Invest to improve our housing stock

The development of building techniques can clearly be seen and we understand the inherent problems each building type has.

Without going into too much detail, the early granite-built buildings used beach sand and lime for render. The amount of salt varies, but the buildings are of course inherently damp.

When we moved to nine-inch solid block walls similar problems remained for a while until river-washed sand was brought in.

The main problem with these buildings is the use of very strong renders on the outside, quite often with a waterproofing additive.

These crack and water gets in and cannot escape. This is quite often backed up with multiple coats of exterior paint that contains acrylic. We have also found that the floors do not contain a membrane, so again damp and mould are a problem.

Thermal insulation is almost non-existent, sound insulation unheard of, and ventilation minimal.

Recently cavity walls have been used and over the last couple of decades some good quality buildings have been constructed.

So given that a lot of the property is of poor construction, how do we ensure that these are brought up to a good standard?

I am a firm believer in grant-aided improvement schemes. We are fortunate in having a good number of skilled building surveyors on the island so the work based on the grant can be monitored by them working with our building inspectors. These works will be recorded, forming a reliable history of works carried out.

The most economic and reliable technique for each type of building could easily be worked out, perhaps broken down into phases to help spread the cost.

Regarding rental property, in the short term the best way forward might be a star rating system – similar to that used for food preparation – with the rent chargeable reflecting the star rating.

Ventilation is increasingly important and whole-house ventilation should now be standard in new builds.

Timber frame is not my favourite as it is difficult to monitor and at what point can you no longer get a mortgage on it?

So to sum up – grants, star rating and record improvements.

Investing in our property in this way will ensure that we have good housing stock for the future.

KEN TAILBY, AIWSc, CTIS, CSSW