The trouble with cavity wall tie surveys and wall tie installers

Wall tie corrosion has been a big deal in property for about twenty five years.  Initially it was seen as a very specialised area; before becoming old hat – something that anyone could do. If fact, when I started out in the mid eighties, all wall tie work had to be specified by an independent […]

Para-people

Paragliding has been off my agenda this year. Mainly due to over work and stress induced apathy, I’d almost forgotten I could fly. Well, after being rude to a customer (a first in 23 years), I realised I needed a break, so I joined up with a group of pilots going for a week in […]

District 9

Well, what can I say about this film? I went to see it the other night, on an Orange Wednesday, with Jonathan. So, there’s an unsettling start, with shaky news desk style images and rather plain people chatting about ‘what happened’. We then get introduced to this obnoxious character who is propelled into an important […]

Bloody Women

I am the only bloke in our houseThe WifeThe daughterThe Cat Surrounded by femalesPushed and pulledTo and froI surf my way throughFeminine eddies and swells “Do Shirts live on the floor”? Asks Julie“No” I mutterScooping one upAnd chucking it in the basketOn the landing “Dad – will you make me a smoothie?”Comes a muffled plea […]

Free Survey Sir?

For years I’ve been offering free damp & timber surveys. Why? Well that’s because the free survey is expected and I was brought up doing these from my early twenties (I’m 49 now). Acceptance rates; the number of jobs won in relation to surveys carried out has fallen over the years though. From nearly forty […]

Copyright © 2010 Preservation Expert. Legal Stuff: All the advice and information in the posts on my blog is made in good faith and is based on my experience and knowledge at the time of writing. However, nobody is infallible and whilst I’m confident that most of what I write about preservation issues is accurate, there’s a good chance there’ll be an error or two somewhere. I do change my mind about stuff, as I gain more experience. In view of this you must make your own decisions on whether to follow any advice I write and think about this; I could be wrong. No responsibility will be accepted by the author for any losses anyone may suffer as a result of any mistake or for the consequence of any action you take as a result of reading this blog. If you do suffer a loss, resulting from anything I’ve written, a verbal heartfelt apology will be your only compensation.