DEFICIENCIES

• G-2 Grounds:

  Most of the drainage holes through the boundary wall on the west side of the property were partially blocked by plant growth or soil. The drainage holes should be unblocked and exposed so that stormwater does not pond against the boundary wall.

• G-6 Grounds:

  The lack of gutters and inadequate roof overhang had allowed rainwater falling off the roof to remove the paving joints in the paving and against the walls of the buildings. Cleaning out and grouting of the joints with plaster sand and cement mixture was required against the walls to prevent moisture from entering around the foundation and pooling in the cracks and resulting in rising damp.

  • The joints will need to be cleaned out for a depth the same as the depth of the paving bricks before being grouted up with mortar.
  • After the joints are cleaned out the mortar grout should be finished off at the same level as the paving.
  • Here the soil between the wall and paving had been scoured away by the rainwater falling off the roof above allowing the rainwater to enter here. Care will have to be taken with the usage of the garden tap to prevent rising damp here!
  • This moisture damage to the plaster work was caused by a combination of rain running down the face of the building and the pooling of rainwater in the gap between the paving and the wall. This was a start of a problem that will be widespread if the joint between the paving and house is not adequately sealed.
• R-2 Roof:

  The sidewall flashings on the house were mostly installed with an acrylic membrane waterproofing system. There is an increasing trend in South Africa for builders and roofers to use “cheap and easy” acrylic membrane as a roofing flashing. This is seldom completely satisfactory as the end result is not as durable, or attractive, as professionally installed metal undertile flashing. The acrylic flashings should be monitored for deterioration (white spots) as it has a limited lifespan (±5 years depending on exposure to climatic conditions). I recommend that you have these flashing evaluated by an appropriately qualified roofing contractor for further remarks and recommendations.

• R-3 Roof:

  There were several chipped tiles on the tiled roof that required replacement. The whole of the tiled roof should be checked. I recommend that the tiles are replaced by an appropriately qualified roof tiler.

• R-4 Roof:

  There were cracks in the bedding mortar of the ridge tiles that may allow moisture intrusion into the ceiling space and on to the ceiling. Normally a layer of DPC (damp proof course) is laid below the ridge tiles to prevent moisture intrusion into the roof structure. However, as a preventative measure, I recommend that the ridge tile joints be repaired and sealed by an appropriately qualified roof tiler.

• R-5 Roof:

  The roofing material on part of this building was a modified bitumen membrane. The waterproofing of the roof was incomplete. The brick parapet should be plastered and waterproofed. The manufacturers of the waterproofing membranes recommend that the membrane must be protected from direct sunlight conditions with an aluminium coating to improve and extend the performance and life expectancy of the membrane. I recommend additional inspection of the roof by a qualified waterproofing contractor. Implement repairs as recommended to insure reliable performance.

  • The waterproofing membrane was not aluminium bitumen paint coated.
  • The top and internal face of the brickwork here should be should be plastered and waterproofed.
  • The waterproofing did not appear to be adequately sealed into the PVC drainpipe. The drain should have a grid installed at the inlet to the downpipe.
• R-8 Roof:

  The flashing on this chimney was not done to any known or recognised standard. I recommend having metal head and side wall undertile flashing with counter flashings installed for this chimney to divert water around the chimney. The current waterproofed mortar installation is vulnerable to cracking and leaks where the roof drains toward the chimney.

  • This was not an acceptable way to head flash a chimney! Note the pooling water of the flashing.
  • This was not an acceptable way to sidewall or step flash a chimney!
  • This patch over the tiles may have been installed where a leak or tile damage may have occurred. The tiles should rather be replaced!
• R-15 Roof:

  Barge boards are not merely decorative and should be installed flat onto the roof tiles to prevent the ingress of wind blown rainwater and the deterioration of the roof timbers on the verge of the roof. Have the roof contractor check and correct the barge boards!

• R-10 Roof:

  The two downpipes discharge here could cause splashing up against the walls and pooling on the paving. I suggest both be cut back and provide with 45° bend so that they can discharge freely away from the building. Patching around one downpipe was required to prevent moisture intrusion into the wall above the DPC.

• SB-4 Structure and Basement:

  External crack repairs were noticeable on an exterior wall. Considering the size of the house, the structure has performed very well. None of the cracks appeared to be structurally significant at this stage. The cracks should be monitored for further movement. If they crack again and widen considerably, I would suggest you consult a structural engineer. In any event, cracks allow moisture intrusion into the structure and should always be sealed and repaired.

• SB-6 Structure and Basement:

  It appeared that there were areas where concrete and clay bricks were built into the same wall. SANS 2001-CM1 specifically states that masonry units of dissimilar materials (calcium silicate, concrete and burnt clay) shall not be built into the same wall unless the different materials are separated by a horizontal damp proof course or a vertical control joint. Concrete and clay bricks should not be in contact with each other in the same wall. Concrete and calcium silicate bricks tend to contract while clay bricks tend to expand. Walls built with concrete bricks and clay bricks should be separated with control joint or movement joints. The clay and concrete bricks at window and door reveals and wall intersections should not be in contact with each other. The expansion and contraction between the different type of brick may cause stresses at the junction of the different bricks causing slight cracking which may appear at the corners of the windows, doors and connections of the face and concrete brick walls. In this case, because of the small areas of facebrick, most of the cracks that may occur should be cosmetic only and of no structural significance.

  • This clay facebrick balcony wall and window feature wall appeared to be built into the plastered concrete brick wall.
  • These header face bricks appeared to be built into the suspected internal concrete brick plastered wall.
  • Here the facebrick header brick can be clearly be seen tying into the internal skin of the brick wall which was probably built with concrete bricks.
• SB-7 Structure and Basement:

  Cracking at the level of the horizontal DPC (damp proof course) is a common problem with plastered superstructure walls where the foundation plinth is also plastered. It is a common and an incorrect practice to place the DPC onto the plinth brickwork without a mortar bedding. This forms an passage for moisture to penetrate the brickwork into the building. The DPC should extend over the full width of the wall including plaster thickness to prevent moisture from crossing past a mortar or plasterwork "bridge" at the face of the plasterwork. Patching and/or painting over the crack will not prevent the crack from reappearing. The only way to resolve the cracking is to form a joint horizontally through to the face of the brickwork at the DPC (damp proof course) level. The crack will then be in the deep joint and not readily visible. The cracking at the DPC level was not structurally significant but should be sealed to prevent moisture intrusion into the wall structure.

• SB-8 Structure and Basement:

  Minor horizontal and vertical cracks on the interior walls of the main bedroom en-suite bathroom was most often caused by the slight movement or deflection of the suspended concrete slab. Cracking as a result of slab defection is normally part of the structure's settlement phase and usually does not usually continue after the settlement has taken place. The cracking appeared to be the result of the slight deflection. At most, an external flexible paintable filler can be applied to the cracks if necessary and the wall repainted. The cracks do not appear to be structurally significant.

• EG-2 Exterior/Garage:

  Gaps and holes in the jointing in face brickwork can allow moisture intrusion into the structure. All gaps and holes should be filled and sealed with mortar and a jointing tool.

  • Water intrusion into the structure will happen through these holes in the mortar joints every time it rains.
  • These places must be sealed to prevent moisture intrusion into the walls.
  • A typical area where moisture will enter in the joints and at the window frame.
  • Holes in the brickwork joints at floor level. Note the damp brickwork and efflorescence on the bottom of the plinth. Water splashing up from the paving can be a problem here.
  • Defective facebrick jointing at the front entrance door. This was just poor workmanship and should be repaired!
• EG-3 Exterior/Garage:

  The tops of the face brick feature walls did not appear to be waterproofed. Plasterwork will crack at the junction of the horizontal surface and the vertical wall. They also crack along the the narrow width. Moisture intrusion had occurred into the wall structure. Note the white staining (efflorescence) on the brickwork and joints of the face brickwork. The top of the feature walls should be waterproofed on to the superstructure wall to prevent wind blown rainwater intrusion into the wall and into the house. Normally an acrylic waterproofing system is used for this. Larger areas should be should be waterproofed with a torch on membrane.

  • Note the white powder called efflorescence in the joints which was deposited when the moisture in the wall evaporated.
  • Note the white powder called efflorescence in the facebrick joints here under the roof verge on the gable wall which was deposited when the moisture in the wall evaporated.
  • Efflorescence was a sign of moisture in the wall structure that had evaporated.
  • This concrete roof over the main bedroom en-suite bathroom under the eaves where the rainwater will fall on the roof will need to be checked for a torch down membrane and fitted if not installed!
  • The slightly sloped plaster band on top of the face brickwork here clearly illustrated the lack of waterproofing on top of the face brick feature wall.
• EG-4 Exterior/Garage:

  There was what appeared to be rising damp in some areas on external face of the face brick and plastered and painted plinths of the house that will need to be monitored. This was evidenced by the staining, bubbling paintwork, and efflorescence on the lower portions of walls above the paving level.
  

