Concrete built house advice

mummyroysof3

Thank you. I have rang the estate agent to find out from the owner for me

mummyroysof3

Ok so they are wimpey no fines homes and natwest do mortgage them. Hope I like the house when I view it after all this lol

laptop80

We have a house of this construction type.

Wimpey No Fines is one of the types of concrete houses that most big lenders treat the same as traditional construction (small lenders tend to be a bit more wary). It's not on the list of defective concrete houses and isn't prone to the "concrete cancer" or spalling that give concrete properties such a bad name.

They are cast in-situ, which means you have a solid outer wall about 10 inches thick - there is no cavity to insulate, so if you wanted to increase the insulation you would have to add it either internally or externally as cladding. We haven't done so as we find it ok - it gets cooler faster than a modern, well-insulated home, but it's certainly not a cold house. Our gas and electric combined is less than £50 per month for a 2 bed.

The no-fines walls are unlike most people's idea of concrete - it's not like dense pre-cast concrete (e.g. like block paving), but instead made up of large-ish chippings that leave small air pockets. It's very strong but it can be a little problematic when fitting doors and windows as the drill has a tendency to dislodge the chippings until it gets into it. It's do-able, but you tend to need longer fixings to ensure the frames have a good grip. The other option is to apply some render first to hold the chippings in place.

Your will find that the interior walls are block, brick or a mixture of both, so it's only when fixing into the outer walls that it will be a consideration.

The design of the properties does vary slightly depending on when it was built - ours was built in 1945 and is absolutely fine, so they have stood the test of time. The surveyor who examined it when we bought ours said he would be happy to buy one himself and said it would probably still be ok in another 60-odd years. Remember that concrete in itself isn't a problem - only certain designs. The Romans used concrete and many of the things they built using it, like the Colosseum, are still around 2,000 years later.

If you have any questions about this type of property just give me a shout.

mummyroysof3

Thank you. The wall issues will explain why I didn't notice any pictures on the wall and the tv is on a stand lol. I'm guessing the extension will be built different to the house so ill check on that. It obviously doesn't put everyone off its just not something I've come across before. The house looks pretty perfect for us though and I'm looking forward to viewing it.

laptop80

mummyroysof3 wrote: »

Thank you. The wall issues will explain why I didn't notice any pictures on the wall and the tv is on a stand lol. I'm guessing the extension will be built different to the house so ill check on that. It obviously doesn't put everyone off its just not something I've come across before. The house looks pretty perfect for us though and I'm looking forward to viewing it.

You're welcome. You can fix into plastered walls ok as the plaster holds the concrete chips in place - I've put curtain rails up and they are fixed as well as they would be in brick. The only slight issue is when you're trying to drill into the bare concrete and the drill bit dislodges the chips instead of boring into them. It's not a huge challenge though; you just have to take a bit more care.

laptop80

If you want to see what the wall is like under the plaster/render, you will probably be able to see in the loft if you can get access, where the walls will most likely be bare & unplastered.

mummyroysof3

My husband has asked a lady he works with who lives on that estates advice and she has mentioned they can be prone to damp....we shall keep our eye out for signs of it

laptop80

mummyroysof3 wrote: »

My husband has asked a lady he works with who lives on that estates advice and she has mentioned they can be prone to damp....we shall keep our eye out for signs of it

Worth looking out for then. If there is an issue it's more likely condensation than damp - they do have damp courses and a rendered exterior so 'rising damp' shouldn't be an issue. However, as there is no wall cavity to act as insulation, if you didn't have your heating on in cold weather then the inside of your exterior walls could get cool and so be prone to condensation.

The only condensation problems we have had were in a built-in wardrobe with one side on an exterior wall where the air couldn't circulate (too many clothes stuffed in there I'm afraid ). Other than that it has been fine - the house is quite well ventilated and during the winter I keep the heating on low (10-12°c) to ensure the walls never get cold enough to cause condensation.

We used to live in a fairly modern flat with terrible condensation problems (windows running with water) but the house has been fine even with constantly drying clothes in the house due to all the rain and bad weather we've had.

mummyroysof3

The house we in now has had condensation issues so its something we are used too lol

poledancer49

Nice house