Structural Survey: Volume 7 Issue 4

Trees and soil recovery

Richard Driscoll

Introduction As long ago as 18411 it was known that trees can cause movements of adjacent ground if the soil contains appreciable quantities of clay. However, it is in…

Conservation of US houses

Richard Catt

After ten weeks at sea the early settlers arrived in New England from Plymouth in the early 1630s. They found vast expanses of uncharted land, an awesome abundance of wildlife…

Funding construction research

E. Irwin

Just £1m expended on research into large bored under‐reamed piles, has made possible the construction of tall buildings on London clay to a value of £1.25bn. Pulverised fuel ash…

Lightning protection – Planning for the unexpected

S. Haigh, R.E. Baldwin

Lightning is by no means the most destructive natural phenomenon but the flash and thunder still evoke deep rooted fears.

Lead sheet in perspective

F.C. Coote

Introduction Lead sheet has made a comeback during the last few years. Over 90,000 tonnes of lead sheet was used for roofing, cladding and flashing applications during 1987 — the…

The surface restoration of buildings – An investment in the present as well as in the future

John Preston

Summary (1) All building materials require correct treatment and regular maintenance. The expression ‘maintenance‐free’ is inaccurate. Where assumed, it leads to errors of design…

The push button surveyor – Instruments used to detect problem areas within buildings

Malcolm Hollis

Surveying buildings is an art. Verifying the cause of the failure is a science. The surveyor's work involves a combination of both the art and the science. The art of the…

Swimming pools: Technical problems

Philip H. Perkins

The experience of the writer is that defects in swimming pools, particularly the small private pool, often originate from the way in which the contract was entered into; that is…