  • There appeared to be water pooling around the foot of the downpipe and rising damp in the wall. Note the lack of grouting material on the paving!
  • Note the damp brickwork and efflorescence on the bottom of the plinth. Water splashing up from the paving can be a problem here.
  • The dark area of facebrick was indicative of rising damp here. There was signs of efflorescence as well!
• EG-5 Exterior/Garage:

  The dry stack feature wall on the entrance wall of the covered entrance finished against the brick plastered wall and column without any waterproofing between the dry stack feature and the plastered brick wall. Moisture control with exterior dry stack walls is very important. If the support wall has not been properly waterproofed, moisture intrusion into the yard wall and column can be expected. A solution for the moisture intrusion is difficult to suggest. Seal the top of dry stack stones with an acrylic waterproofing system and wait to see if it works. It it doesn't work,remove the stones, waterproof as required and have the dry stack feature rebuilt.

  • Rainwater will be retained between the wall and dry stack feature.
  • There was no sign of waterproofing between the dry stack feature and the undercoated plastered wall.
  • The finish at the column was unacceptable! The dry stack stone should have been carried through to the face of the stone finish along the wall. Rainwater will enter here!
  • The top of the dry stack feature and the wall will need to be waterproofed or sealed to prevent moisture intrusion between the dry stack feature and the brick wall.
• EG-6 Exterior/Garage:

  There were different shades of paint patches on the walls in various places around the exterior of the house that were visually unacceptable. Where plaster and paint patching is required the wall should be painted from top to bottom and from corner to corner to ensure an even colour. The walls where the patches have occurred will need to be repainted.

• EG-7 Exterior/Garage:

  A cover over plumbing duct inspection eye opening in the brick wall was missing and will need to be fitted and sealed.

  • This inspection opening was missing a cover. Make sure it is properly sealed.
  • The inspection covers on the plumbing ducts should be sealed with self adhesive sealing strip or silicon to prevent moisture intrusion into the structure.
• EG-8 Exterior/Garage:

  The plastered portion of the 1st floor slab on the balconies and main bathroom en-suite had gaps where rainwater will enter causing rising damp in the wall above the slab and moisture intrusion the the floor internally. The holes and gaps should be sealed as a preventive measure.

• EG-13 Exterior/Garage:

  All the door frames had gaps between the frames and walls that will need to be sealed to prevent moisture intrusion into the walls.

• EG-14 Exterior/Garage:

  Generally, the door frames require cleaning and the removal of paint.

• EG-15 Exterior/Garage:

  All the external windows of the house required sealing. There were cracks between the sills and frames, between the sills and the walls and between the frames and the walls. Wind blown rainwater had enter the cracks and had allowed moisture into the walls and internal window sills.

  • The remains of the plastic protective cover should be removed and the gap between the frame and wall sealed with silicon. General cleaning of the brickwork was required.
  • This gap will allow moisture into the brickwork at the frame.
  • Cracks on sill and on the side of the window! Note the moisture damage at the internal sill and wall under Interior: Windows!
  • Window sill on the stair landing window. Note the gaps between the window frame and sill. The window frame required cleaning!
  • The edge of the stair landing window. Here rainwater will leak into the interior of the house.
  • The sill here was not sloped to drain. Nor was the widow frame sealed. Best practices for all exterior sills are to slope to drain to shed water. Standing water on details like this can facilitate moisture intrusion.
  • Here there was a crack in the window sill and a gap at the window trim. Both will need to be sealed.
  • The remains of the plastic protective cover should be removed and the gap between the frame and wall sealed with silicon.
  • Crack in the wall at the window sill which will allow moisture intrusion.
• EG-16 Exterior/Garage:

  A cracked pane of glass was noted on the balcony in the 2nd bedroom (girl's room). This requires glazing replacement.

• EG-17 Exterior/Garage:

  The windows frames had mortar and paint on the frames at the time of inspection. This is a general item applicable to all the windows. I recommend cleaning the windows frames before they are sealed.

