok-ish', but a bit dampish and I was a bit wary of the electrical wiring...

I looked at at late 1960's house to-day. It was in a quiet setting close to Westbury on Trym 'village', so close to everything one may want on a day to day basis. However what I didn't want to see was that the roof had 'slipped' out of possition, which I think is quite unusual, well unusual for me to see such a roof. The trussed rafters were well out oif vertical alignment and they had moved between the gable walls, so causing the verge tiles to tip in towards the roof. Oh well, I think it can be sorted out with a little bit of judicious strapping...

Just remembered that I had to go to a 'Property Conference' to-day, a very important day...I think I'm going to sleep...

I hate days like this as I have to get my car MoT'd. Fortunately she passed. I then went on to look at a small house close-by and locked my car keys in the boot. Not a good design from BMW and not a good idea to put the keys there in the first place. Roll on Tuesday...

I was somewhat surprised to find this 1960's built terraced house leaking in so many areas. Water was penetrating the roof in two places, and from the front and rear balconies, but lucky to have two I suppose. The house needs a good overhaul or modernisation, that is likely to include possible re-wiring, maybe a new boiler, certainly a new kitchen and new bathrooms, there are again two! And then re-decoration; the work just goes on and on. It is in an attractive tree lined road, but the noise form the local school could be a nuisance, God knows what the decibel level reached and then there are all those 4 x 4's dropping off in the morning and picking up later in the day. Peaceful in the evenings and at weekends - no doubt the time to do the work...

Something different today; I travelled to the former market town of Chippenham to complete a Schedule of Condition on some offices. They were at one time, 1680 or thereabouts according to the date plaque on the front elevation, a former coaching inn, according to old newspaper cuttings, that lost out, years ago, even before drink drive and non smoking has all but destroyed the pub trade. There is apparently a tunnel below the property that lead down to the river, but I could not find it. There is a lovely old roof above the garret (attic), useful for storage, but nothing else, three floors of offices and a basic cellar, not much use for anything, but with good headroom and a well. The property is in part timber framed and is a Grade II listed building, that has 'war' glass in some of the windows!

This basement flat was unusually dry, pleasantly laid out, though not quite meeting the Fire Officer's requirements, but otherwise largely in good condition. The roof was a bit of a 'pig's breakfast', and not really conforming to good conservation policies of a Grade II listed building. The trouble with all these converted flats, is that no one, repeat NO ONE from the Management Company seems ever to get to the roof even for a periodic inspection, so they don't know the half of it! Well, now my client will and he can kick the Management Company into action. He has found an attractive property with a parking space, yet only two minutes walk, if that from the centre of the 'village', and with a 'countryfied' feel to the small rear courtyard garden, but the price is a bit salty...

I had to look at three different properties today, in three different parts of the City; two were in flats and the other was a house, regretably a repossession. Here the previous owners had left it in better condition than many other houses that I see, so well done them, and hopefully all will work out well for them in the end. The others were flats, but it is difficult valuing any property in a declining market; it's not easy to get excited about values and no one is going to thank you for being over optimistic. It's all very serious.

I have just been asked to took at and advise on a previously tenanted house set directly behind St Mary Redcliffe, the fairest parish church in all of England, according to Queen Elizabeth I, who must have known of these things. Then, of course it is likely the church was surrounded by fields, because it was not until  George II's reign that some houses were built at the back of the church.  This house, or one of them had until recently been tenanted but it has not been desecrated or seriously damaged, it is now vacant and almost in it's original style, with very little missing.  It has a new clay pan tiled roof to keep out the rain and it has been adequately maintained by the present owners who are selling it at auction late this month. Just as I had expected...delightful!

Well that was the approach to the road where this well updated Grade ll listed flat was situated.  The owner had a dog and would I be there between such and such a time; I had to get the key from his (estate) agents - which I did.  He, and the dog were out, so I carried on.  When, eventually I went back in, he, in the nicest possible way, confronted me.  " I should have been there an hour ago, as he had take time off work etc etc...(don't go on!).  "I was" I said, "but the exterior was so large that I was dealing with that before getting inside" Hey- ho! there we go - fortunately he understood. Pleasant flat by the way, but a pity the collective owners don't look after the exterior as well as they could/should, as then I would not have been so long on the outside.

