Surveys Explained

Buying a house is a huge decision, it’s the largest financial commitment most of us will ever make and with that in mind it is a sound investment to secure an independent survey from a RICS chartered surveyor. An independent surveyor will provide you with impartial advice about the house you want to buy, allowing you to make an informed decision. The type of survey you require will depend on the house and we break down our different services for you here. Whilst reports are prepared to be as easy to understand as possible, there are terms that may not be immediately recognisable to you, after all, buying a house isn’t a frequent occurrence and you wouldn’t necessarily come across them unless you were a surveyor or builder! At Avery & Co we are happy to talk you through your report and make sure that you understand the contents, allowing you to have the full picture before you make a final decision to buy, renegotiate or walk away.

Below we have compiled the first of our Surveys Explained lists. We will take from A-M and cover all of the common terms that may crop up on a report to help you understand:

AGGREGATE
Pebbles, shingle, gravel etc. used in the manufacture of concrete, and in the construction of “soakaways”.

AIRBRICK
Perforated brick used for ventilation, especially to floor voids (beneath timber floors) and roof spaces.

ARCHITRAVE
Joinery moulding around window or doorway.

ASBESTOS
Fibrous mineral used in the past for insulation. Can be a health hazard. Specialist advice should be sought if asbestos (especially blue asbestos) is found.

ASBESTOS CEMENT
Cement with 10-15% asbestos fibre as reinforcement. Fragile – will not bear heavy weights. Hazardous fibres may be released if cut or drilled.

ASHLAR
Finely dressed natural stone: the best grade of masonry.

ASPHALT
Black, tar-like substance, strongly adhesive and impervious to moisture. Used on flat roofs and floors.

BALANCED FLUE
Common metal device normally serving gas appliances which allows air to be drawn to the appliance whilst also allowing fumes to escape.

BARGE BOARD
Timber, sometimes decorative, placed at the verge of a roof: also known as verge board.

BEETLE INFESTATION (WOOD BORING INSECTS: WOODWORM.)
Larvae of various species of beetle which tunnel into timber causing damage. Specialist treatment normally required. Can also be found in furniture.

BENCHING
Smoothly contoured concrete slope beside drainage channel within an inspection chamber. Also known as Haunching.

BITUMEN
Black, sticky substance, related to asphalt. Used in sealants, mineral felts and damp-proof courses.

BREEZE BLOCK
Name originates from cinders (“breeze”), the material used to make them. The term now commonly used to refer to various types of concrete and cement building blocks.

CARBONATION
A natural process affecting the outer layer of concrete. Metal reinforcement within that layer is liable to early corrosion, with consequent fracturing of the concrete.

CAVITY WALL
Standard modern method of building external walls of houses comprising two leaves of brick or blockwork separated by a gap (“cavity”) of about 50mm.

CAVITY WALL INSULATION
Filling of wall cavities by one of various forms of insulation material:

Beads: Polystyrene beads pumped into the cavities. Will easily fall out if the wall is broken open for any reason. Foam: Urea formaldehyde form, mixed on site, and pumped into the cavities where it sets. Can lead to problems of dampness and make replacement of wall-ties more difficult. Rockwool: Inert mineral fibre pumped into the cavity.

CAVITY WALL-TIE
Metal device bedded into the inner and outer leaves of cavity walls to strengthen the wall. Failure by corrosion can result in the wall becoming unstable. Specialist replacement ties are then required.

CESSPOOL
A simple method of drainage comprising a holding tank which needs frequent emptying. Not to be confused with Septic Tank.

CHIPBOARD
Also referred to as “particle board”. Chips of wood compressed and glued into sheet form. Cheap method of decking to flat roofs, floors and (with Formica or Melamine surface) furniture, especially kitchen units.

COLLAR
Horizontal timber member intended to restrain opposing roof slopes. Absence, removal or weakening can lead to Roof Spread.

COMBINATION BOILER
Modern form of gas boiler which activates on demand. With this form of boiler there is no need for water storage tanks or hot water cylinders.

CONDENSATION
The process by which water vapour becomes a liquid.

COPING/COPING STONE
Usually stone or concrete, laid on top of a wall as a decorative finish and to stop rainwater soaking into the wall.

