"Woolaway" Construction

Davesnave

mick1111 wrote: »

Ah yes, good point. Would this normally just be a quick email to the planning department?

First thing to check is whether the property is in an AONB, National Park or Conservation Area, where permitted development doesn't apply.


Then, to a certain extent, it's down to individual councils.


Emailing is too vague and impersonal and won't get the best response. Far better to make an appointment to see a planning officer, show the broad plan you'd like to propose and see what they say. It will probably cost nowadays, but not very much in the context of purchase.

mick1111

Thanks for the input. It's in an area where permitted development is allowed - my local council provides a planning consult for less than £100 so I'll go down that route. Thanks again.

One more question - would you consider a Woolaway construction to be a deal-breaker? Nervous FTB here. I'm confused why the Woolaway houses are listed as defective under the 1985 act but the bungalows are not...

Davesnave

Woolaway construction can be fixed, at a price, so it may come down to the economics of the matter, maybe including whether a deal is possible with mortgage providers.

Or, like a property I know, where no one has altered the bungalow much, the location is so good the owners just put up with the inconveniences to have acres of land and great views they'd otherwise not afford.

There are no hard and fast rules.

mick1111

High-street mortgage lender is happy to lend us the money to buy it, and the size of plot and the views are rather stunning. The Building Survey found no evidence of any problem, so I guess we'll have plenty of time to rebuild savings to replace the external skin, should that become necessary. We're love the property but are trying to be rational and consider potential problems as dispassionately as possible...

Thanks again!

R49

Can the contents of a Woolaway building be insured?. Also, if yes/no can the building be insured?.

Davesnave

R49 wrote: »

Can the contents of a Woolaway building be insured?. Also, if yes/no can the building be insured?.

Yes and yes, but there would almost certainly be exclusions in the buildings insurance regarding failure of the wall panels through 'concrete cancer.'

However, there's no reason why the roof of a Woolaway should be more damaged in a storm than any other bungalow, since there's nothing unusual about its construction. In an accident situation, such as a bus driven through a wall, the insurers of the vehicle would still have to pay up.

Like any other insured person, the owner of a Woolaway would be expected to keep the building secure and in a reasonably good state of repair.

R49

We have seen advertised a detached 3 bedroom Woolaway bungalow and told via email to the Estate Agent the council tax band is D and built in the 1970s. In the advert there are exterior pics and it looks like it has recently been painted with masonry paint.
Would there be less problems with 1970s Woolaway buildings than later or earlier ones? . Also, was asbestos used in roof or wall construction.

Davesnave

All other things being equal, the younger the building the better, but of course things are never equal in terms of climate and maintenance.

I'm not aware that there were any major developments of the Woolaway design. Most of these bungalows were erected in the 60s and 70s and all those I've seen have standard roof tiles, so there would be no special need for asbestos.


People can assume asbestos may have been used in the construction of any house up to 1999, although the worst kinds of that substance were banned from building products around1985. There's nothing about reinforced concrete construction that requires asbestos to be used.

Perhaps most importantly, you should be aware that many Woolaway bungalows exist in the countryside as a result of a former need to house agricultural workers. These may have an agricultural occupancy condition (AOC) attached, which, unless it has been removed, means only those engaged in farming and forestry are entitled to reside in them. Sometimes agents are rather coy about AOCs, so before spending money on surveys, ask if the property is free of such a condition.

R49

There is still a lot of asbestos about, i.e., corrugated asbestos roofs on farm buildings, i.e.,cow sheds, stables and barns.
If a Woolaway bungalow had an adjacent garage with a corrugated asbestos roof could it be replaced by a work-team wearing breathing masks with protected clothing but would there still be asbestos dust about and a danger to occupants in the bungalow, or if the occupants attempted to remove it would a licence to do so be needed. However, perhaps it may be wiser to leave it has it is, hence lots of asbestos still about.

Davesnave

R49 wrote: »

There is still a lot of asbestos about, i.e., corrugated asbestos roofs on farm buildings, i.e.,cow sheds, stables and barns.
If a Woolaway bungalow had an adjacent garage with a corrugated asbestos roof could it be replaced by a work-team wearing breathing masks with protected clothing but would there still be asbestos dust about and a danger to occupants in the bungalow, or if the occupants attempted to remove it would a licence to do so be needed. However, perhaps it may be wiser to leave it has it is, hence lots of asbestos still about.

Don't get fixated on asbestos. Some of the 'asbestos' you see on modern farm buildings is something that just looks similar.

Old farm asbestos will not necessarily present any extra threat; certainly no more than the larger amounts found in towns and cities where the air is less clean too.

There are ways of removing asbestos roofing sheet safely and most local authorities accept it at designated recycling sites, so long as it is wrapped-up. No licence needed, as authorities don't want people doing the other thing: smashing it up and burying/dumping it!

If I were taking a roof off, I'd probably paint it both sides first with a building product called SBR, which is a surface binder. The risks of handling in open air would then be negligible. The interior underside of any asbestos left in situ could also be painted with any suitable paint product to seal it.