With the lockdown imposed to tackle the Covid-19 virus, we watch a little more television than usual.
One of the programmes that Margreet enjoys is when potential buyers of property are shown around houses by presenters who adhere to a formula and sometimes emulate estate agents.
It is fascinating to notice that buyers, especially those who are interested in moving to the country from town, are almost invariably impressed by BEAMS. Beams are simply items of construction, seen inside more often when exposed by the lack of such as plasterboard covering. Beams are for holding up roofs, supporting floors and, in some old properties (and brand new ones), forming the very framework of the building itself. The gaps between timbers of an old wooden framework may be filled with bricks or some sort of plaster-alike substance, depending on the prevailing methods of its period or district availability.
What fascinates me, and is yet to be mentioned by any presenter that I have seen or heard, are those usually black-painted Xs, round discs or S-shaped additions, apparently stuck to the wall of an old house at random.
They are not mentioned for a very good reason (on the part of the salesman or -woman) because they are there to prevent a bulging wall from bulging further or even collapsing. They should be a warning to potential buyers that either the wall itself is faulty or, having bulged outwards, come away in some degree from the internal floor joists directly behind them.
These, usually cast iron "plates", are attached to either end of metal tie rods that lie close to ceiling joists and pass from one side of the house to the other.
The plates are attached to a tie rod's screw-threaded ends by nuts on washers.
I wondered if these faulty walls might be flattened by the nuts being tightened over time. But I believe that this course of action is not to be recommended. With frail bricks or stonework, one could see why.
Buyers beware.