A couple of years ago I looked at a splendid flat in Canynge Square, splendid except that the roof leaked in at least seven places, a bit like a sieve!.  I reported this to my client.  The vendor, a very large man in the legal profession, very pompous too told the estate agents that his roof did not leak.  Knowing the size of the vendor I wrote back and said that the roof did leak and that as far as I was aware, I did not see the vendor in the roof space at the time, otherwise I might have shown him! It rained yesterday afternoon, and how, much like the day in Canynge Square, but the well constructed roof of, I admit a much younger house in Downend was as dry as the Gobi desert!

When these houses were HOUSES, they were MAGNIFICENT!  Today most of the houses in this Grade ll listed terrace have been split up into self contained flats.  The terrace was designed by Charles Underwood and built probably circa 1845 - 1853.  The exterior is terribly precise and meticulously detailed and of course, all of that remains.  So do the charming 'private gardens' in front.(Steady, starting to sound like an estate agent!)  Internally, however developers have divided the truly hansom first floor drawing room into an out of proportioned living room and a bedroom, but I could see an 'enterprising' individual removing the partition and restoring the room to it's former glory. (Keep a study area behind the sofas).  In the Victorian era, there were double doors, hidden behind hinged panels, that lead into the library, which could be closed off if one wished for privacy.  Today, whilst the doors and hinged panels remain, partially screwed closed, they now lead into a narrow kitchen, whilst the rest of the 'foreshortened' library has become the main bedroom; that's progress for you...

I looked at a quaint little cottage today just outside the 'village' of Westbury on Trym and opposite Henbury Golf Club.  It was once, reputed to be the gardener's abode to the grand Georgian house just up the road.  That house used to be a care home (I did the survey on it for the then purchaser), but subsequently it has become a nursery school.  This house started off as a one up, one down (gardener's)cottage that had a single storey extension built onto it many years ago and that is how it remained, I suspect for some while.  Then along came Mr. A.N.Other who built over the original side extension, built a two storey extension to the rear of the original dwelling and just for good measure also built another single extension at the front!  All was well and I think that my client's should be very happy there

I had to look at two very different, very nicely presented and well maintained properties to-day.  On was a bungalow built by Bovis in 1986 and occupied since then by the same owners and the other a chalet style semi, probably built by Wimpey, well it looked that way.  Each of the owners were after a 'second mortgage', but it is very difficult to value anything in a declining market, and these two dwellings were no exception...  Roll on next week!

Just seen a substantial house in a quiet road, so quiet that it's not surprising there's a relaxation centre there.  (I was up on the roof of a house in this road, a few years ago, June if I remember correctly, and a very hot sunny day.  I heard a lot of laughter and looked down onto some young people 'frolicking' around with not much on.  A 'quiet ' road it may be; quite distracting it certainly was!)  Anyway, it was raining today and I heard nothing. The house was sound, but I expect that my client will want to spruce it up a bit, but they have a reasonably good basis from which to start work.

No.11, can't say exactly where of course, was right next door to the first flat I shared with three other student surveyors, all those years ago. Five quid a week we each paid, for rent, rates, rent of a tv and food for five days - we all went home at week-ends.  Two of us became surveyors, one a teacher (those that can do, those that can't become teachers and those that can't teach become vicars was what my old man reckoned), but I don't know what happened to the forth bloke!  Anyway, apparently the house was still owned by the same Italian family who were there then (she used to gather snails from the garden for eating!).  Wasn't in desperately bad condition, but there's still a huge amount of work to do on it, but this can all be accomplished over a period of time.

I've just seen a very pleasant cottage built in a quarry, just off WLRd.(Whiteladies Road, for the foreigner) A renovated dwelling with a roof void conversion.  Unfortunately all of the original features have been lost when it was converted, but fortunately there was nothing intrinsically wrong with it. It did have clay pan tiles (the 'modern' interlocking variety) covering the roof and the windows, thank God were not that dreadful plastic. A quiet area, where many of the houses - cottages - are slightly more family (small family) orientated.

