Hooray!

[xanthe]

We have FINALLY managed to exchange on our properties after nearly 7 months - I never want to hear the words 'Conveyancing Solicitor' ever again.

So, we move into the new project in 5 weeks time. Removal company don't arrive till the next day as I have a crime-scene clean-up team coming in to de-catify the place, so I have a whole afternoon to photograph the property with nothing in it.

When other people moved into their new projects/homes, if you didn't have urgent and obvious work to do -like repairing holes in roof etc, what areas were essentials to check out and rectify as soon as possible?

I'm thinking that checking gutters, electrics and plumbing should be high on the list, but never having owned a freehold property before, there are probably things I haven't even thought about. Any advice or suggestions?

 

[Keith Bowman]

Check for security - make sure the doors and windows lock properly. Nothing like a removal van for attracting the attention of those of a burglarious bent!

 

[Zebra]

Hooray! Check for ghosts, and snakes.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

and Giraffes

 

[agbagb]

Distance both too and from the nearest pub?

But a serious consideration is getting any gas pipes / appliances checked out especially if these are older instals
Our Whitby cottage had leaks and seriously unsafe flues.

 

[Keithj]

... and chimneys if you're thinking of having fires. Sweep 'em annually.

A barn conversion over the road from us lost a large area of roof and most of an end wall through a chimney fire last week.

 

[a twig]

Electrics, doors & windows, gas and chimneys were the first things for us.

Also took some battery powered smoke/heat detectors as we had no idea of the condition of any existing ones.

 

[Flyfisher]

... and chimneys if you're thinking of having fires. Sweep 'em annually.

A barn conversion over the road from us lost a large area of roof and most of an end wall through a chimney fire last week.

We had a chimney swept last year and the chap gave me a certificate (he was Hetas registered), which surprised me somewhat as I'd never been given one before .

When I asked him about it, he told me that insurers were becoming far stricter regarding chimney fires and the first thing they will ask for in the event of a claim is proof of when the chimney was last swept.

 

[Penners]

Conveyancing Solicitor!

Sorry....

There's lots of good advice in the above posts about what to check and do a soon as possible after you've moved in. However, here's my suggestion about what not to do.

In a new home, it's very tempting to make immediate plans about changing this, moving that, modifying the layout... and so on. I suggest you don't succumb to this temptation. By far the best plan (in my view) is to live in the house for a good number of months in order to find out exactly how you use the building, what you like about it and what you don't. Once you've established your pattern of living there, then you can start planning any changes* which you feel will improve your use of the house.

And there's one more thing that you must do as soon as possible after you've moved in - post some photos here!

I hope you'll be very happy in your first freehold home.

* Is it listed? If so, don't forget LBC.

 

[xanthe]

Thank you all!

Security is a good one - we have leaded windows which aren't the most burglar proof - and the insurers have already asked us to check window/door locks. The property is in a location which makes it much less likely to be a target, but better safe than sorry.

Chimney - there is a woodburning stove that was installed in 2011 and was last swept in Nov 2013. The vendors supplied all the details of what was installed. The chimney does need partially rebuilding at the top. Surveyor mentioned HETA, and I think the guy that last swept it was registered - there was a certificate. Is there a set time on sweeping - annual, bi-annual?

Gas - there is a combi boiler but its 15 years old and on it's last legs. Apparently was tested recently but I haven't seen the certificate. I'm going to get some carbon monoxide detectors I think.

Electrics - is going to be a HUGE job and I know that they were last overhauled about 10 years ago (and only partially).

Zebra - not sure I want a ghost, but I keep pythons so snake will be moving in the day before we do!

Penners - we're Grade II Listed. Everything else in the road is Grade I or II* and it's a conservation areas so we are well and truly on the CO's radar. I had him out to look round with me the week after the surveyor - thought it was a good idea to suss him out BEFORE buying the house as we are likely to be seeing a lot of him!

I think we are going to spend the rest of the year living with it before planning major works. The surveyors report was gloomy and long and we know that new roof, new pointing and rebuilding some of the brick infill panels are in our future but don't want to rush in. Gutters are a possible 'fix asap' but the roof is probably okay for another year at least.

The only tasks I do have lined up for this year are to remove all the cement pointing in the cellar as it's causing the faces of the dressed Wealden sandstone blocks to spall.

