Services

Problems arise when alterations are made by a succession of owners without contemplating the effects of previous alterations. Over-reliance on the quality of previous installations can lead to false assumptions that translate into defects. Typical scenarios include installation of power showers, extractor hoods, extra sockets, additional bathrooms, attic conversions, fire escape exits and conversion from multi-occupancy to single occupancy and vice versa.

Modern services not contemplated even 10 years ago, such as air-conditioning condensers and IT system infrastructures, can be poorly sited or routed and cause damage. For example, lead flat roofs were never originally designed for the siting of condensing units or to cope with the additional foot traffic such equipment brings.

Successive installations of electrical cabling and water pipes can create a system with little logic to it at all. Stringent electrical regulations have added to the economic burden in the domestic market, the economics of undertaking even the simplest of electrical alterations need to be carefully managed.

In plumbing installations, tortuous bends and unsupported pipes can lead to noisy systems, poorly operating traps and mystery leaks. Dead legs and redundant tanks can give rise to legionella traps and rat runs. Add to this the proliferation of the DIY market and the average Georgian house is likely to be more altered than it may at first appear.

A good initial indicator of changes in a room is to observe the skirting boards. After changes, these are often left as an afterthought and can be badly matched, which provides clues as to what may have altered in the building's lifetime. The same is true to some extent of cornices, architraves and other internal mouldings.

Defects caused by alterations

The more common defects encountered when alterations are undertaken are:

• sanitary services: these add more moisture into the building, cause room shapes to alter, requiring beams to be cut for pipework and can provide a constant water supply to vulnerable timbers. Baths can apply additional point loads when full;
• electrical services: combinations of older wiring systems and the use of more electrical equipment can cause overheating;
• application of more modern materials (particularly cement-based or rigid materials);
• additional external walling not attached to the frame (particularly Georgian facades);
• heating systems: can cause moisture levels to change;
• double glazing: can reduce the natural ventilation balance of period houses.

Lead pipes

Lead pipes require a measured approach. Lead pipes are potentially hazardous and, where practical, exposed sections should be removed. Limescale can build up and provide a protective lining, but if other metals are present in the system a bi-metallic reaction could break the limescale down. There are still areas of original Victorian infrastructure where mains supplies are in lead, so there is potentially always a risk from lead pipes.

Electrical installations

Electrical appliances did not begin to appear until the 1890s, so it is fair to assume that in the 1800s the average Victorian home was not extensively electrified (except for lighting). However, many Victorian homes are still occupied and many phases of electrical systems have come and gone.

This page notes only some of the innovations and systems subsequently added. Victorian houses probably have the greatest potential to hide old cabling, fixings and conduits. Visible new cables and sockets are not necessarily a sign that hazards do not exist. However, unless having electrical testing carried out, the surveyor is mainly reliant on visual inspection. In properties that are extended, there is a risk that extended radial systems may overload. Older earthing methods, cable sizing and circuit breaking systems rarely meet modern standards. With the advent of more stringent requirements from Part P of the Building Regulations, simple electrical additions can become relatively expensive.

For Victorian properties a complete rewiring of a system can help to eliminate these composite problems.

Bakelite

Bakelite was introduced in the 1900s. Original electrical installations may still be present in the house. Even if there are new cables to the fittings, there may be some older cables within the walls or in stair landing soffits. The cables of the time were rubber insulated then cotton braided or lead sheathed, and sometimes ran in timber conduits.

Generally, if the fuse box is made of, or has a backing plate of, wood, metal or plastic (Bakelite), this is strong evidence that the system is from the era of original construction and will need to be checked. The old method of wiring was to radiate the wires from the fuse box, rather than out and back in a loop as in modern houses. Potentially subsequent extensions and additions have simply added sockets to the cabling. This may overload the circuit. Unless this type of system is carefully earthed or protected by circuit-breakers, the potential for a fatal incident is high.

The original circuits had round-pin Bakelite sockets, and electrical items did not have individual fuses. Light switches tended to be the surface-fixed Bakelite toggle type. These can arc if the contacts are worn.