About Building Maintenance Control Ltd

Building Maintenance Control is amongst the leaders in the treatment of damp and timber decay and is responsible for guarantees dating back to 1997. We are a member of the Property Care Association (PCA) formerly the BWPDA (British Wood Preserving and Damp proof course Association) – the governing body for the remedial treatment industry.

What will our survey report on?

The surveyor will have at his disposal all the necessary equipment to carry out a full inspection of the area giving concern and diagnose the correct solution for the problem. The survey will generally be of a non-destructive type, however, if need be, permission may be sought to remove plaster samples or to remove floorboards to further aid the survey. It is recommended that the areas which are the subject of concern are made readily accessible and that, if possible, carpets and furniture are removed prior to the surveyor’s visit to the property.

In the event of the problem turning out to be extensive, the surveyor may decide to halt the inspection and advise that further assistance may be necessary to fully expose the problem area. In this instance the surveyor will supply a quotation to carry out the necessary exposure work. Whatever the case, the surveyor will endeavor to keep you informed at all stages of his inspection and to discuss with you the logistics in carrying out whatever work may be required.

The Report

Your report will arrive promptly following the survey having been completed. Within the detailed report you will find an estimate for any work that is to be carried out along with our Specification of Work and a sketch plan. The surveyor will normally contact you to ensure you fully understand the contents and any implications should you wish to proceed with the work specified.

The most basic way to determine whether you may have problems with your property is to examine the external water management systems (gutters, downpipes, etc) for signs of deterioration. This can include:

• High ground levels above original damp proof course
• Vegetation growing out of gutters
• Slipped or loose slates
• Rusting or cracking cast iron down pipes/gutters
• Leaking overflow pipes
• Cracks in stonework
• Defective pointing
• Moss or lichen growing on the stonework
• Evidence of damp staining on stonework particularly adjacent to pipes
• Blocked sub floor fresh air inlets.

Inside a property the signs can be more difficult to spot but in roofs and basements the following are useful pointers:

• Water staining in the roof void
• Defects in lead flashings round chimneys, valleys and parapet walls
• Seals round baths and showers
• Condensation in sub floor voids.

Low Non Disruptive Surveys

In some cases, particularly in older, decorative buildings it may not be possible to carry out a destructive exposure survey, however it may be possible to gain useful information on a problem by carrying out a non disruptive survey using specialist surveying equipment.

Fibre Optic Boroscope

The boroscope is a device which allows the user to view images from within the internal structure of a building via a small drilled hole.

This piece of technology, custom designed to our specification, allows Building Maintenance Control to examine and photograph a building’s internal timbers by drilling a 10mm diameter hole. The borescope allows forward, backward and rotational photos to be taken allowing all angles to be viewed.

Sibert Drill

The special purpose Sibert drill utilises a tiny 0.9mm diameter 1 metre long drill bit which drills through the selected timber and produces a graphical display of the density of that timber. The output for a healthy timber looks similar to a heartbeat graph. Where this regular ‘heartbeat’ is disrupted, weaknesses can be identified in the timber and informed decisions about its viability taken. Obviously this allows the identification of timber which requires to be removed but it also enables the opposite: where it is demonstrated that a damaged beam has enough residual strength that it can fulfil its purposes, it can be saved.