Trusteel 60's detached house, is a steel build all that bad?

marklamar · 10 Jan 2011

Afternoon all,

first time poster so be gentle, have had a quick search around the forums looking up details on steel framed houses and get the feeling your either in with them or completly against them.

I only ask since we have just had the mortage survey done and its thrown up the whole 'un convential build' issue and suggested a full structural survey which we are looking to undertake - checking for corrosion etc.... if this comes back with no issues and the mortage is in place what is there really much to worry about.

Looking for anything i may have missed and am probably a bit concerned about the future marketability etc...

many thanks

Nige F · 10 Jan 2011

Well, @ the end of the day - it`s a site for a new house if now`t else

. I actually live about 1/4 of a mile from a bunch of steel framed houses . And have done since 1980 . They are still standing, someone I knew back then bought one , it was OK @ the price they paid . Houses were built in 60`s or 70`s apparently - and comically, there are just 2 conventional build houses in the small " estate" - owned by the 2 guys that did the development originally

. I`d rather have this old 1920`s bungalow that I`m tidying up as I go - Good Luck anyways.

^woody^ · 10 Jan 2011

There were two types of Trusteel designs - the Mk2 was the earlier design and had a more traditional appearance, albeit could have cladding, tile hanging, or render as well as just plain brickwork, and the 3M type from the latter part of the 60's and these tended to have a more contemporary design and be in semi's or terraced.

The only real way to tell is to check in the roof

Anyway, both have typical places where corrosion may be more prevalent, and from some past reports it seems that with the 3M system, they are generally OK but corrosion was more prevalent near the base of the columns at floor level

However, the Mk2 seems to be more hit and miss and condition varies from location (ie site to site) so increased checks are recommended

Either way a full survey should be done to check the common risk points

All these 60's system properties have common issues and risks. Most have had some sort of report done on them and identify common failings, so good and bad systems are known and the lenders will steer clear of the bad ones.

As for the future, well things may deteriorate more with certain systems so that a low risk one today, becomes a higher risk in 10-20 years, but that is generally the same for most properties

Static · 11 Jan 2011

Check the corner of the building in the most exposed face, if the external wall is sitting off the dpc by about 10-20mm as well as diagonal cracking in the corner then you have serious corrosion of the columns which may need replacing... Also check for cracking / sagging of ceiling members which react to the columns dropping..

Like woody says column corrosion is top of the list, but you will also see the roof members corroding as well as the tie rods.. Oh and the lintels fall appart pretty easily.. so check window heads externally..
In the end of the day if the property is well maintained then repairs should be minor if any..

fairylight · 11 Mar 2012

Hi There

I am new to this forum too, and was interested to see, how your survey went on the steel framed house you were looking at. Did you find the house easy to find a mortgage for and was it a standard lender? Reason for asking, we bought a steel framed house back in 2004 through Northern Rock and just had a standard homebuyers survey done, didn't know anything about possible problems with the houses as were never informed, standard survey just came back as 'fine'. We have now been instructed by local council who still own some of the properties that we need a full structural survey because of 'possible' corrosion of steel columns, although it doesn't appear from any of the houses around that there are any problems, no cracks or sagging. Bit of a nightmare as we are interested in selling up, and worried what costs would be involved if there are any problems resulting from survey.

^woody^ · 11 Mar 2012

I doubt you will get a response from the OP - he was a one-post wonder never to be seen again.

I'm curious as to why the local council should be telling a private occupier that they must have a structural survey. Are they paying for it?

Seems like an arse covering exercise.

All steel framed buildings "might" have potential corrosion, but that that does not mean that every one needs a survey

If you want to sell just put the house on the market and see what happens before doing anything

joinerjohn · 11 Mar 2012

Bets to stay where you are and "Rust in peace."

Nige F · 12 Mar 2012

^woody^ said:
I'm curious as to why the local council should be telling a private occupier that they must have a structural survey. Are they paying for it?

Seems like an a**e covering exercise.

Maybe it`s a semi with the next door still council owned - or they are a Red Council - and still against selling off houses

hopefull1 · 20 Jun 2013

hi all just joined to share experience with trying to purchase a trusteel mk11 house.found a house we liked , approached the woolwich with whom we already have our mortgage , was told that in order to be considered for a mortgage we would need a full building survey carried out by them (£850) which we agreed to, this showed up no problems and we thought great we are off and running, wrong, three weeks ago after scratching there heads they informed us we now need to arrange for a structual engineers report to be made on the house highlighting the major corrosion prone areas, this entailed asking the sellers permission fo the surveyor to remove one or two pieces of brickwork as this has to be intrusive so the framework is visible this was agreed with and report carried out ten days ago, it came back showing no signs of rust and the frame still has some of its red oxide and bitumen paint and the original grey paint . surveyor comented over the phone that it was as if it was built yesterday. so we now await the woolwich building society to make their decision on the mortgage, in retrospect in would have been cheaper to have the very basic valuation carried out as is the norm then had the structual engineers report done as this really does dig deeper, the report worked out at £635 all in and that included the tradesman cost to remove and make good afterwards the brickwork companies name is .structual engineers reports ltd. hope this post is off help to others in the same boat oops that should be house.

marklamar · 16 Oct 2013

so we bought the property as the structural survey showed no issues at all, in fact much like the previous poster he commented that it was as good as the day it went up.

mortage wise we are with sandander and have swaped once without issue when the previous rate stopped.. only issue has been the insurance vendor.. not many people seem to want to insure.. but it wasnt hard to find someone who wanted our money.

one final note... its blooming cold in the winter and hence why i was looking through the forums again seeing if they are possible to insulate... between the brick and steel ..seems the wiring is also in this cavity so wasnt sure...

ivixor · 16 Oct 2013

You will probably want to externally insulate it.

Also look at these pictures.... http://www.taylortuxford.co.uk/portfolio

marklamar · 7 Dec 2013

thanks ivixor, i will start to look at this...

NoviceGuygoeasyonme · 26 Feb 2014

When is a house not a house?
Like most on here, I've spotted a 'steal'......
Good size house good area, by the sea... steel, salt... hmm. Though people do live in caravans and log cabins, so let's step back a little.
QUESTION; a good survey, some kingspan, a log burner... how much worse than a caravan. - remember though, this IS by the sea, wales.
Is heating and mortgage my.main issue or resale? ...Or rust?

Static · 27 Feb 2014

Rust, maintenance, money.. etc

End of the day they were built with a limited lifespan.. something like 40 year design life.. means alot are 20 odd years past their prime.. without love and care they corrode and its not a cheap or simple job to fix once they have gone..

Steelframe buyer · 11 Jan 2016

Could anyone recommend a surveyor for this? We are in the same boat -looking to buy, have found one surveyor, but then we need to find a builder to do the work for them. Does anyone know any surveyor that does this with a builder etc? Thanks in advance!!

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Trusteel 60's detached house, is a steel build all that bad?

joinerjohn

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