Sat in the pub....

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...looking at the latest rabbit hutches built over the road...brickwork lathered in white stuff. A fortnight ago before they opened the show house it disappeared,so they must have sprayed something on.A week later it reappeared...

Us retired old fogies... none of whom have been in the trade would like to know what it is. Loads of the red brick houses are lathered in it.

And how can they sell new houses that look like that?

29m9agw.jpg
 
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it is efflorescence and it is of no consequence.
 
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Is efflorescence on a building a sign of poor workmanship?

We would comment as Chartered Surveyors that when we do a building survey if there are signs of efflorescence this is a warning sign to us that we need to look very carefully to see the standards of workmanship because as we have explained it means that the bricks have not been stored correctly or the bricklayers have worked in bad weather or there are poor details to the brickwork.
 
Efflorescence is the soluble mineral salts (such as water hardness) migrating to the surface of the bricks as they dry out. In time it will fall off or weather away. If it distresses you, you can brush it off. Never try to wash it off with water because it will soak into the wall and come back worse when it dries out.

If the house was built in rainy weather, the wall will have got wet during building, prior to the roof and gutters being finished. Even in a perfect drought, water will have been used to mix the mortar. It is quite normal to see it on the outside of a newly built house or a garden wall.

You can also, more rarely, see it inside buildings where there has been a source of water such as a leaking pipe.
 
Looking at that house, would the first -loor windows qualify as escape windows? (the opening parts look a little too high above the floor).

Obviously we don't know the internal layout, and I might be missing something? Just wondering.
 
Every time I see new build (dolls) houses, confirms my policy of not touching anything built after the 70s with a bargepole. Some shocking things have been thrown up since the 80s. Tiny rooms and gardens, cardboard walls, all plastic plumbing and not a proper tradesman been involved in the construction at all.
 
Every time I see new build (dolls) houses, confirms my policy of not touching anything built after the 70s with a bargepole. Some shocking things have been thrown up since the 80s. Tiny rooms and gardens, cardboard walls, all plastic plumbing and not a proper tradesman been involved in the construction at all.

I think I'd go so far as to say anything built after the 50s.
 
Every time I see new build (dolls) houses, confirms my policy of not touching anything built after the 70s with a bargepole. Some shocking things have been thrown up since the 80s. Tiny rooms and gardens, cardboard walls, all plastic plumbing and not a proper tradesman been involved in the construction at all.

I think I'd go so far as to say anything built after the 50s.

Yes, the earlier, the better. Been working on some houses on a large estate that was built in the early 80s. Because of substandard timbers, the roofs are wavy, like you might expect on a cottage from the 17th century. You can see where people have spent thousands putting the roofing right, and the ones that will need doing soon. The quality of the bricks used is abysmal and are literally crumbling away. 35 year old houses having walls rebuilt.

Our house was only bulit in mid 60s, but the quality is worlds apart.
 
I think there are still some high quality small firms about. But most of the bigger house builders I have worked for over the past 30 years are as said.

When things are good, demand means thateverything is rushed.

When things are bad, margins mean that everything is cut .

I feel story for young couples especially buying the rubbish that passes for housing in most cases.
 
Every time I see new build (dolls) houses, confirms my policy of not touching anything built after the 70s with a bargepole. Some shocking things have been thrown up since the 80s. Tiny rooms and gardens, cardboard walls, all plastic plumbing and not a proper tradesman been involved in the construction at all.

I've worked in restoration for most of my life and to be honest there are some quite badly built buildings built before 1970 and before 1900 for that matter but in general I agree with you. The proportion of well built modern houses is definitely lower than in previous times. Not wanting to insult engineers but I feel they are part of the problem . Roof timbers for example are reduced to the smallest possible size ( and cost) whereas in the past components were for want of a better description over engineered and properly jointed too.
 
Not wanting to insult engineers but I feel they are part of the problem . Roof timbers for example are reduced to the smallest possible size ( and cost)
I blame the accountants who instruct the engineers to calculate the lowest cost possible.
 
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