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July 2019 – It is always pleasing to know that your services are appreciated and of value. During the past fortnight I have been employed on various fronts on behalf of a property developer, a prospective purchaser and a council tenant.

The property developer had three projects in the early stages of planning approval and wanted to establish the extent of issues that he could address during the conversion of former Offices / Commercial premises and in order to satisfy the warranty provider, for when the time comes to put the converted properties up for sale.

The prospective purchaser had been met with an intransigent Vendor who would not accept that a proposal from a remedial works contractor, was justifiable.

The council tenant had been left in a state of flux, following various escapes of water in her property, all of which had caused damage to the decor and consequential mould issues.

In life people are less inclined to proffer praise and more inclined to complain about a product or service therefore it was particularly pleasing to receive positive feedback from these customers:

‘ Many thanks for this excellent and thorough piece of work. John’.

‘  I just wanted to say thank you so so much for what you did! Your report was amazing, you’re very good at what you do!’

And another one! Today, (July 24th 2019), I received positive feedback from Clients that had taken ownership of their new home in early May only to find an area of dampness that had been missed by the Chartered Building Surveyor, when undertaking a Home Buyer’s report / survey. The issue was pretty severe and it was clear to me that there was something awry with either the plumbing or drainage system. Here’s a snippet of what they found and how an independent survey can be of benefit: ‘

‘ We enlisted the help of a builder to further investigate the issues with damp . After investigations under the floor and outside we found a large hole in the back of the drain. Running a hosepipe on this area we could actually see water coming into the corner of the house, next to the shower room. They dug it out and repaired it, to date we haven’t seen any further issues and are drying out with a dehumidifier. Though if course it has been very dry recently. 

We complained to …. and asked for compensation, which of course they refused. We then took our complaint to C.E.D.R. After following the process through we have been awarded 5k compensation. 

I would like to thank you for your report which was referenced by the adjudicator several times. It has allowed us to claim the compensation we feel was deserved and will cover the costs of any repairs. We really appreciate the time you took at our property to properly investigate the issues’.

To receive such feedback is very pleasing and reinforces my desire to maintain the highest level of customer service.

In choosing the theme for the home screen I’ve opted for an ‘outside of the box’ sea theme.

The analogy being that all looks tranquil and serene but there’s a lot going on under the surface: This can be compared with a sub-floor inspection where, on the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much to be concerned about but, below the floorboards there are a range of issues that are detrimental to the floor structure

I hope you find this site sufficiently informative to discern that I am a Surveyor in whom you can trust to provide a professional surveying service, expeditiously.

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It’s all about the basement.

This is a Local Authority owned building with a Basement structure that, historically, had been ‘tanked’ with a bituminous coating.

As is often the case mineral salts, which are carried ‘in solution’ have been trapped between the brick face and the bituminous coating and this has led to the spalling of the bricks and the coating is now peeling from the brickwork.

We were employed to provide a solution upon which competing contractors could provide a quotation on a like for like basis.

In this instance the options for treatment, bearing in mind the damage that the bituminous coating had caused, were limited and a, ‘Type C’ cavity drain membrane system was specified as this will provide a long term solution without, adversely, affecting the status quo of the structure.

This P.C.A. registered Surveyor:

In the world of pre purchase Homebuyers reports one is often faced, at an advanced stage of the house buying process, with an instruction from the money lending institution, to obtain a ‘damp and timber’ report from a P.C.A. registered contractor / surveyor.

Like many commentators, on various forums that I have read, I can understand the concerns of having a contractor to undertake such an inspection as they may, most likely, be the beneficiary of their findings. You may imagine that such findings may be interpreted, ‘kindly’, towards their services. On occasion defects that don’t pertain to rising dampness are either, ignored, or the Customer is referred to a general builder / roofer contractors for their opinion.

Please don’t believe all that you read. One misconception, that I feel I have to correct, is that one can attain a C.S.R.T. qualification following a three day training course. This is simply not the case. The exams are undertaken over a three day period however the P.C.A. stipulate that one must be suitably experienced prior to sitting the exam.

As an independent surveyor, with over 30 years’ experience inspecting all types of properties, I do not profess to be all seeing / all-knowing and I gain new experience on a daily basis. My job is a vocation and I am often asked to conduct a damp and timber inspection and, to me, this means a holistic inspection of all aspects of a property, from the roof to the ground. Whilst I am not a Chartered Building Surveyor, I am often referred to by such and the best analogy that I can provide is to liken a Chartered Surveyor with a G.P. The Chartered Surveyor conducts a ‘medical’ on the property and then refers you to the relevant specialist / consultant whose job is to throw more light on the subject.

With the foregoing in mind I will usually provide my clients with an overall assessment of all things related to dampness and decay.

Of course, if I am asked to inspect an isolated issue I will do just that however it is fair to state that, in order to get to the nub of the issue, I endeavour to go as far as is reasonably practical to be confident in my findings in order that I can recommend an appropriate solution.

 

John Goble. CSRT – CSSW

It’s all about me!

 Who, in 1978, would have thought that I would have made my way in life as a surveyor specialising in dampness and decay in buildings? I certainly wouldn’t and it was by a quirk of fate that it happened at all!

Having wasted over five years of my, (I should also admit), and my employer’s time on an apprenticeship this cheeky young man found himself working, for a friend as a Plasterer’s Labourer. When the same friend informed me that he was packing in the plastering trade I found myself redundant and not really knowing what I was going to do. My friend had been offered a role as a cavity wall insulation installer, along with A.N. Other who, as luck would have it, didn’t show up for the job. My friend, when asked if he knew anyone who may be up to the job, gave my name and 1 week later I was interviewed, whilst being driven in a car from Salisbury to Wimborne, by the Service Manager of Rentokil’s cavity insulation division. Five years, and two promotions later, I was offered the opportunity to train as a ‘damp & timber’ surveyor and, as they say, the rest is history.

Fortunately all of this came at a time when, finally, I was maturing, and had met the future Mrs Goble; I was also open to learning new things and the foundation with which I was provided, by Rentokil, has stood me in good stead all these years later.

During this time the way in which this service sector has operated, in terms of the way in which we apply remediation treatments, has changed enormously although it’s important to recognise that one has to have the right business morals and ethics and want to provide a professional service; I have found, as an independent surveyor, I can look at any given situation with an open mind, not blinkered by the need to earn commission or the like.

We all have a role to play in this life and I am very well aware that I am an out and out service provider and, I like to think, a good one at that! If your needs are that you require an unbiased inspection, undertaken by an experienced individual, you will not go far wrong; I have testimonials too!

Well, what a surprise this was!

 

The homeowner has been in residence for a few years and employed our services to undertake an inspection to determine the cause of dampness within some of the ground floor rooms.

 

Having established the cause, (damp concrete oversite and the absence of a damp proof course), our inspection led us to undertake sub floor inspections in each of the ground floor rooms.

 

To our, and the homeowner’ , surprise we found a disused well within the sub floor void beneath the Sitting Room floor!

 

At the time of writing I believe the homeowner is contemplating making a feature of it and this, together with the fact that we were able to propose a resolution to the damp issues, means that ‘All’s well that ends well’. (I’ll get my hat and coat).  

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton