As a decorator i was asked to go paint a wall in a very old school. the wall was crumbling from the inside. i told them its a blocked downpipes. They said they had them cleaned. i checked and the company had cleared the gutter, but down spout was blocked. Was easy to work out and fix. anyway The point im getting to is i honestly think we as a nation are becoming more accepting to crap workmanship these day. and its getting worse by the day.
I am currently in dispute with a large housing association where i own a leasehold flat. They instructed a company to repair concrete window cills, they made a complete mess of the repairs but more importantly they never replaced the water drip groove that expels rain water of the building which will lead to water ingress and mould. The Housing association and their CEO are not interested and have no interest in putting it right. Leasehold property is a complete nightmare, never again. Thanks again Rodger for a great video.
Speaking from personal experience, "caretakers" don't often do that sort of maintenance anymore (gulley and gutter clearing and many other tasks) it seems to contracted out. Probably to a company who is approved by the local authority and have submitted a folder full of H&S paperwork, risk assessments, enhanced DBS checks and insurance certificates etc.
lol i feel triggered by this ;) - don't forget equality and diversity policy, carbon reduction plan, waste recycling, and all your ISOs like 9001 etc! - but the gutters still not bloody cleaned ;)
Correct. Caretakers spend most of their time in warm offices and storerooms with a flash of tea. They put chairs and tables out, and lock doors, that's about it in my experience.
I love these videos as they calm me down after a stressful day at work. Roger is like a comfortable and kind old chair. He is so relaxing to listen to and I always learn something.
Blocked guttering led to water cascading onto a very very sheltered lean to shed that I built for a neighbour the best part of fifteen years ago. It’d probably be still fine now but the whole corner of the shed roof is knackered. And it’s not even grade 2 listed! I still felt there was a bit of blame going on, even though I’ve fixed it for her, as if it should still be under bloody guarantee.
Great video that raises a wider concern in the UK. Schools are maintained on large FM contracts not old boys that can have a word with the headteacher and sort the gutters. Now its a geezer that comes out to do a job and leave. Old victorian schools were always damp but there is no excuse for mould these days, which is something I see in our kids School due to poor maintenance in key areas like the gutters.
Problem with schools is short sighted councillors on the take out sourced what was done by live in caretakers who had pride in the building. Now every small job needs a budget, someone to come and survey it, cost, project manage the job and before you know it your school is paying £10K to get the gutters cleaned.
Hi Roger i work for the manufacturer you mentioned to the latter end of your video and having a father-in-law who was in the building trade for 50 plus years said he experienced this issue. I believe the products made and supplied today are compatible with other market leaders putting an end to that problem you encounted many years ago. Hope this helps and thanks for all the great videos 👍
I once popped out to have a look at my recent handiwork during a deluge. I imagine my neighbors thought I'd lost my mind staring intently at a driveway drain in the pouring rain.
A cheap fix for the down pipes is a flexible extension on the bottom, taking the water ten feet or so into the garden away from the blocked grids, I did it decades ago until I could get to do the drains properly.
Love your videos Roger, also love how anyone else you get on here are masters of their trade. Learnt so much from your videos, youre one of the best on TH-cam by far
Timely video Roger, I was only clearing a gutter of a neighbour to my mother this morning. One downside, whoever jointed two gutter lengths used a step up join, not often water runs uphill and no wonder there were soil etc filling the gutter.
"Maintenance team"? You're having a laugh. That's disgusting. Lazy, shoddy attitude displayed by the building's owners. Utterly shameful. 90% of those problems could be sorted out with a week's work.
This is how the idle rich live. Too lazy to do the work themselves or too poor to maintain such a big house. Or too mean to spend money on having the work done.
@@kathleensmith644 not actually true. but go richbashers ! yay soshallizm Does a school deserve to be attacked because their students become employed later ? NO does the pointing need doing , yes! Don't hate wealth ! It's ok to have more than 100 quid in the bank & not be dependent on the gov. People are people & we are all much the same, regardless of how many tokens we can afford. Or can't !
@kathleensmith644 It's a school - a business. A large part of the blame should also fall upon the bodies that administer listing's for buildings. They should issue enforcement notices and penalties if premises are not kept up to a decent standard. People know what is involved when they purchase a listed property - leastwise they should.
Idiots in suits, too busy being clever and important to realise the "oik's" have skills and expertese without which the ivorybtowers crumble and fall! Lol
Cleaned my front gutter two weeks ago, amazed me just how much crud was in it - no trees within 100 yds of the house. Just the gradual build up of 4 years worth of moss which had mostly composted itself into soil- south facing roof too.
I had moss on my drive and I bought some stuff to kill it. Can’t remember the name of the stuff. Started with a B if I remember correctly. Anyway. Sprayed it on and a couple of days later the moss turned it to a grey dust. Just brushed it off and it’s never come back. That was years back.
