Case Studies

This was a full building survey of a beautiful and very interesting country farmhouse. Set on a steeply sloping site, the original farmhouse (probably late Victorian) was quite simple in footprint and set over 4 storeys.

[1]. The original building, however, had been massively extended to the rear, pushing the whole of the footprint out by the width of a new room on both lower ground and ground floor storeys and with a huge catslide roof connecting to the original roof and incorporating a new triple bay dormer.

[2]. A second substantial extension provided a new single storey reception room at lower ground floor level, built in green oak and with a fully vaulted ceiling. The internal accommodation was plentiful, extensive and interesting but with some compromise on room sizes and flow.

[3]. The vast amount of external timber cladding and eaves timber would need regular routine maintenance, with some catch-up urgently required to replace rotten timber.

[4]. Subsidence was discovered under the latest extension [2], most likely as a result of tree root activity in the clay soil undermining the new foundations. Tree reduction would be necessary to stabilise any further movement and further invasive investigation was recommended in order to inform remedial work.

[5]. Further signs of building movement were identified including lintel failure in the original building, with brickwork repairs already having been made.

[6]. There would inevitably be some damp issues to manage due to the external tanking details of the original lower ground floor retaining wall built into the bank.

In summary, this was certainly an attractive house but the buyer would need to tackle some initial urgent issues and then maintain a positive attitude towards ongoing routine and not insubstantial maintenance moving forward.