So you may have heard about weep 'holes' or weep 'vents' in new build properties and you may have even been warned about fake or dummy ones. Here we'll explain what their purpose is, why there are fake ones and how we identify those that aren't real...

With cavity wall construction you will have at various 'openings' on the external fabric (brick or render typically) something called a cavity tray. These are installed above windows, doors and even meter boxes on your home. 
The external fabric of your property is not meant to be impermeable (water resistant) so in heavy rain there is the chance for it to pass through the brick / render or through the mortar, and get inside the 'cavity'. The cavity of your new build house is a gap between the outer fabric (brick / render) and inner blockwork / timer. The reason why new build houses have a cavity is partly to allow for insulation to be put inside to keep the house warm in winter and cooler in the summer. 
So, where these openings such as doors and windows occur in your house,  there will be something called a cavity tray. The purpose of this is to collect any rainwater that manages to find its way into the cavity. Then to allow for the rainwater to easily exit rather than pool on the cavity tray, there will be weep holes.
Weep vents come in a few different shapes and sizes, ranging from a long thin type as shown above, or most commonly they will be a quite small circular piece of plastic. 
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Building acoustics for new builds is covered in the Building Regulations Part E.
Builders either have the opportunity to build properties to exact specifications according to the Robust Details which will make them automatically comply or they can build to their own specification and get an Acoustic check carried out.

Most developers carry out the latter process because it is cheaper which means at some stage, a field test will have likely been carried out either on your property or a neighbouring property on your site. The person doing the test has to perform the check on every property type at different levels. 

These checks comprise of 2 types: Airborne and Impact. The tests are only applicable with houses that adjoin such as a semi detached house or town house and apartments. 

• Airborne

This is applicable to both apartments and houses that have a party wall and involves placing speakers in the 'source' room and playing white noise which is recorded in the neighbouring room adjacent.  Further calculations are carried out to identify the background noise in each room and then a single number will be produced to determine whether the property is a pass or fail. 

The higher number the better with airborne, but needs to be a minimum of 45dB. This is not a particularly high-standard when compared to regulations in Europe. Scotland has different regulations and requires >56db just for a point of reference

• Impact

This differs to airborne because it is only carried out in apartments and rather than speakers projecting white noise, a ’tapping machine’ is placed on the floor of the apartment above and the noise is recorded below.  
After similarly recording and discounting background noise, the impact test should be  no more than 62dB.

The important aspect to consider when it comes to impact noise testing which makes it difficult to carry out once you have moved in, is that it has to be done on bare flooring, i.e. flooring that has not been covered in tiling or wooden laminate etc. It is possible to do it once you have moved in if the flooring is carpet as long as it can be removed to expose the floorboards underneath. 

If you are suffering noise in your new build house whether an apartment or house with adjoining neighbours, we will be happy to help explain the process in more detail.

We carry out acoustic tests to new build homes but only in line with Part E of the building regulations, so we will be only able to tell you whether it is a pass or fail. 
Noise can travel in ways not obvious at first appearance: it can flank through air conditioning units or find its way through unsealed gaps in walls. If you have specific concerns with your new build property and would like a diagnostic approach then you are better off finding an acoustician.

We hope you found this helpful if you have a noisy new build property. Please see the below link if you are interested in us carrying out a test on your property to know if it abides by part E of the Building Regs.

Hearing a tapping or a creaking noise when you have the heating on or when you are running the hot tap on your bath/shower/sink is a common issue. We have been to several new-build houses where the homeowners have been living with the annoyance for years.
The most common cause of it is the hot water passing through the copper pipework which vibrates against timber studs. An example of it is shown in the video below where we recently carried out snagging surveys in a block of apartments in the Midlands. 
To remedy the issue requires intrusive work finding where it is occurring... this can be a process of trial and error because the source of sound can be misleading. 

If you have bought a new build property and find that your site manager is mentioning 'settlement' or tells you "not to worry about 'shrinkage' cracks", then this blog will hopefully be of help to you. We explain the difference between shrinkage and settlement, why it occurs and what to look out for.

'Settlement' from a building surveying point of view technically lasts for 10 years, although on a practical basis you should only really notice the signs within the first 12 months after completion.

Shrinkage is due to the construction materials drying out. As shown in this video, shrinkage cracks often run along the top of walls rather than at openings, at a constant width no less than 2mm. As these 'wet' construction materials (plaster, mortar and concrete) contain a lot of water, it usually takes several months for the shrinkage cracks to occur.  Allowing for ventilation (trickle vents) in the property help this drying out period.

For more information about cracking, a useful document provided by the NHBC is here. Also feel free to get in touch with us if you have any concerns over cracks appearing in your home that may be beyond settlement.