So many of these old buildings are falling apart. From the great halls to small houses. A lot of the new generation of tradies don't want to work on them, for various reasons. Lack of knowledge of old skills needed to fix them. Fear of contaminants, such as asbestos and lead. A lot just prefer cleaner new work. Then as you say, finding matching parts, or making them. Cost of working on old building Reno's. The one's capable, know it and charge accordingly. Government schools never have any money. Public schools more of a licence to print. I love old buildings. I used to specialise in doing them up. I think some of the great halls should get public funding to maintain them. But I have been shot down before in the comments for saying that. To me they are so worthy of preservation. When you see what governments waste our money on. I don't think restoring beautiful architecture is one of them. Most modern buildings are just ugly. They could only be improved with a dozer, or a stick of dynamite. You would imagine that school has damp problems, which could be a health issue. Put that back at them for funding.
Recently removed our old concrete path found underneath that the seal had gone on the joint for the soil pipe that was just above ground level and then found that who ever replaced the gully for the waste water had fitted a 4” gully into the old 6” clay elbow and just packed a bit of concrete , it had been leaking for yrs and washed soil away and some of the pointing
Greeting from Southern California. I respect, and enjoy, your no nonsense approach to issues and business. Very hard to find these traits where I live in those involved in construction, unless you are building a higher-end commercial project.
When it rains is a great time to grab a broom and clean off windows and driveways etc. Let the rain rinse it all off and just agitate things so the water takes it away for you.
There are millions available in grants to build a drain pipe. But zero, zip, nothing in support to maintain them. And I am not only talking about "drain pipes".... 😞
The building was the subject of external refurbishment in 2007/8, so how can it have deteriorated so much in the intervening 16 years? It may be that the work then wasn't well done and we can see here that basic maintenance has been chronically neglected. The building belongs to the Local Authority but is occupied by a school. Whether the school or the LA is responsible for maintenance I do not know, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the LA. If so, it confirms my belief that LAs cannot be trusted with heritage assets. There are plenty of examples where they have failed to meet their responsibilities, often in terms of maintenance, but also for inappropriate alterations, even to Listed Buildings. In some cases, this work is done without the necessary consent being obtained.
@@markbaldwin5455 I'm from Scotland the Central belt. Near Denny. My mate informs me they are planning to build 100s of new homes in the area. I ask myself who can afford to buy these overpriced cheaply built homes? The figures don't add up
One of the major problems with listing a property is that it becomes too expensive to fix anything. So many wonderful buildings are abandoned and falling to bits because they've been listed, and the original users, schools, churches etc simply can't afford to fulfil all the specifications required or aren't allowed to make the modifications needed to fulfil their needs.
Madness isn't it, we see it all the time Roger, people spend a fortune on designer clothes and a fancy new car or whatever and then don't bother to spend a few quid getting the gutters cleared, more fool them, it keeps us in business, not what you expect on nice old historic buildings though. All the best.
A house that size must had had cottages for the workers originally though??, I imagine at least a couple of guys doing that kind of maintenance, plus gardeners etc as well. I guess with insurance and pro gear for health and safety, then it becomes seemingly impossible to afford maybe. Kind of ironic that a nice expensive thing can't be maintained because of nice expensive things.
I was talking to my dad about the money I'm spending to investigate and remove a potential rodent problem have in the loft, 200 odd pound for three appointments, and he was outraged at me. "You could get a holiday with that!" and went on about how will never get rid of rats, etc... ignored him of course but I was astonished to hear that sort of logic spelled out to me without any self awareness.
Watching this having just carried out maintenance on 50sq mtrs worth of flat roof. I’m a novice and it was my first attempt working with GRP, but there’s something very satisfying watching the rain come down there after having made it all watertight again and then this clip was right on point! Thx for the upload 👍
I remember they used to hire good all round 'handymen' on a permanent basis for schools, instead now they hire companies into do a bit at a time to patch things up and run for profit. A good handyman is worth his weight in gold. The last school I worked at the school care taker was just the key holder, he told me health and safety wouldn't allow him to do anything because even the odd jobs have lists of health and safety restrictions.
You are so right, I used to nip up a ladder to clear out blocked rainwater pipes and clear the gutters. Now they want a risk assesment and method statement. There is no risk assesment of leaving buildings to rot.
You're so right with all this and it's sad. But yeah, rain is often a good thing when you want to find what's wrong. It threw it down the other night and I was easily able to find the leak I had become aware of a while ago but couldn't easily trace while rain wasn't falling. Turned out to be a badly installed Velux - easy to fix and £20-worth parts are on order.
Most people just ignore rainwater drainage even on their own property, unfortunately so do the neighbours if you are joined such as a semi or terraced property, they seem to think if a leak is outside then they can just live with it ! Gaz Yorkshire.
Also, when buying a new house, look for any signs of mould and the likes, will likely show you what will likely happen in the next few years. Saw so many new builds from the last 5 years already looking in bad shape, clear design flaws
Just a thought on listed buildings. We live remotely, and have six listed buildings locally. A castle and five houses/shops. Two of which have been left to dereliction by the owners. For the reason that the appropriate works would cost more than demolition, and building new. Grants are available, but only accessible when the works have been completed and signed off by Historic Scotland. So, no guarantees of the grant when you're making the outlay. To that end, the conservation ethos is destroying the buildings in question.