  • The window and the grouting at the sill and skirting needed to be repaired and cleaned up.
  • Paint clean up required.
  • Paint clean up required. Scratches on the window frame will need to be touched up!
  • Window frame required cleaning! The plastic protective tape should be removed.
  • Paint clean up required. The frame might have leaked here!
  • The window and the grouting at the sill and skirting needed to be repaired and cleaned up.
  • Paint clean up required here!
  • The grouting at the sill and window needed to be repaired and cleaned up.
• EG-20 Exterior/Garage:

  The balustrade posts required sealing on top of the parapet dwarf wall at bedroom 1 and 2 to prevent moisture intrusion into the wall and balcony slab.

• EG-22 Exterior/Garage:

  The fixing method of the beam into the pergola columns was defective. Rainwater entering the pocket in the column cannot drain away. the beam should either be encased completely in the column and the column sealed on top to prevent moisture intrusion or the beam should be placed onto of the column where the rainwater can drain away. At the time of the inspection the end potion of the laminated beam in the pocket was not sealed to prevent moisture intrusion into the beam. Signs of de-lamination of the beam was noted. This could also mean that the beam was meant for internal use only! This problem should be rectified before the rain season.

  • The pocket into which the beam sits will not allow rainwater to drain away. Note the efflorescence in the brickwork. The top of the bricks had cavities that were not sealed.
  • The portion of the beams in the pockets were not treated with a sealer or wood preservative to protect them from the elements.
  • The laminated beam appeared to be delaminating. Laminated beams for external use are manufactured with waterproof adhesive which will not de-laminate.
• EG-24 Exterior/Garage:

  Rainwater was leaking past the doors into the garage. The threshold was not stepped down slightly or sloped sufficiently at the doors to prevent water from leaking under and at the sides of the door. An aluminium strip (±6 mm high) can be fixed and sealed to the floor behind the doors and along the edges up to the entrance walls to prevent water entering.

• EG-25 Exterior/Garage:

  The garage door threshold was cracked at driveway paving. The damage and cracking will allow rainwater to enter at the crack and leak into the threshold and garage slab. Sealing of the crack of the threshold was required. The seals on the bottom of the garage doors appeared to be okay but no recess was formed between the threshold and the garage floor to prevent rainwater from penetrating the garage on the sides of the doors.

• EG-26 Exterior/Garage:

  The start of typical cracks were noted in the concrete garage slab. No control joints were used in the concrete pour or screed here so the floor may crack further. No repair was needed at this time. This was a cosmetic defect.

• I-5 Interior:

  It appeared that the grouting on the skirting tiling had been repaired at the skirtings after the skirting had been installed and painted. The grout buildup will need to be removed from the top of the skirtings and the skirtings touched up or repainted.

• I-6 Interior:

  During the inspection I noted some areas of the interior paint job that require touch-up. This is normal in new construction. Paint touch-up is beyond the scope of this inspection but I recommend working with the builder once you have moved in when you will have the opportunity to make a snag list so that you can get the interior paint job tuned up to your satisfaction.

  • Ceiling of the passage to the garage.
  • Walls within the kitchen cupboards require another coat of paint.
  • Paint and plasterwork around internal door frames should be redone. This was a poor finish! The best solution is to fit architraves to make the finish here acceptable.
  • Corner at the ceiling in the ground floor bedroom needed attention.
  • Paint touch required here in the main bathroom en-suite.
  • Repair required on the ceiling here in the main bathroom en-suite.
  • Bad paintwork on the shadow cornices. The was a general defect applicable to all the shadow cornices in the house. They should all be repaired!
  • Touch up required on window sill in bedroom 1's en-suite bathroom.
• I-7 Interior:

  Tiled floors are normally cleaned with a mop. The result of this is that water will seep in under the BIC's kick plates if they have not been sealed with a silicon sealer at the junction of the kick plate and tiled floor, resulting in moisture damage to the kick plates. The sealing of the kick plates had not been done and in time will result in a maintenance issue!

• I-12 Interior:

  The doors and door frames at doors on the ground and 1st floor were generally rough to touch and require filling, sanding down and painting to obtain a satisfactory finish. The why that the doors were not built into the middle of the door left an unsatisfactory finis on the interior of the bedrooms.