Actually that's a better name for the cottage than it's existing moniker!  A lovely detached quaintish cottage out in the countryside that started life as a two up and two down with a barn that's now a snug.  Someone later built over the snug/barn, probably a bathroom, because people were becoming more hygienic then, and lastly a two storey extension was built, bedroom one and an en-suite (very hygienic!) with a single storey side extension at the same time.  All in reasonable condition, the usual woodworm and a bit of damp but we don't worry about that, although there is an asbestos ceiling throughout the  bedrooms of the older cottage that'll need sorting out.

Next week also looks a bit interesting, but you will have to wait and see!

This was a really interesting project and although I was not to spend too much money on this report, some people are a bit mean, I found some friendly builders who temporarily swapped my 4m ladder for their triple extending ladders that enabled me to get onto the roof with reasonable safety. (Don't mention that to Health and Safety as they would have insisted on scaffolding!)  A fascinating house, a former C of E property, on which little had been spent, even one of the 'bedroom's' was a barn, but vicars are supposed to live in some sort of hardship aren't they, or is just that the excuse of the church? Anyway no real nasties, but few of the walls were particularly plumb, but you won't be if you get that old.  No dry rot, but death watch beetle by the lorry load and enough rising damp to float the SS Gt Brittan, though there were no real reasons not to proceed. A lot of work will be involved and a lot of work on it's history when the buyer gets bored with the renovations.

Well not much has changed at this development that won a Civic Award after it was built, since the last time I was there and the house, I am pleased to report was largely in good condition.  Nothing much more to say, but some (one) of the residents are all a bit 'difficult' and don't like cars parked 'out of place' because they  have trouble driving.  "Could you move it please, as I can't get into my garage" - through a space wide enough for a furniture van!- I wonder if they should be on the road - does the Management Company have special insurance?!

Boring, boring sat in the office to-day getting reports sorted out and in the post - has to be done!  Planning next week when I will be looking at a modernish house in Bristol part of a development that won a Civic Award back in the sixties (not many people know that), then a Victorian cottage in Wrington, a very pleasant area where lots of solicitors live, they know a good place when they see one, and than back into Bristol, hopefully to look at another detached house, I think, that has also been extended.  I wonder if it's the one that had no Building Regulation approval when it was built? Time will tell...

It's a bank holiday weekend, so I've got to go and mow my mother's lawn.  She has a motor mower, but still I've got to do it, something about being 96 or so she says...

This house has grown and grown, not over night, but over the years.  Originally a Victorian two up and  two down, or should that be two down and two up that was next extended to the front, probably in the Edwardian era.  Then along came this gent and doubled it's size and built a huge extension  to one side of it, but I'm pleased to say a neat finish has been achieved, even though it looks a bit like Southfork, from the back!  A quiet spot with a bit of land to keep a few chickens...

It hasn't fallen down over night, thank God!  There are out buildings all over the place, well it was a farm, but the vendor  thought that the garden store was a mess and she was right, but apparently the gardener knows where everything is!  This is going to make some family a very pleasant home, if it isn't already to the spiders!  Good luck!

Just what it says a very large Grade 2 Listed farmhouse - it rambles this way and that and then elsewhere and to boot there are rambling roses all over it, as well as jasmine, 'pernicious' ivy and other shrubs.  The roof is buckled and bowed and someone want to spend megabucks on it, but why when it does not leak?  This is a two day job, so I shall be back tomorrow - no point in staying and getting bored because I will only end up like the property and just ramble on!

Not a bad one bedroomed flat, an easy walk from WLRd, but oh dear - the kitchen roof has ivy growing out of it and the rear wall also has plants growing out of it, neither of which were planted by Alan Titchmarsh! Whatever next?

Well I'm pleased that week is over - what a bore - as I indicated earlier no one seems to be buying property at the moment, they've all gone on holiday and with this weather who can blame them! Still on for next week, a flat in a Victorian house in Clifton, a very large and rambling farm house in Somerset (a two day job), another large house in Chew Valley (but only one day) and a late Georgian, early Victorian listed terraced house in Cotham to end the week - GOOD - lets get back working!