Making the decision to choose between snagging companies is difficult at first glance as some companies replicate what we have achieved over the past 5 years developing our snagging survey process. The most important questions to ask yourself before booking a snagging company are the following:

1. How long has the snagging company been established
2. What are their qualifications 
3. Have they a track record of verified reviews
4. ​Are they insured
5. Do they have terms & conditions 
   

The fact of the matter is there are only a couple of reputable snagging companies that offer a nationwide service. Most are 1-man bands snaggers that have set up thinking they know what to do. We often find these people copy everything from us including our terms and conditions, so whilst they think they know how to inspect a house, most are just site managers that in fact do not know how to run a business. Most are not around for long.
The most common misconception when booking a snagging survey is that we all do the same thing and are all qualified surveyors. This is far from the truth. Even a RICS chartered surveyor cannot offer you the level of service that we provide. But the problem occurs when customers choose to employ certain snagging companies that are cheaper. At face value it seems that we are earning more money from the snagging survey than our cheaper counterparts but as a nationwide company we actually will earn less, in part because of VAT and insurance etc.
We want to ensure that you choose the best snagging company for your new build property so it is important that you choose the best service and not the best price. An un-qualified snagging inspector is quite frankly more likely to miss important issues. For more information about the service we provide, see our webpage why choose us.

It depends between developers, however generally speaking the snagging period can be split into 2 sections: within the first 2 months and then before the end of 2 years...

2 month snagging period
It is important to raise your snagging list with the builder within the 2 months of completion because it is in line with the HBF survey deadline. The HBF survey is a scheme most of the larger developers operate as it independently determines customer satisfaction in questions such as "would you recommend your builder to a friend?". The responses to this question alone ultimately determines how many stars they are awarded and display on their flags you see when entering the site!
So, with this in mind the reason the 2 month period is important is because the site team will typically be attentive to your snag list in haste of the HBF satisfaction survey landing on your doorstep. The sales and site team are rewarded for good responses so it is in their best interests that you score them well!
Typically after the survey expires or has been completed, the site team may not be as attentive to minor issues. This is why we slightly change the way we raise snags on our reports after 2 months of completion; focusing on more important (deemed 'out of tolerance') snagging issues rather than cosmetic.

2 year snagging period 
There is a second HBF survey that is sent out to customers at 9 months after completion, but interestingly these findings are not published. With this in mind, it is now the 2 year snagging period that's important to consider. Developers provide a 2 year warranty for defects that are deemed out out tolerance, classed by the NHBC / LABC etc.
This is why our company offer a full package which includes an initial snagging survey and then a follow up inspection around 18 months down the line (as well as other benefits such as a thermal heat loss survey)... Both the <2 month and then <2 year surveys are carried out with the realistic expectation of what your developer will be willing to do at these 2 stages.

10 year warranty
After the 2 year period, you would need to raise a dispute with the NHBC / LABC / (other) directly but they will only be willing to investigate more major issues.  Approximately 70% of the claims made with the NHBC are roofing issues, to illustrate this point. 
The NHBC / other do check your property at various stages during the build as they are there to ensure that building regulations have been adhered to, but they do not pay attention to the quality of finish... which is where a snagging survey is so important.
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For more information about the snagging periods and what sort of survey would be best for your property, call our office and we'd be happy to discuss! 

As well as being qualified building surveyors, our HomeSnag surveyors are also qualified Building Thermographers. This is important because the majority of surveyors using a thermal camera are not trained to understand when or how to use a thermal camera properly. They may miss issues or likewise misdiagnose something due to not following the necessary procedures.

As a rule to ensure that the correct temperature difference (inside vs outside) is achieved, we only carry out thermographic heat loss surveys during the months between November-February.

The most common heat loss faults with new build houses relate to either draughts or improperly installed insulation. Insulation is found both in the loft and in the cavity of external walls. The cavity wall insulation can range from rigid panels that are built up, or it can be blown in. We use professional thermal cameras and borescope cameras to check for any cavity insulation issues and we spend time in the loft ensuring it has been laid properly. Often in the loft, tradesman carrying out work to ducting and electrics move the insulation aside or it simply hasn't been cross laid to prevent air pockets.  It is surprising how little of a gap in either the loft or cavity wall will be noticeable to a homeowner.

Whilst the winter months will lead to the majority of customers calling us to report issues, the effects of poor cavity wall insulation can actually be felt in the summer months too. The reason for this is that the purpose of cavity wall insulation is to stop air flow. So in summer months, a lack of cavity wall insulation will not prevent the warm air from transferring outside indoors to the cooler air... this is simply nature's way of wanting to return to an equilibrium. So if you have one room that is uncomfortably warmer in the summer months, it may be a sign of poor cavity wall insulation because it is too easily finding that equilibrium through the walls.

An example of both missing cavity wall insulation and loft insulation are provided below from one of our reports carried out this year by our snagger Alex. If you would like us to carry out a thermal heat loss survey on your new-build house, click below to check availability. You can choose us to carry out the survey on its own (suitable if you have been in your new build house for more than a year) or as part of the full package if you have recently moved in.

Today our snagging surveyor Alex highlighted an important shortfall in the loft of this new build house. It is a great example of how important it is to employ an experienced surveyor to snag your new build house, as this is something no homeowner would know to look for and of course it has just been missed by the site and warranty inspections.