CORBEL
Projection of stone, brick, timber or metal jutting out from a wall to support a weight.

CORNICE
Ornamental moulded projection around the top of a building or around the wall of a room just below the ceiling.

COVING
Curved junction between wall and ceiling.

DADO RAIL
Wooden moulding fixed horizontally to a wall, about 1 metre (3ft 4in) above the floor, originally intended to protect the wall against damage by chair-backs.

DAMP-PROOF COURSE
Layer of impervious material (mineral felt, pvc etc.) incorporated into a wall to prevent dampness rising up the wall or lateral dampness around windows, doors etc.. Various proprietary methods are available for damp-proofing existing walls including “electro-osmosis” and chemical injection.

DEATHWATCH BEETLE (XESTOBIUM RUFOVILLOSUM.)
Serious insect pest in structural timbers, usually affects old hardwoods with fungal decay already present.

DOUBLE GLAZING
A method of thermal insulation usually either: Sealed unit: Two panes of glass fixed and hermetically sealed together; or Secondary: In effect a second “window” placed inside the original window.

DRY ROT (SERPULA LACRYMANS.)
A fungus which attacks structural and joinery timbers, can have devastating results. Tends to flourish in moist, unventilated areas.

EAVES
The overhanging edge of a roof.

EFFLORESCENCE
Salts crystallized on the surface of a wall as a result of moisture evaporation.

ENGINEERING BRICK
Particularly strong and dense type of brick, sometimes used as a damp-proof course.

FIBREBOARD
Cheap, lightweight board material of little strength, used in ceilings or as insulation to attics.

FLASHING
A building technique used to prevent leakage at a roof joint. Normally metal (lead, zinc, copper) but can be cement, felt or proprietary material.

FLAUNCHING
Contoured cement around the base of chimney pots, designed to secure the pot and to displace rain.

FLUE
A smoke duct in a chimney, or a single pipe serving a heat-producing appliance such as a central heating boiler.

FLUE LINING
Metal (usually stainless steel) tube within a flue – essential for high output gas appliances such as boilers. May also be made from clay and built into the flue.

FOUNDATIONS
Normally concrete, laid underground as a structural base to a wall: in older buildings may be brick or stone.

FROG
A depression imprinted in the upper surface of a brick, to save clay, reduce weight and increase the strength of the wall. Bricks should always be laid frog uppermost.

GABLE
Upper section of a wall, usually triangular in shape, at either end of a ridged roof.

GROUND HEAVE
Swelling of clay sub-soil resulting from absorption of moisture: can cause an upward movement in foundations.

GULLY
An opening into a drain, normally at ground level, placed to receive water etc. from downpipes and wastepipes.

HAUNCHING
See Benching. Also term used to describe the support to a drain underground.

HIP
The external junction between two intersecting roof slopes.

INSPECTION CHAMBER
Commonly called “man-hole”. Access point to a drain comprising a chamber (of brick, concrete or plastic) with the drainage channel at its base and a removable cover at ground level.

JAMB
Side part of a doorway or window.

JOIST
Horizontal structural timber used in flat roof, ceiling and floor construction. Occasionally also metal.

LANDSLIP
Downhill movement of unstable earth, clay, rock etc. often following prolonged heavy rain or coastal erosion, but sometimes due entirely to sub-soil having little cohesive integrity.

LATH
Thin strip of wood used in the fixing of roof tiles or slates, or as a backing to plaster.

LINTEL
Horizontal structural beam of timber, stone, steel or concrete placed over window or door openings.

LPG LIQUID PETROLEUM GAS OR PROPANE.
Available to serve gas appliances in areas without mains gas. Requires a storage tank.

MORTAR
Mixture of sand, cement, lime and water, used to join stones or bricks.

MULLION
A vertical bar dividing individual lights in a window

Get in touch

We hope you found the list informative and we will be posting N-Z in the next few days in our Surveyors Explained Part 2!

As always, if you would like advice on which survey is right for you, or want to chat through the findings of a survey already completed,  please contact us at hello@averysurveys.co.uk or call 0330 088 5040 we would be happy to help.