What Are the Most Common Building Defects?

What Causes Cracks in Buildings?

The first problem is something that affects both commercial and residential properties. Of course, as building surveyors we’re rarely called out to tell people that the paint finishes on their walls are looking tired and need a lick of paint, as this is something people can see for themselves! However, when things like cracks appear in the corner of a building, most occupiers are pretty alarmed and call a company like Harrison Clarke for advice.

When we find cracking, there are a pretty limited number of things that cause it, and often only an experienced professional can find the real cause. The most common reason we see for buildings cracking is that there’s a defect within the drainage system close to the cracked area. So, often the first thing we do is to ask people to commission CCTV drainage report, as this will give us a lot more information. It could be that the cracking has happened because the foundation has lost support because water is leaking out of the drains and washing away the soil that should be supporting the foundations. If that’s the case then fixing the drains will resolve the problem, and the cracks can be filled and patched, often without any further remedial work.

However, this isn’t always the case. Buildings can also crack due to other factors, like differential or thermal movement, roof spread or even stresses that are disconnected from the cracking itself. In one recent case we saw internal cracking as a result of a failed external retaining wall, which was pulling on the building so much that the 300-year-old structure was showing signs of stress it had never seen before. Unsurprisingly, the underlying cause was a lack of drain maintenance.

What Causes Damp and Mould in Properties?

Some other very common building issues we see are around humidity and dampness. It might be that tenants are experiencing problems with black spot condensation mould – in which case it’s critical that the tenant’s concerns are taken seriously, especially in line with the recent Awaab’s law requirements. Humidity and dampness issues aren’t always the result of a single cause, and there could be a few different things that contribute to it.

Thankfully the surveys are non-intrusive, so we don’t need to take apart the buildings to provide advice! Instead, when we’re looking at high moisture content or dampness, we consider what we can see and provide targeted and prioritised advice based on what we think the likely cause is. We use specialist equipment like damp meters to help us understand what’s going on. For example. If we see what’s commonly known as rising damp, it could be due to:

When we can see all of these factors working together, we’ll always encourage building owners or building managers to address all of the potential causes, but sometimes it’s best to start with the most likely cause, since some building issues can be very expensive to fix!

How Do Building Services Cause Defects in a Property?

Building services can (and do) degrade over time, so if there are any tiny leaks from pipes or fittings that go unnoticed, they can cause some fairly significant issues elsewhere. While we admit that building surveyors aren’t experts on assessing services, we do normally have a good working knowledge of the majority of services in most buildings. So, we can still give some good high-level advice on these issues.

Normally if we’re investigating defects, we start with a non-intrusive survey, but this might end up with us needing to open up parts of the building for further specialist investigations, like CCTV drainage surveys. This is because building issues can be progressive, so they might get worse over time, or they might be the result of a one-off occurrence. For example, is that cracking a result of a leaking drain, a tree root, or has someone accidentally driven into the front of your building? 

What Are Structural Defects and Are They Serious?

The type of defects that worry people the most are structural. And it can be tricky to tell if something is structural or not. For example, sometimes signs of what looks like a structural deficiency actually turns out to be the result of the building heating up and cooling down. This can cause some unsightly cracking, but it’s ultimately fairly harmless. This is where working with a building surveyor can help, because we can work out whether or not a problem is serious, and whether you want to spend the money fixing it. After all, there isn’t always one single way to address building defects, and a good building surveyor will be able to work with you on this.

There are a fair few surveyors who will want you to spend a lot of money. And sometimes you might have to. But there are often a lot of instances where we can work with you to economise on building repairs to suit your budget. For example, if you plan to redecorate your outside windows in the next two years, it might be that a simple patch repair for the roof will keep you going until you’re at the point where you have to pay for scaffolding for the decorating anyway, saving you money overall by using the scaffolding for both tasks. A good building surveyor can also help you to understand whether the issues are something you’re happy to live with.

How Can Inspections Help Identify Building Defects Early?

In a perfect world, we would have building MOTs, just like we do with cars. A way to pre-emptively look at issues and agree a plan to address them before they become really significant. It would be a great way to prevent building defects! In reality of course, different owners take a different approach to the maintenance of their building. So we’re normally only called in to look at specific issues when they arise. When people buy properties they will ask a building surveyor to assess the condition of the property, but once that’s done a surveyor might not see that property until it’s being sold again, which could be a gap of decades. This is especially true of residential properties, and a lot can happen in that time! With building services we normally expect the gas installation to be looked at every year, and the electrics every five years – but the building fabric is often neglected. So, if your building hasn’t been inspected within the last 5-10 years, it might be time to get a building surveyor in to inspect your property. This can help you budget for any maintenance requirements in the next 5-10 years, so you don’t find yourself having to deal with big structural issues in the future.

At Harrison Clarke, we’re always happy to speak with clients about bespoke inspections, and if you need specialist buildings advice (either as the result of visible cracking or just because your building hasn’t been looked at in a long time), we’ll be pleased to help. Just get in touch with one of our team to arrange your inspection today.

For more expert advice on surveying and property matters, check out our range of informative videos on our website or YouTube channel. Harrison Clarke Chartered Surveyors is here to guide you every step of the way!

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