Surveying Property: December 2013

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Surveying Property - 2013 Greatest Hits! – Top 10 Most Popular Articles

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my readers!

What a year this has been for my blog! This time last year I published a 2012 Greatest Hits article which included the following summary:

‘After publishing my first article on Surveying Property in May this year I never imagined that I would receive over 18,000 page view in the first 8 months. This however is what has happened and the blog already has a wide and growing audience from all over the world. The blog also has nearly 1500 followers on Twitter!

Twelve months on and I have now received in excess of 145,000 page views and have over 33,000 followers on Twitter!

I would like to thank all of my regular readers and all of those who have taken the time to post comments on the blog over the year. Also, thank you for the many kind comments and positive feedback that I have received throughout the year. Although I cannot respond to every comment, I really appreciate the feedback and support shown for the blog articles.

If you can spare a few moments please add a comment at the bottom of this post with your overall view of the blog. Feedback will be invaluable in helping to shape future content.

We are approaching the end of 2013 and this article is the last posting of the year. I have plans for some very exciting articles for 2014, the first of which will be published on Monday 6th January 2014. I will continue to publish a new article every week, so make sure that you bookmark the site to ensure you do not miss out!

I thought that it would be a good idea to publish the 'top ten' most viewed articles of 2013. You can view each article by clicking on the link below if you have not already viewed them. Please also feel free to forward a blog link to anyone you think may be interested.

Surveying Property 2013 Greatest Hits – Top 10 Most Popular Articles:

1. How to avoid ‘Cowboy Builders’ - 5 Practical Tips

2. Is Property Still a Good Investment?

3. The Romans - The Original Master Builders - Part 1

4. Green Deal – Five reasons why take up is so slow

5. First time buyers – Step onto the property ladder while you still can!

6. Health & Safety Poor Practice – Shocking Pictures! – Part 1

7. Non-Traditional Housing - External Wall Insulation

8. Rising Damp: An update for 2013 (Part One)

9. 10 Tallest Buildings in the World - In Pictures

10. Mobile Technology in Surveying - Could this be the end for paper based surveys?

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Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Tudor Houses – Timber Frame Construction

Source: http://www.flickr.com

A few months ago I wrote two articles which considered the influence of the Romans (circa 43AD to 410AD) on the UK built environment and explained how their ingenuity, forward planning and ability to introduce change allowed them to leave a lasting legacy, which is still evident today. I also stated that ‘it is only by looking at our historic built environment that we can fully appreciate the skills and ingenuity of the people of their time. Our predecessors would not have had access to modern building equipment and modern techniques that are available today’. With this in mind, and a little more up to date in historical terms is the construction of timber framed houses, particularly during the Tudor Period (circa 1485 to 1603). It is worth pointing out that although this method of construction was used before and after the Tudor period it is during this period that construction of timber frame houses really evolved.

A wattle and daub panel - Source: http://www.regencyceilings.co.uk/

A timber framed Tudor house is very distinctive and recognisable with most people being able to identify with the ‘black’ timber frame and ‘white’ infill panels. In fact Tudor houses are often referred to as black and white houses. The large and often bulky timber frames, usually made from oak, were connected together with a combination of timber joints and timber pegs. Once the timber frame had been constructed the walls would be in-filled around the frame with a technique know as 'wattle and daub'. This was a method of weaving small branches between parts of the timber frame and then 'plastering' onto the weaved branches a mixture of clay, horsehair and sometimes horse dung! with water, This could be smoothed when wet and when it dried out it provided an effective wall finish that would be reasonably weather tight. The wattle and daub would later be painted with a lime wash giving a white colour finish, and the timber frame would be covered in tar to provide additional protection and to give it its distinctive black colour finish.

The vast majority of timber framed houses would incorporate a thatched roof, although for the wealthy this may have included a more expensive tile finish, together with a chimney to allow smoke from an open fire to discharge into the atmosphere. Chimneys were usually constructed of brick, although poorer houses would simply incorporate a hole in the roof, located just above the fireplace. Windows would also be made from timber, however as glass was very expensive, most houses would have timber shutters, which would be opened during the day to provide some natural light. Inside floors primarily remained as dirt, which were covered in reeds or straw. This would be changed periodically to freshen up the internal environment.

