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By admin, on March 20th, 2012
We often come across damp issues which occur only after building alterations have been done.
Here are some common causes for damp that we have found in some of our inspections.
- When changes are made to a building the Damp Proof Course (often abbreviated to DPC – a horizontal barrier in a wall designed to resist moisture rising) is sometimes damaged resulting in rising damp.
 DPC being installed – (The house’s walls are built on top of this)
- Lateral damp occurs when an addition is made to the house where the new floor level is higher than the existing one. (see diagram)
 Cause of lateral damp - differing floor levels Read more... (184 words, 3 images, estimated 44 secs reading time)
By admin, on October 27th, 2011
The CPA is on my side… Right?
Warming hearts across South Africa, the new Consumer Protection Act (CPA) seeks to protect the consumer from being taken advantage of in business transactions. Break a vase in-store? It’s no longer your problem. Your new DVD player doesn’t work? Take it back to the seller and decide whether you want to have it repaired or replaced. It seems that, in a few easy steps, the CPA has made sure that consumer purchases are no longer a nightmare of fine print. However, few consumers know that the CPA is not a blanket Act – it doesn’t cover you simply because you are a consumer. The CPA only applies to the consumer buying from a supplier (someone who sells goods/services in the course of their daily business). Buying a piece of furniture from your next door neighbour? You’re not covered by the CPA as this is a consumer-to-consumer transaction. Read more... (634 words, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)
By admin, on November 26th, 2010
From: Property At iAfrica.com
To avoid future disappointment, buyers should consider a home inspection before signing on the dotted line…
Few property buyers are structural, electrical or construction engineers, which means that most people looking at properties for sale would be unable to spot serious structural problems or other common defects such as damp or water damage during an informal walk through.
Defects are generally classified as patent or latent defects. Patent defects are clearly visible to anyone inspecting the property. For example, a leaking roof would be evidenced by water damage to the ceilings and walls. Latent defects are not obvious during an inspection (e.g. a faulty plumbing system). Read more... (545 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)
By admin, on November 25th, 2010
Mrs and Mrs Dreyer had a brand new multi storey home built in Cotswold Downs estate in Hillcrest. During the build process they realized that the builder was not building according to good building practice. The Dreyers noticed that the house was not been built according to how they had visualized it. The architect who had designed the home was supposedly supervising the build but he erred as the house had many design flaws visible to the owners. Read more... (351 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)
By admin, on November 16th, 2010
 A Mrs Viljoen from Fourways in Johannesburg, recently widowed with two young children, purchased a house and could not understand why the roof was sagging.
She called in Inspect-A-Home and after a thorough examination we found that the house had been severely damaged in a fire and the roof trusses badly burnt. The previous owner had used Acroprops inside the roof cavity to hold up the rafters and the roof was in imminent danger of collapse.
Fortunately our in-depth survey was of great assistance and the previous owners were forced to completely renovate the roof, costing them nearly R200 000. Read more... (112 words, 1 image, estimated 27 secs reading time)
By admin, on November 15th, 2010
Recently we inspected a house in Westville where the roof cavity had over 30 paint tins and old buckets all collecting water from the roof leaking badly.
The owner had thrown sawdust 50mm thick over the entire ceiling to catch all the splashing. When I enquired about all the paint tins and sawdust in the roof, he told me that although he had been there for 30 years he had no idea how the paint tins and buckets had got up there.
My reply was I found it very hard to believe as one of the paint tins had a batch code of 2009 and was the same colour as his passage. Read more... (146 words, estimated 35 secs reading time)
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