Surveying tenementsDavid Gibbon MRICS MCABE

Accredited in Conservation by RICS

Director GLM Building Surveyors, Architects and Project Managers

Common Repairs – a Scotland-wide problem?

The Home Report a wasted opportunity for flats?

The reality

Dangerous buildings

• Appendix 1 – Equipment for inspections EQUIPMENT

• PPE (suitable clothing, gloves, boots, hat – caution protruding nails in attic sarking!)

• Mobile telephone

• Camera with zoom (digital)

• Binoculars

• Waterproof paper, clip board or note book, pencils

• Dictaphone or similar (Google docs app for mobile phones has a dictation facility direct to Word)

• Compass

• Hand held torch and a separate head torch, spare batteries for both

• Penknife with a good sharp blade

• Screwdrivers (large and small)

• A small ‘tap’ hammer

• Moisture meter (a simple type will do, but be aware results will only be a rough guide)

• Pitch-o-meter / inclinometer (there are a range of apps available for mobile phones)

• Plumb-bob

• Plastic bags for collecting and removing any rubbish

Appendix 2 – Procedural checklists for inspections SECTION 0 – General

• Number of properties in the block, and those flats that are tenanted

• Get a list of who will be in and who will not be at time of inspection

• Name and contact details of any keyholders

• Set up times for appointments to inspect interiors

• Always ring the doorbell before you try using the keys to a flat

• Get copies of any keys to locked access hatches

• Get notes of any intruder alarms and ask for them to be disabled

• Ask if any fixed or other ladders are installed

• Make an initial visit to establish access and safety issues before costing the work

• Highlight to owners any concerns you have arising from the first visit

• Discuss the need for contractor assistance

• Double-check equipment list before packing your bag and leaving the office

• Tell someone else (e.g. a trustworthy colleague or family member) where you are going and when you expect to return

• (Stick to that agreed plan, no matter what)

• Establish where North is and work out how you will describe features relative to a simple compass bearing

• If a ladder (including your own portable) is too short or otherwise inadequate do not attempt to use it, remember surfaces will be slippery after rain

• Prepare a sketch plan of each area you visit, and enumerate chimneys, roof lights, etc. Indicate the North point.

• Put on your PPE/protective clothing before you reach the attic ladder

• Ensure any valuables not on your person are securely locked away before you start(!)

• Work clockwise around each area (or if you prefer anticlockwise, but be consistent)

• If bad weather develops be prepared to abort the visit

• Insist to your Stair Representative/contact that they remain with you/on site throughout your visit (enter their mobile telephone number into your personal phone)

• Work methodically and with no undue haste, avoid being distracted by chatter from others

• Follow some form of pre-written checklist, but allow for flexibility

• On completion and return from attic/roofs call your colleague/family member immediately before you leave site to inform them you are safe

Technical stuff

Typical roof types

SlateTilesLeadBuilt-up feltCopperZincAsphaltSingle PlyLiquid applied membraneFibreglass

Slate roofs

• Slate types

• Single and double nailed

• Underslating membranes

• Nailing

• Laps

• Junctions

• Turrets

Headlaps in single nailed slatework

NFRC TB43 Scottish Slating Practice

Junctions

• Valleys

• Hips or piends

• Ridges

• Skews

• Eaves

• Pipes

• Rooflights

Skews

• Skew fillets

• Watergates or skew gutters – single piece, two piece & including timber roll

• Soakers and flashings

• Soakers and mortar fillets

• Overflashings

• Flashings – fixing in raggles

• Crowsteps

Flat roofs

• Technologies

• Life expectancy & failure mechanisms

• Upstands

• Ponding

• Vapour

• Outlets

Built up felt

Leadwork

• Design considerations

• Thickness

• Thermal movement

• Panel sizes

• Joints

• Snow

• Outlets

• Sacrificial flashings

Single Ply

Masonry

• Stonework

• Brickwork

• Lime

• Render/roughcast/harling

• Chimneys

• Parapets

• Balustrades

• Copes

Stonework

• Decay

• Movement

• Repairs

• Lintels

• Rybats

• Geological matching

Rainwater disposal

• Parapet gutters

• Eaves gutters (rhones) – cast iron, cast aluminium, extruded metal, plastic, steel, zinc, lead.

• Downpipes – cast iron, aluminium, plastic, zinc, lead

• Hoppers

Woodwork

• Windows

• Joinery repairs

• Seals

• Painting

• Doors