We recommend that you check the inside of your property regularly when cleaning, decorating and replacing carpets or floor coverings. You should also check the roof area occasionally.
Roof / Attic Structure
When you access the roof or attic area, check for signs of any leaks and the presence of vermin, rot or decay to timbers. Also look for tears to the under-felting of the roof, and check pipes, lagging and insulated areas.
Ceilings
If you have a leak in the roof the first sign is often damp on the ceiling beneath the roof. Be aware if your ceiling begins to look uneven as this may indicate a serious problem, particularly for older ceilings.
Walls and Partitions
Check these when you are cleaning or redecorating. Look for cracking and impact damage, or damp areas which may be caused by plumbing faults or defects on the outside of the property.
Floors
Be alert for signs of unevenness when you are cleaning or moving furniture, particularly with timber floors. In older houses unevenness is more common but be aware of any changes over time.
Fireplaces, Chimney Breasts and Flues
Arrange for a qualified specialist to regularly sweep all used open chimneys. Also, make sure that bricked-up flues are ventilated. Flues to gas appliances should be checked annually by a qualified gas technician.
Flooding
Previous damage caused by flooding would normally have been repaired and flooding damage may not be obvious to the surveyor at the time of inspection. If possible you should check with people living in the immediate area, the Local Authority and insurance companies who insure properties before closing.
Plumbing and Heating
It is always recommended that you engage the services of a registered plumbing and heating contractor to service the system and central heating boiler or other fuel burning appliances, thoroughly inspect for safety, and confirm that there is no likelihood of any leakage at present or in the near future. The contractor should carry out any maintenance as required.
Insulation
A well insulated property will improves the buildings energy efficiency and reduce your heating bills. It is always recommended that the property insulation be to a modern, current standard, and that it be improved where required. Where windows or exterior doors are single-glazed, a double or triple-glazed replacement should be considered. Window and exterior door reveals, and weather seals, should be checked and maintained as required.
The roof space should be insulated to a modern standard. If roof space insulations are of poor quality, or if any part of the space is un-insulated, it is recommended that this be amended.
It is always recommended as a precautionary measure that attic insulation be adjusted to run below any wiring to prevent any potential consequential overheating of the wiring. There should also be a minimum insulation clearance of approximately 300mm around any spotlight fittings, to allow for breathing of the fittings.
Any insulation should be adjusted at the roof eaves, to ensure that any roof air vents are clear. It is essential that any water storage or heating expansion / feed tank in the roof space be covered and insulated correctly, and that all attic piping be completely lagged in accordance with current Building Regulations requirements.
Any hot water cylinder should be completely insulated (either factory applied or by use of a lagging jacket), and it is also recommended that piping throughout the property be lagged in accordance with current Building Regulations requirements.