Although it was getting warmer, about 5°C, almost T-shirt weather, I was today mostly in my office with short jaunts outside to revisit some properties I had seen about a year ago, in order to make an annual revaluation for tax purposes. Strangely I had another request for a similar valuation for the taxman, so that my Client can claim tax relief on mortgage for that part property which is currently let; that seems fair enough. I also received a request for a mortgage valuation of an investment property that another of my Clients is hoping to purchase. Whenever I carry out a mortgage valuation I insist on a proper report for my Client, so that they know exactly what they are purchasing and more particularly so I know exactly what I'm valuing. I do not want my Client to purchase a property with a defective roof just because I haven't had time to look at it properly by whizzing in and whizzing out for a mortgage valuation; someone else can do that, but it ain't going to be me…   more »

If I had to live in a house with some broken windows and no heating I think I’d be very cross indeed. Fortunately today I knew where I was going and was able to take with me a flask of soup, plenty of clothing and hand warmers which kept me going whilst I look at this farmhouse in Gloucestershire. It is a delightful property to look at, but one which has been occupied for many, many years by tenants who have done little if anything to it. At some stage the main roof has been recovered but, regrettably the parapet gutter and possibly lower front roof slope is leaking; ice is forming inside the house. Main walls show relatively little evidence of settlement or movement but some damp penetration, quite a lot of damp perpetration is evident in one way or another. My guess is that most if not all of the windows are all going to need replacing and that alone is going to cost tidy sum. I suspect that active death watch beetle will be found in the house where woodworm is also rampant, from rafters in the top floor bedroom down to the ground floor joists; some of the panelling is riddled with woodworm and I suspect that this is one house where everything has been eaten away. You can see from this brief resume there is quite a lot of work to do even before one then considesr the rewiring that is necessary, the new central heating system, dealing with the defective parapet gutter is and decay to lintels, new bathrooms, a new kitchen and redecoration; this list could go on and on but I haven't got any more space. It was so cold in that house even the water in the base of the bathroom WC had frozen; you could call it brass monkey weather…   more »

It was -4°C when I got to the property I was inspecting today, but fortunately there was no snow as such on the roof so I could see it, even though I was not able to get onto it, as I would have dearly have liked to have done (though perhaps not today). There was a skylight out of which I could have got onto the parapet gutter, but unfortunately the skylight did not open; it was of corrugated semi-opaque plastic sheeting screwed in place from the outside. I had to satisfy myself looking at the chimney stacks and main roof from ground level but at least I was able to walk around and keep ‘relatively’ warm. The house itself has been occupied by the same family for the past 50 or so years. A 500 kg bomb exploded during enemy action of the last war in the road directly behind the house, but fortunately I could see little evidence of any significant settlement or movement and nothing here which I regard as recent. Apparently a builder had found wet rot or dry rot in one of the roof spaces, but all the roof spaces were securely screwed shut and I had to undo them all, and break the paint seal to get into the roof spaces, so I'm not sure where Bob, the builder found this decay. The building society valuer alluded to woodworm, but I didn't see it and even if it was found, if it was not active why treat it; so I'm not particularly worried about that. The house does need total renovation and improvement and this will extend to new heating system, throughout, probably rewiring throughout, probably a new kitchen, probably a new bathroom, most certainly a new cloakroom (and a door) and redecoration. The nice thing about this property is that my Client has a flair for design and I might just ask to go back in a few years time to see the finished result. When I finished the temperature had risen to-2°C, so I was getting quite warm in the end…   more »

As I looked out this morning I saw the snow had arrived. I was due to be looking at a house in Redland, where I know I could have got onto the roof, but I don't get onto roofs in the snow; it's a very easy way to fall off. I phoned my Client and advised them and have made new arrangements to inspect in the early part of next week so I shall get my report to them quickly after that. Of course, I was able to spend at the time judiciously preparing a report for another Client which did not require me to leave my house, because my computer there is linked in with my computer here (where I am now, although of course I could be there!) I went into the office later in the day and I have to say was very surprised to see such a lack of snow on the ground or on roofs, so I could probably have done what I wanted to do in the first place, but…   more »

Today I was looking at an interesting house in a quiet cul-de-sac within probably just over a quarter of a mile from Clifton ‘village’. It was cold as you are probably aware, colder than I would have liked because the central heating boiler did not come on when requested, and further I found ice on the surface of the header tank in the roof space. That aside the house has been neatly renovated to the extent that an original window on the rear elevation, directly below the centre valley gutter outlet has been removed and the opening blocked, and a new window introduced to one side of it, so giving a better layout at first floor level. The roof and chimney stacks were in fairly good condition but, I obtained a smidgen of moisture beneath the centre valley gutter which is probably leaking though, may be, maybe it is due to condensation. That aside, the house was reasonably dry and I quite liked its slightly sombre, slightly quirky, but not to quirky layout. It was certainly a quiet and convenient location. The thorny problem; there is nowhere to park the wretched car…   more »

Was an American born of Irish parents in 1738 and lived in Boston. He was an artist and painted important figures in colonial New England. His son was Lord Lyndhurst, but as yet I have to discover how he became so appointed although I believe he might have been Lord Chancellor; certainly roads were named after him which is where I was today. The house I saw was a very traditional 1930s semi-detached property largely in good condition. Like many of these types of houses, the roof had been converted. It wasn't really a conversion in the true sense of the word; it was really a floored out roof area with a plasterboard ceiling and walls that was approached by folding wooden ladders (that were broken). It was used for habitable combination, which frankly is madness because if a fire did occur, that occupant would be trapped there, and that would not make a pretty picture, whoever painted it…   more »

Today I have been in North East Bristol looking at a 1930s style bungalow that has been extended this way and that; it's a bit like Topsy; its grown and grown and grown from its original two bedroomed accommodation. (Topsy was a girl in Uncle Tom's Cabin who, as far she knew just grew). It was built out on one side then the other, and then added to the first side, then back to the other side and extending it to the rear. A conservatory was ultimately built and it now boasts a pleasant family home with all the accoutrements one would like to see and possibly even more. It was very cold today, I don't need to tell you that, there was a biting wind up on that roof but the chimney stack and roof were largely in good condition as were the gutters and downpipes. Main walls, be they solid or of cavity wall construction were in reasonably good condition although there is some evidence of modest movement to one elevation, but I'm not going to get too excited about that. Windows and doors have been replaced with UPVC so there's no rot there and internally the house is light and bright and spacious. It is all largely in good condition and despite growing in the past, I have a feeling it get to grow some more, so I'm not quite sure how Topsy is going to end up, other than bigger…   more »