New Home Owners And Snagging Forum
Advice on buying a brand new home => Snagging and defects => Topic started by: roger.cleary on June 01, 2023, 06:53:39 pm
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I have an Avant new build (purchased June 2022). I've had a professional snagging assessor not long after we moved in. There were no major issues reported and none have surfaced.
I've become worried as I've noticed neighbours in an identical house have got air bricks fitted but they appear to be missing on my own property. My immediate neighbours also appear to be missing them, but beyond them some houses do and some don't.
The floors are concrete so there is no void beneath the house that needs ventilation. I can easily see the damp proof layer around the house and it appears 2-3 courses of bricks above the ground. I don't think they are buried underneath the landscaping or drive tarmac.
Before I go and check with the builder:
- Are there any circumstances why the same design house would have air bricks and another 2 doors down wouldn't?
- Is is possible they are redundant on the other house, but my home is fine without?
- If they are required, how feasible is it to retrofit them?
Thanks
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Most new homes these days have a suspended beam and block ground floor. These will have an air gap under to floor as they are suspended (span between walls) above the ground.
Air bricks at 2500mm centres are required in warranty standards and should have been noted they were missing with warranty inspections. You Professional Snagging Inspector should have also noted this.
It is not just an air brick, but the air supply needs to be ducted using a "periscope vent" to under the floor.
You may have a solid, ground bearing concrete floor (no airbricks required) and your neighbours have a beam and block suspended ground floor as perhaps the backfilling would exceed 600mm for solid floor if, the air brick houses are built on a sloping ground.
You should check your NHBC warranty card as this will details what type of ground floor you have for your home, assuming it was in fact, filled out correctly. You can now ask for all records of building Inspections made to your house during construction. Ground bearing (solid) concrete floors (that is the ground they rest on and the damp proof membrane), must be inspected before the concrete is poured.
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Thank you for your response.
I have had a look in the pack provided by the builder. I cannot find anything that purports to be a "NHBC warranty card" but have found the SAP report submission. Is this likely to be the same thing? The SAP report notes the ground floor to be of type "Solid" and it's construction to be "Suspected concrete floor, carpeted".
This seems to suggest that we should have air bricks.
I will contact the builder to see if they are able to provide inspection records that suggest anything different.
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SAP is a Standard Assessment Procedure for assessing the energy performance of a building for compliance with Building Regulations. It certainly does not replace the NHBC Home Owners Card.
You should ask the housebuilder for this if you do not have it.
You are now legally entitled to receive copies of all inspection records for Building Control carried out during the build.