Source: http://class21workbook.wordpress.com

As you would imagine, based upon the amount of timber and straw used in construction, together with the fact that the Tudors had a preference for very narrow streets and houses being built in very close proximity, that hygiene and particularly fire were a constant hazard. It was these factors that contributed to the great plague and the eventually to the great fire of London in 1666. Although these events occurred in the Stuart period, which followed the Tudors, the vast majority of buildings in London at the time were Tudor constructed timber framed buildings. London had been devastated by the plague or black death for two years prior to 1666. The disease was spread by fleas, which were carried by the rodent population and was killing as many as 1,000 people a week in London in 1666. London was extremely crowded, with buildings tightly spaced. Sanitation was unheard of, with raw sewage flowing through open drains and people throwing their trash from balcony windows directly into the streets.

The great fire of 1666 is believed to have started in a rundown neighbourhood, in a bakery in Pudding Lane near the Tower of London. At the time fires were commonplace in London and the fire received little attention until it entered a group of warehouses where animal fat, oil, and alcohol were being stored which intensified the fire. In the end over 15,000 buildings were destroyed by the fire, representing over two thirds of the city. A few years later, after the devastation caused by the fire the UK Government introduced the first London Building Act, which for the very first time tried to regulate construction. This however related to London only and nationwide regulation was not introduced until many years later.

Take a look at the excellent video below, produced by six university students from De Montfort University in cooperation with the British Library, which allows you to step back in time to appreciate what life would have been like just before the great fire. The video provides an insight into the narrow streets and general construction and proximity of buildings. It is easy to see how a fire could be some widespread and devastating in such an environment.

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Health & Safety Poor Practice – Shocking Pictures! – Part 1

Source: http://www.personallicence.com/

Health & Safety in all of it’s different forms is something that everyone should be aware of, particularly for those who work within the construction industry who’s poor safety record has been well publicised for many years. The UK construction industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the World and although statistics show that improvements have been made in recent years, it is clear from the latest Health & Safety Statistics (HSE) statistics below that there remains room for significant improvements:

‘There have been significant reductions in the number and rate of injury over the last 20 years or more. Nevertheless, construction remains a high risk industry. Although it accounts for only about 5% of the employees in Britain it accounts for 27% of fatal injuries to employees and 10% of reported major injuries.

The latest results in construction show:

- 39 fatal injuries to workers. 12 of these fatalities were to the self-employed. This compares with an average of 53 over the previous five years – including an average of 18 to the self-employed (RIDDOR);

- about 3 700 occupational cancer cases are estimated to arise each year as a result of past exposures in the construction sector (CAN04);

- there were an estimated 74 thousand total cases and 31 thousand new cases of work-related ill health (LFS, 2012);

- an estimated 1.4 million working days were lost in 2011/12, 818 thousand due to ill health and 584 thousand due to workplace injury, making a total of 0.7 days lost per worker (LFS, 2012).’

These statistics are even more worrying when we appreciate that the UK construction industry over the last few years, has suffered with low output due to the global economic downturn, therefore resulting in a significant reduction in personnel within the industry. It would be fair to expect a natural reduction in fatalities and accidents due to less people working within the industry, rather than being able to relate this to the impact of regulation. Regulation is important, in fact essential, however its effectiveness will relate to the manner in which it is understood, implemented and enforced.

When regulation is introduced or updated there is an expectation that everyone will follow it because it becomes mandatory to follow. Human nature however seems to take a different view in that no matter how much regulation is introduced or how much (or little) training is given, there will always be those who decide to ignore it and prefer to cut corners and take risks with their lives. Legislation assumes that people will understand and follow it however, what is not accounted for is the 'human factor'. I have worked on many construction sites as a Labourer, a Bricklayer and visited sites as a Consultant. During my early years on site I witnessed some serious health & safety breaches, where operatives for some unknown reason would pay little regard to their own wellbeing or to the wellbeing of others, and would often take short cuts just to 'get the job done'. The attitude to health & safety of most of the operative on site at the time was that health & safety was a hindrance that got in the way of them doing their jobs. Although, I have seen a marked improvement is health & safety procedures on construction sites over recent years there still remains an 'ignorance' to health & safety by many, particularly the more experienced operatives who have been on site for many years. Take a look at the extraordinary clip below, which provides an example of how little value we can often place on our safety:

The images below, which are widely available on-line and you may have seen then before, however they provide some quite shocking examples of how little some people value their lives and how they are prepared to accept high levels of risk, by cutting corners. The images are taken from all over the World, not just the UK. When you look at the images I am sure you will ask yourself, ‘what was going on in that person’s head at the time’, a question that these people obviously failed to ask themselves. Part 2 will be published in the New Year with more examples similar to those below:

Source: http://tradesman4u.wordpress.com/

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Source: http://shelf3d.com/

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

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