  • Here the weather stripping fitted to the internal door frame was badly executed and will need to be redone. Generally, the fitting on all the door frames was not good. Note the damage and crack on the top of the door jamb.
  • Here is a badly fitted door hinge that should be filled on the frame, sanded down and painted. Note the poor grouting of the tile at the bottom of the door jamb!
  • This is a top edge of a door. The edge was left very rough and a portion of the edge was missing at the top. Filling, sanding down and painting was required.
  • The same door lower down! Note the rough edge!
  • The door frame finish on the inside of the bedrooms and bathrooms was unacceptable! The door frames should be fitted with architraves! See detail A.
  • Another badly fitted hinge! This was a general defect!
  • Generally the door frames finish was sanded smooth and were rough to touch. Sanding down and painting was required.
  • Touch up paint was required on the frames at the hinges.
  • It appeared that the door frames may have been "glued" to the brickwork with an adhesive, polyurethane foam or a similar product. The frame may not have been fixed in the general accepted method. See detail B.
• I-13 Interior:

  Some internal doors had a excessively large gaps at the bottom of the doors. If the gaps are unacceptable, they can be reduced by adding a strip to the bottom of the doors to reduce the gaps.

• I-15 Interior:

  There were cracks in the plasterwork at and below an internal window sill of the staircase landing window. Typically, it appeared from the bubbling paintwork along the cracks internally was around the area of the the window sill as a result of moisture intrusion into the exterior walls at cracks on the window sills and cracks and gaps between the window frames and sills externally. All the cracks on the sills and junctions between all the sills and all the windows should be sealed with a suitable silicon and painted to prevent further intrusion into the structure.

• I-10 Interior:

  End cap on the balustrading was missing on the 1st floor.

• GB-2 Guest Bathroom:

  The plasterwork below the basin required repair and painting.

• GFEB-2 Ground Floor En-suite Bathroom:

  The plasterwork below the basin required repair and painting.

• GFEB-7 Ground Floor En-suite Bathroom:

  The shower drain was slow to drain and appeared to be obstructed. A plumber should further evaluate this drain line and repair for adequate drainage.

• MEB-1 Main En-suite Bathroom:

  The wall behind the bathroom basin was not adequately sealed to the counter top or the wall and could allow water to get behind the counter top. Moisture damage may result in the cabinet below. Seal with silicon.

• MEB-3 Main En-suite Bathroom:

  Cleaning off of grout was required under one side of the toilet tiling.

• B1EB-2 Bedroom 1 En-suite Bathroom:

  The plasterwork below the basin required repair and painting.

• B1EB-3 Bedroom 1 En-suite Bathroom:

  The cold and hot water supply side of the mixer on the basin had a weak supply. This may only be a blocked aerator sieve. The defect will need to be investigated and repaired.

• B1EB-5 Bedroom 1 En-suite Bathroom:

  A grout repair was required under one side of the toilet tiling to prevent moisture intrusion should the toilet ever leak.

• B2EB-3 Bedroom 2 En-suite Bathroom:

  The wall behind the bathroom basin was not adequately sealed to the counter top or the wall and could allow water to get behind the counter top. Moisture damage may result in the cabinet below. Seal with silicon.

• B2EB-5 Bedroom 2 En-suite Bathroom:

  Cleaning off of grout was required under one side of the toilet tiling.

• E-8 Electrical:

  The line and level of light switches and plug points was generally poor. Some switches and covers were loose and needed to be fitted properly. A general check and repair of the plugs points and light switches was required.

  • Switch cover out of plumb.
  • Switch cover require refitting.
  • Plug point and cover was loose and out of level.
  • level and lining up of covers poor!
• E-9 Electrical:

  A loose ceiling light fixtures was noted in the 1st floor passage. Make sure these fixtures are well secured to prevent loose wires and physical damage. All the ceiling light fixtures in the hose required checking and correction by an appropriately qualified electrician.

• P-3 Plumbing:

  A drip pipe was not fitted to the pressure regulator. The drip pipe should discharge directly into a gulley or waste pipe. Water from the regulator was dripping close to the walls of the residence. If the regulator is working properly a certain amount of water is discharged from the drip of the pressure regulator during the course of normal operation. This discharge should be directed away from the foundation of the house.

• P-4 Plumbing:

  The supply pipes were not insulated in the roof space. If you have frost in the area and the winter temperatures gets to 3°C and below, be sure all supply lines in unheated spaces and areas have been adequately insulated to protect pipes from freezing conditions that could damage the pipes.

  • None of the supply pipes were insulated in the unheated roof space. Check local conditions for minimum temperatures.
  • The supply and return pipes to the solar water heater panel are normally insulated. These were not!