Investigating defects

Water is everywhere – from organic matter to the toughest concrete – and covers around 70% of the Earth’s surface; it is a unique molecule in its own right. Take the straightforward example of a drinking glass, in which water can co-exist in its 3 states:

• as a vapour;
• as a liquid; and
• as solid ice.

Water should not then be taken lightly, some would argue that it is the biggest cause of defects in properties and, as shown above, it can exist in 3 different forms within a just a glass, let alone an entire building. . Water takes the path of least resistance into a property and can cause damage in any of its 3 forms; and once it has found its path it keeps travelling until stopped at the source.

It is therefore vital that water is not allowed to enter a property in a ‘non-designed’ manner. That is to say, water will always enter a building whether it is through a solid or cavity brick wall, or through human beings or their pets breathing, laundry drying or kettles boiling. Problems begin to occur when it is when it is brought into a property in which there is no methods to dispose of the water.

For many building surveyors, the roof is therefore the first place to look. A roof and the gutter systems are designed to ‘throw water away’ from the building. When specifying a remedy, thoughts should always be in line with a general principle of keeping water away from the building. Keeping the rain out from penetrating above or from coming in through other means is a good start at remedying water ingress.