On the outside, the pointing is also cement but the mortar underneath is lime. A lot of the pointing is almost falling off on its own, but is it a better idea to have the lime mortar and no pointing for now or leave the cement in place? Repointing is high on our list of jobs but we may wait till we do the roof and chimney and only have one load of scaffolding so the mortar could be open to the elements for a year or so. Walls are North and West facing but very protected - most of the North wall has no pointing left at all except round the panel edges up against the timbers.

Will do lots of pictures when we move in

 

[jackpoint]

Congratulations!.
My advice is wine. Plenty of wine

 

[MatthewC]

This reply is better late than never!

I would check the surrounds of the house to see if the ground level is too high. It needs to be at least 6" below floor level, so get digging! If you are waiting a year before doing any major works then that will help the walls dry out if they are damp. Also, check that vents for underfloor ventilation are clear - I only had one and thought I was very careful to make sure it was clear, then when I lifted the floor I found a huge wedge of concrete blocking it! Adding more vents in floorboards if you only have one is also an option for you. NB If the ground level is the same height as a wooden suspended floor then that floor could well require major work due to rot.

As for pointing, I personally would say that you are better off without any cement pointing and leave the lime open to atmosphere. If you prise off a loose piece of cement you often find it damp behind, which is bad for the wall, so I would be removing small areas of cement whenever I wanted to fill half an hour! If the missing pointing is very deep then I would suggest filling the hole up to a depth of about 1.5 to 2cm. Then you can point it later when you do the rest. (I could get my hand inside the wall in two places due to erosion from years of rainwater flowing down the wall from blocked/broken downpipes.)

That reminds me: make sure your drains and downpipes are operating OK - you might find it useful to stand outside when it next pours down and have a good check of all the RWG. Anywhere that rain water is flowing where it shouldn't needs priority attention.

Matthew

 

[Penners]

Penners - we're Grade II Listed. Everything else in the road is Grade I or II* and it's a conservation areas so we are well and truly on the CO's radar. I had him out to look round with me the week after the surveyor - thought it was a good idea to suss him out BEFORE buying the house as we are likely to be seeing a lot of him!

Chocolate cake - always have lots of gooey chocolate cake available whenever he calls. It may not officially be classified as a lubricant, but Mrs P used to find that it can oil a lot of wheels! :wink:

 

[Zebra]

I keep pythons so snake will be moving in the day before we do!

[shudder...]
But.... the day before? Why? Are you hoping it will sort out any mice, get the place tidy, and be there to open the door for you when you move in?
If you find any giraffes, send them over here..... :wink:

 

[Greg.Hobson]

Chimney sweeping is a movable feast - if you have a stove, burn wood and use it every day to heat the house, get it swept very 3 months of use. If it's primarily decorative and really only used to impress guests, sweep it every year, mainly to get the nests out! Anywhere between, including the use of different fuels, is up to you whilst always erring on the side of caution.

 

[Penners]

if you have a stove, burn wood and use it every day to heat the house, get it swept very 3 months of use.

Eh? We use our woodburner every evening for about 4-5 hours from about November to March. We call in our HETAS sweep every year during the summer and he has never commented that we should have the flue swept more often.

 

[xanthe]

I would check the surrounds of the house to see if the ground level is too high. It needs to be at least 6" below floor level, so get digging! If you are waiting a year before doing any major works then that will help the walls dry out if they are damp. Also, check that vents for underfloor ventilation are clear - I only had one and thought I was very careful to make sure it was clear, then when I lifted the floor I found a huge wedge of concrete blocking it! Adding more vents in floorboards if you only have one is also an option for you. NB If the ground level is the same height as a wooden suspended floor then that floor could well require major work due to rot.

We are truly in a nightmare with this one...

The ground floor is a good 6" below ground level. There is a big cellar underneath and the floorboards are the cellar ceiling so ventilation is not an issue (a lot of other rooms in the house also have floorboard ceilings).

Although the timber posts are missing from the front and gable walls on the ground floor (still there on the back and attached side walls) it looks like the soleplates are still there on most of the walls. I need to have a proper poke around when we move in and see exactly what is going on.

It seems odd that the sole plates are still there given the amount of water they must have been subjected to. Looking at old postcards, the ground level has been the same for at least 100+ years. I have read that some wood can do well if it is kept permanently wet - I suppose that this is a possibility. The timbers are whacking great things (house dates to about 1580).

