Today I have been travelling again, this time to Bath where I have just seen a small but very typical Artisan terraced property. It was also a grade II listed building where there were a couple of breaches but I don't suppose the Conservation Officer will notice the concrete tiles on the roof which really should have been clay. By today's standards the walls are thin, only about 150mm in thickness but despite this fact, the house was reasonably dry because many of the walls have been dry lined. Of course, being in Bath I had trouble with the access hatch onto the roof because Bob the builder cut it too small, I had difficulty with another hatch which was hinged and had to be propped open and the third hatch was so small as to be no use at all. Peter the plumber had placed the header tank so no one could get behind it and by the time I'd finished in the roof I was somewhat exasperated; I was losing the will to live! Never mind, it wasn't a bad day, the house was delightful, nicely laid out and in Bath, where parking can be a serious problem, it had space for two or even three vehicles. It is a quiet location and I'm very pleased for my Client, who I hope likes Listed Buildings ...   more »

Well, you may as well know the name of the house I have been to see today, but “I ain't going to tell you where it be!” It was a substantial property, a grade II listed building of architectural and historical importance that was probably built just after the Georgian period, because it's roof is covered with slates from Wales and there was no way of getting slates to the area (I nearly said where was !) before 1845, the advent of steam. Of course, it could have been built earlier and had a clay tiled roof and was then recovered at a later date with slates, but I think not. It is a property that has been renovated to a fairly good standard, it is light and bright and spacious, but having said that it's not particularly ‘roomy’. I am pleased to say however that I founded largely in good condition and free from major defect. There are some issues; tell me when there aren't, but I see none of these as being off-putting to my Client's purchase. I'm not too certain, strangely as yet from where he is moving, but I think he's found a very pleasant house in a convenient location somewhere in the South West ...   more »

I have just been to see a very large purpose-built block of flats in north west Bristol that were built about 30 years ago. The building in general and the flat in particular were each in fairly good condition. Having made that point, there is some evidence of movement in the building but this is being monitored by the Management Company, because they know about it, as over one of the cracks there is a tell-tale. Cracking of the brickwork is not extensive and, as noted the Management Company are aware of it. The flat itself is in need of a certain amount of updating but all of this is very much of a superficial nature. I met the chairman who indicated that many of the residents had been there since it was built and that there are only two requirements to live here and that one is that owners need to be over 70 and they like playing bridge! Whether or not my clients meet this requirement I have no idea but if they don't, then in time I'm sure they will. And what a pleasant place in which to live, peaceful and quite with just the rattle of playing cards running through the building…   more »

Well, hopefully the primroses will shortly be out but I didn't see any around this house that I saw today, a house that is reasonably new, and was completed just about six months ago. All in all it was a very pleasant house but, I think I might have shot the architect, because he didn't think particularly well about the layout of the house and some of the finishes. There was nothing wrong with the finishes, it's just the way they were finished. There's nothing wrong with the layout, it's just the way it is laid out and fancy fitting a Velux skylight to a small bedroom and not in the adjacent ensuite bathroom. Why? Because they've already fitted a large solar panel over this area. Something about up there for thinking and down there for dancing, so hopefully the primroses will shortly come out ...   more »

They say that two into one won't go; they are not always right. Today I saw a one bedroomed flat that had been converted into a two bedroomed flat. The original kitchen had been converted into a bedroom whilst the living room has been neatly divided to form a smaller living room with a kitchen area having a glazed screen with Venetian blinds to hide any mess should my Clients make any mess preparing their meals, but I doubt that'll be the case. The flat was light and bright and all principal rooms had natural light and ventilation including the bathroom though not the ensuite shower room. Parking can be a bit of a nightmare, but tell me where isn’t in Bristol and I think that, on the whole my Clients have found a reasonably pleasant home with full double glazing, insulated walls, insulated ceilings and good-quality fitments, so they can move in, prepare that evening meal and hide that mess should they make any with Venetian blinds ...   more »

I don't know whether it was Kenneth Williams or The Worzels, who many years ago sang about the attributes of Nempnett Thrubewell, which is where I have been today. Sat Nav took me along narrow potholed lanes full of water, streams of water running down them. Nevertheless when I got to my appointment, although it was cold it was clear and a bright day which allowed me to look carefully at this Somerset farmhouse that was probably built circa 1725, or may be slightly later, 1750, which had in part most of its original roof. Many years ago a barn had been added to one side but this was amalgamated into the main residence and in place of cattle at ground level I found a very pleasant drawing room. To the rear was a two-storey extension housing a kitchen and two bathrooms above. It was a delightful house in a delightful situation with a very pleasant open aspect towards Compton Martin, which may be where you will find the Somerset Nog   more »

I have just been to a delightful village in South Gloucestershire where there is a courthouse and a ‘Tolzey’, another type of court to keep the villagers in check. (Actually I think it's been turned into a public convenience which is a bit of a come down). There are also three public houses in the village though one of them is for sale and I suspect in due course it will be lost. The village has its own stores, a butcher and I suspect baker may be hidden away somewhere, and course, there was the ever present estate agent. Today I was at a quiet 19th-century cottage that had been extended this way and that, on three sides but it was still a relatively small cottage full of nooks and crannies but largely in good condition. It was in a quiet location just away from the village and with a very good-sized garden. I rather liked it, but to me it's a shame it is just too far out of Bristol though I suspect it will be just right for my lucky Client, who can sit in peace and tranquillity and muse the benefits of the countryside ...   more »

I had thought that they had given up building hovels; that went out in the 19th century and here we are in the 21st. The house I saw today was a hovel, a large back to back, or should that be a semi-detached 10-year-old hovel. Actually the house itself wasn't half bad but, the tenants clearly had not studied a domestic science at school nor had they learned how to look after a house. They had used and abused it; they did not care about it, lights did not work a bath was full of water because the plug was stuck and of course there was a mess everywhere. The flat roof over the bay window looked like an ashtray! Heating was a full on; the dwelling was like being in a sauna and because windows aren't opened condensation thrives. The house itself was different, in a reasonably useful location and of interesting design; I liked it, but that was all. Still, remove the tenants, clean the house, and make good superficial repairs and re-decorate it, internally as well as externally, and then you have a pleasant modern show home of which you can be proud…   more »