What is a Period House Pathologist?

As a Period House Pathologist, I (and my more general counterparts - Building Pathologists) specialise in the investigation, diagnosis and remediation of defects in buildings. My particular knowledge and expertise covers

  • how the building is put together,
  • the materials used, their behaviour and how they degrade,
  • the types of biological organisms that live within the structure,
  • the effects of biological and chemical attack on the materials used, and
  • the prognosis for the building.

The key difference between what I do as a Period House Pathologist and a normal Building Pathologist is

  • I specialise in resolving the problems of houses built prior to World War II
  • normal Building Pathologists deal primarily with the problems of post World War II buildings, particularly commercial structures such as office blocks, car parks, hotels, and blocks of flats.

The importance of World War II in house building

Building materials and methods have only been standardised since World War II. The older your house, the more likely it is to be built from what would now be considered unusual building materials using bygone local building techniques.

Between 1500 and 1939, house construction techniques and building materials evolved steadily and consistently. The changes were gradual and were always intended as slight improvements to what had gone before based on hindsight. This means a 1939 and a 1500 house often have much in common.

Immediately after World War II the country was faced with:

  • virtually no skilled craftsmen of working age following two world wars in close succession;
  • an acute lack of any traditional building materials fit for use in the time honoured way;
  • and a huge loss of housing due to bombing.

As a direct result of the shortages, all houses built after 1939 had to undergo a radical redesign to enable them to be built quickly by unskilled or semi-skilled labour using 'inferior' materials. Houses built in 1946 may look superficially like their 1939 counterparts but their technical design, construction and building materials are dramatically different - along with the problems they suffer from. This means a 1939 house may well have less in common with a 1946 house than it has with a house built 500 years earlier.

Save future heartache and money

Analysis of the serious problems found in a random sample of houses built between 1500 and 1939 that I have investigated reveals the following staggering and rather sobering statistics:

  • 69% of problems were caused by inappropriate or incorrect building works;
  • 25% of problems were caused by neglect;
  • only 6% of problems were caused by a defect in the original building construction.

Virtually all of the inappropriate and incorrect building works that caused the great majority of problems were perfectly correct for houses built after 1939. Much of the work was specified/recommended by professional surveyors/architects, carried out by experienced builders and even inspected and passed by local authority building inspectors.

The following is a sample of the problems caused by the inappropriate and incorrect building work and their frequency in the above snapshot:

  • 40% were damp problems caused by 'damp proofing' work, modern rendering, concrete floors, replastering, or modern pointing;
  • 16% were the decay and weakening of roof timbers caused by re-roofing work;
  • 4% were rotten floors caused by adjacent extensions.

Due to the age of your house, it will almost inevitably have been altered many times to meet changing needs and fashions. All alterations compromise its original design. In many cases, these changes will have made your house much more vulnerable to chemical decay and biological destruction - this is particularly true for changes made since World War II.

With my knowledge of bygone building materials and methods, I am in a much better position to accurately assess the condition of your house than a surveyor/architect/builder. If any problems are found, I will also be able to investigate it thoroughly to uncover the true underlying cause. Other professionals will either have to recommend you still consult a specialist or will just specify work as for modern houses and leave you to suffer the consequences in the years to come.

To discuss your house's problems, telephone me on 01263-734815.

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