Non-Traditional Housing Surveys

We are currently being employed by a building surveying practice in East Sussex, assisting them with gaining an understanding on the condition of various types of non-traditional housing schemes.

All of the properties being inspected were built in the aftermath of WWII, when an urgent need for housing was required. Various pre-fabricated types of house were developed by numerous companies in the 1940s and ‘50s, including Cornish, Airey, Orlit and Parkinson, all were designed and built to have a limited life span of around 10 years. Over 150 thousand were built and there are still around 8 thousand prefabricated houses still lived in today!

Our works include the careful removal of precast concrete panels and localised brickwork removal, to expose the concrete framing behind. We are also digging trial pits to expose the foundations, which in some cases are found to be far shallower than would be expected today. Following the collation of all required information all exposed areas are reinstated.

The intention is to establish if these properties can have their lives further extended, through cost effective repair. Consideration is also being given to ensuring the properties are brought up to current thermal and environmental standards.