Beneath the Surface: Signs You Are Living in an Unsafe House

 

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Many of us feel that we have to make do with the hand we are given. These days, it's so difficult to find an ideal property in your budget, when you find a home that you want to buy or rent, it's important to remember how your home needs to be secure for your family to live in. But when we live in a property that, over time, begins to reveal itself to have certain problems, is there anything we can do? What are these problems, and how can we fix them?

Structural Problems

Sometimes there are properties built on poor structures. You can recognise these issues through certain telltale signs such as sloping floors or sagging roofs. If you live in a property like this and there are structural issues that can be fixed through a process like piling, it's important to speak to a qualified surveyor. If you are someone who is renting a property you need to speak to the landlord right away. When it comes to structural issues, especially with something as devastating as Japanese Knotweed, it can be the deciding factor in choosing a home. Purchasing a home with Japanese Knotweed could signal the death knell, but while Japanese Knotweed can cause structural problems, you may not need to walk away from the property if it is your dream home, as long as there is a treatment plan in place.

Damp

Something incredibly frustrating when we live in any property is rising or penetrating dampness. Condensation is commonplace, but this can result in mould growth in every room that isn't adequately ventilated. It's important to check for rising dampness on the ground floor walls. But you should also look for signs such as perished brickwork on the outside, as well as leaking water pipes. If you rent, this is something the landlord needs to fix. The big problem when you rent is that you may have to go back and forth to the landlord a few times due to the costs or the extent of the repairs. But as condensation and mould growth can have a massive impact on our health and cause issues like asthma in children, it needs to be a priority. It is possible to keep mould at bay when decorating your property, and using a dehumidifier, but mould is a problem that needs addressing right away.

Improper Insulation

Insulation helps people that own and rent. Insulation will reduce household bills but having good insulation will ensure the property is warm, especially in poor weather. Investing in insulation is common sense environmentally speaking, but some landlords feel they shouldn't invest in quality insulation. Although, there are things that we can do to improve the insulation in our home. We can purchase special foil to go behind radiators as well as making our own draught excluders.

If we feel we live in a home that is prone to certain problems it can cost us a huge amount of money but it can also make living there pretty miserable. Whether you've bought a home that has revealed these problems or you are renting, there are ways around these issues.