The current owners had an injected DPC done - it's about 3" above ground level on the front wall :roll: , and they replastered inside with modern plaster. So that will all need to come off at that point. Other than being a bit damp down in the cellar, the house has no other signs at all, but is fantastically well ventilated (bbrrrrrr). None of the floorboards show any signs of rot and there were no damp readings with the dinky prong meter thing the surveyor had. I did use a chap who is a specialist in timber-framed buildings of that particular area and he definitely err'ed on the side of gloom and doom in all 135 pages - I also went round the property with him during the survey.

We weren't able to get up close to the sole-plates from the cellar due to furniture, boxes etc, but I'm going to try and stick a knife or something in one and see what's going on :shock:

Unfortunately digging down outside is nigh on impossible. The front door opens straight onto a small street. There is a brick on earth pavement for the first 2 feet and then a dirt/tarmac bit in the centre of the road. If we dug down, we would be making a nice channel into which all the water off the street would drain. Digging the whole street down would be a heck of a job!

At the back there's no issue as it's all modern brick from the 1970's (has all necessary consents and paperwork so I imagine it was done to a high standard - looks like it was).

 

[xanthe]

I keep pythons so snake will be moving in the day before we do!

[shudder...]
But.... the day before? Why? Are you hoping it will sort out any mice, get the place tidy, and be there to open the door for you when you move in?
If you find any giraffes, send them over here..... :wink:

We're moving out of our property on the Wednesday and into the new one on the Thursday, for de-catting purposes, rather than the same day. Pythons and hotels aren't generally a good mix and she needs to be kept warm, so we will drive her vivarium down on the Wednesday pm when we go to get keys/let in cleaners along with the bits and pieces we don't trust the removal men not to drop.

Given the SEVEN cats who have been in residence for the last 15+ years, I seriously doubt that there are any mice to be found - plus she's a bit of a wuss and has never seen a real live one!

If I find a giraffe (crick-necked), I will PM you immediately!

 

[Penners]

It seems odd that the sole plates are still there given the amount of water they must have been subjected to.... I have read that some wood can do well if it is kept permanently wet - I suppose that this is a possibility. The timbers are whacking great things

I'm no expert, but I understand that wet timber can remain intact for astonishingly long periods provided it is fully immersed. It's the exclusion of air that is the key.

In the case of your sole plate, I doubt whether it has been in this anaerobic environment. So its longevity is probably due to its being very good quality heartwood oak. Oak has excellent resistance to decay - particularly its heartwood - and high quality examples can last for many hundreds of years.

 

[Greg.Hobson]

if you have a stove, burn wood and use it every day to heat the house, get it swept very 3 months of use.

Eh? We use our woodburner every evening for about 4-5 hours from about November to March. We call in our HETAS sweep every year during the summer and he has never commented that we should have the flue swept more often.

My own experience is that every fireplace is different and they are an art, not a science, but to try and give context, I heat my house in winter using 2 stoves. In the worst weather, I am up at 7-ish and the stoves are re-lit (if they have gone out) and then fed until last thing at night, between 10 and midnight. Whilst this process only takes place in the depths of winter (start of December to the end of February) at least 1 stove is lit from mid-September through to the start of April. Based on this, I reckon our stoves get as much use in 1 winter as yours do in 3 to 4-ish. Oh, and another potential source of difference, ours are unlined, stone chimneys, all the way to the top, one with a horizontal run of about 10 foot (I know, what were they thinking?) before a right-angle bend into the run to the top. Neither upward run is absolutely vertical, which also helps to trap lots of potential chimney fire fuel on the ledges.

We have ours swept at the end of September (October this year as it was mild) and then again about now (must call the man). So comparison of our use and sweeping would suggest your chimneys get swept about twice as often as mine when counted in hours usage, so I would expect them to be in good nick.

And Finally, we changed to 3-monthly sweeping from 6-monthly after a chimney fire, which required the fire brigade and their wonderful "Simon Snorkel" equipment. All very exciting! Even the fireman commented that whereas a normal chimney fire took "... a squirt of water ..." to put out, our fire took over a minute of hosing down to get it out. After they had gone, we collected a cup full of water from the stove. The amount of energy (burning soot) in that chimney must have been immense.

Sorry for the long reply, but we did learn the hard way.