Planning the Property Development Project
A Realistic Budget
It cannot be stressed too much that the first thing to do is to work out a realistic budget for your development and stick to it. Itemise the work you intend to do and cost each individual item.
If some things turn out to be more expensive than planned, make up for this by saving money on some other item of work. You can often get brilliant ideas from expensive showrooms or magazines and then the skill is to get a similar effect with less costly materials.
Home Improvement Grants
It may be worth finding out if you are eligible for a home improvement grant from your local authority for some aspect of the work you are considering; grants are generally only available to home-owners, not developers. Each authority will have its own rules about types of help it will offer and about the conditions you must meet in order to qualify for help.
The Structure
Before purchasing your property you should have assessed the extent of the repairs, work and decoration required to make it perfect for your market. And before you actually begin on the interior layout and design, you should make sure it is safe and sound and in a good state of repair.
There is no point in spending lots of money on cosmetic repairs if you have not carried out the basic repairs. Ensuring the basic structure of the property is in good condition is one of the most important improvements you will make, and potential buyers who are paying a premium for a hassle free home will expect just that.
The first thing is to consider any repairs that are mentioned in the building survey. These should be done before you even think about any interior planning and design work.
For example, the state of the drains, the state of the roof, damp-proofing, window frames, cracks in walls and pointing of brickwork, and electric wiring. Where indicated by a survey, you should treat against woodworm, dry rot and damp.
These things are not cheap but they are necessary and need to be budgeted for. Once the property is a watertight, functioning shell you can consider how it can be arranged and re-developed for re-sale.
Structural Points To Consider
The difference between new build and older properties is that new build will have a consistent construction method throughout, whereas most older properties will have evolved over time. As a result, older buildings are often a mixture of original and later construction, with a combination of different materials, methods and standards. The following are some of the differences you may find between old and new purpose built properties or within various parts of a refurbished unit.
Foundations
In houses built before 1914 load bearing brick walls were often built directly off the subsoil without concrete strip footings, or off paving slabs, although sometimes the brickwork of the wall was stepped out at the base to spread the load. In more recent houses there is always some form of widening at the base of the wall unless it is built on very hard ground or rock. Settlement and damage to foundations can be caused by movement between old and new foundations or by subsidence. The latter can be due to heavy rain or drought on a clay sub soil, or the removal of large trees, which changes the water content of the soil in the area of their roots.
Walls
External walls before 1930 are usually of solid brickwork 9 inches or 13.5 inches thick. Houses built after 1930 usually have cavity walls or solid walls faced with tiles or boarding. Or they may be built from timber framed panels or concrete.
Many older mansion blocks use solid wall construction although some have a concrete or steel frame with panel walls or brick cladding. A brick facing does not necessarily mean the full thickness of the wall is brick. Damage to mortar between the bricks from weather or penetration by moisture may mean you need to re-point or replace individual bricks.
Internal walls in old and new houses may be constructed from timber-stud, brick, breeze or concrete block. Where new openings have been made in internal walls, the construction above may be supported on timber, steel or concrete beams. In modernised properties walls may have been lined with waterproof lathing to protect internal finishes.
Ground floors in old houses were often constructed of timber floorboards resting on a honeycomb sleeper of walls. The space under such floors should be well ventilated to prevent rot. Modern houses usually have solid concrete floors. If ground level timber floors are replaced by solid concrete floors, it is essential that sufficient airflow is maintained to adjoining timber floors.
Roofs
If where you live has a high rainfall, the most logical roof construction is a pitched tiled roof. If properly constructed, and barring storm damage, this form of roof should last around 80 years. Older pitched roofs may be tiled or slated and were often built without sarking felt or boards. They may have suffered from neglect where gutters haven’t been cleared and lead flashings haven’t been maintained; incorrectly repaired roofs may allow water to reach the rafters, causing decay. The problems could remain if the roof is only repaired rather than totally replaced.
