Hazards to look out for in your new house
Prior to moving into a new house, ensure you get experts to check the house for you.
If you are not in a position to get the house checked before moving in, ensure the contract you have with the owner of the house leaves them liable for structural, electrical and plumbing damages that happened before you moved in or were caused by their negligence. Else, you may stray into the red attempting to renovate your new house. What is even more dreadful is, new houses purchased from developers tend to have these issues.
Here are things to look out for:
Electrical wiring: Poor wiring within the house can raise your electrical bill and also cost you your life. Many households in Kenya use shower heads to heat bathing water, now ask yourself, with poorly earthed cables in your house, what happens when you experience an extreme electrical surge? Get a professional electrician with papers or tons of experience to check out your electrical wires.
Airlock: I have suffered airlock issues to the point of going mad. Some air lock in the plumbing system can be removed by simply opening all the water faucets. In my case, I had to go a week or two without water then get a plumber to crawl into my ceiling to work his magic. Imagine this happening on a monthly basis!
Plumbing system: Do you know what materials have been used for your plumbing system? Modern plumbing is done with PVC but houses built in 2005 and beyond could have used metal pipes. This makes them prone to rust blockage and cause you lots of trouble as they age. Trouble such as blocked faucets.
Garter: Blocked or torn garter can cause structural damages to your house. Slowly as water struggles to find its way out of the garter, it may sip into your walls causing cracks hence weakening the house. Before you know it, you aren’t only dealing with a damaged garter but also damages walls, floors, ceilings and beams.
Cracks and bulges in walls can indicate movement of structure whereas small cracks are not serious.
Wood work and roofs: Many facia boards and some window seals are made of wood hence are prone to rot. Get someone to climb up your roof to check whether they need to be replaced or repainted. While they are at it, ask them to check if all the roof tiles and slates are in place.
As you do this, treat the outside of the house as you would the inside, ensure the different components supplement one another, are in acceptable condition and are consistent with the style of the house.