Love Roger . Wise words . More wandering Roger vids plz ...on .. 1 , what are thet teaching in brick courses ..? 2 , do they teach - poly pipe instead of copper ?in college 3 , is passive- haus building (salford university) is ANY house builders taking up there Knowledge & research .
My neighbour Roger... detached dormer house, the annual block down spout overpouring. I'll mention it, then probably clear it for him. The issue relatates to lazy, disorganised people, as these are visible and obvious issues, perennial if not perpetual in their occurance.
Big problem with the UK is that we are greedy. Roofing companies charge a fortune, welsh slate although better is far more expensive than Spanish slate, VAT on building materials. Basic maintenance is cheap and not that difficult to learn.
Thanks Roger that was very informative and interesting. It is actually a meme for both the National and Local Government ‘estate’ - be that schools, hospitals or armed forces. It is a very sad and quixotic situation - save £10,000 per annum for 10 years on the maintenance budget and end up with a £1 million repair bill - and in the meanwhile you have made the occupants of the building miserable and impacted on their operational activities. I see a few comments about ‘Oh well it is a listed building that’s difficult’ - there is nothing in those controls that inhibits keeping drainage and guttering clear. Roger Do you live around Reigate?
"Nobody has any money" yep. And nobody has any time either. Makes you wonder what the hell we're all so busy with and more importantly, who's actually benefitting? Great video and reminder to us all to prioritise where we put our energy, thanks!
Where I live in Ireland very, very few of my neighbours seem to do any basic property maintenance at all and I sometimes wonder why I never see anyone else up a ladder cleaning gutters, washing windows etc. I clean my own gutters twice a year and I see it as in invaluable opportunity to inspect the roof condition and general state of repair of the chimney etc. Western society has forgotten how to repair and mend, everything has to be outsourced to a "professional" now! Fair enough, not everyone has the ability, tools or know how but like owning a car, if you do own a house you should know the very basics when it comes to looking after it.
Reigate Priory has been in public ownership since 1944. It is a great pity that the borough council have been so negligent in caring for the building. Thanks for highlight the situation.
Many years ago we had a damp wall in the space under the house near the soil pipe. Digging out around the pipe revealed an old large ‘bean’ can split to fit around the soil pipe, held in place by a bit of twisted wire. The bottom end was just poking into clay pipe connection. Obviously over the years it had rusted and failed. A new rubber connector was fitted, the wall dried out remarkably quickly after that. Had I not been under the house running some wiring I would never have spotted it, also there was no smell.
Some time ago you gave the same advice. Your words are as sound now as they were then. I did as you suggested and been out when it was raining. I spotted a leaking gutter and two blocked drains. It cost nothing to fix, just a bit of effort. That priory is a classic as it shows what happens when you let useless people administer the maintenance and let lazy oafs look after your buildings.
I think I may be guilty of something similar. Just discovered the old well under our front door that's been a soakaway for decades is full to the brim! Inches from disaster!
All the mortar is being dissolved by rising water in my flat but obviously London and Quadrant won't care until the building collapses and then charge us to foot the bill. Britain at its best.
Hi Roger. Thanks so much - i used to live in Reigate and now retired to Devon. But all my three lads went to the Priory school and it's so sad to see it in this state. But as you say - unless its on a screen and keyboard - no one has a clue to do anything. But thanks again and did not know you were sort of local.
Roger as we spend most of our evenings in lounge could you do a short video on every thing we can do big and small to make this room as warm as we can. We have a concrete floor.
This is utter rubbish. In the 70s as ayoung hoddy we headed for the nearest boozer. Always knew what day was market day in local towns. Some of the best days of my life. Not a care. Now retired and not a care
One time my gutter down pipe have sunk down and was leaking from top all over the wall. After inspection I found out that it was blocked mid way by old Samsung cellphone plus some rotting leafs on top of it and weight of water inside pushed it down caused it to sink into ground.
Good point well made. Luckily it had been raining for hours before I got there so it would have been cleanish water but, yes, one cut and the dreaded rat is poisoning us back.
Obviously it would help to clear the drains. However, many years ago Building Control made us put rainwater into soakaways - guess what happens = flooding. Sense is no longer common.
What a crying shame to see such a once grand building crumbling away before your eyes. Always saying to people that keeping gutters and drains clear saves your house from expensive damage.
At the end; " ... Yeah. " And I just PMSL! 😂 Brilliant!
As a decorator i was asked to go paint a wall in a very old school. the wall was crumbling from the inside. i told them its a blocked downpipes. They said they had them cleaned. i checked and the company had cleared the gutter, but down spout was blocked. Was easy to work out and fix. anyway The point im getting to is i honestly think we as a nation are becoming more accepting to crap workmanship these day. and its getting worse by the day.
Unfortunately there is a lot of money to be earned in the Construction these days and it's attracting the wrong sort.
We need managers with practical sense in the UK. Not academics who are experts in Woke Culture
@@robertbrook1658 we are blaming blocked downpipes on woke now? Jeez lol
@@PhippsyB why not i say haha
@@PhippsyBEverything has deteriorated and it’s because nobody cares anymore, it’s about grab what you can and to hell with the consequences.
I am currently in dispute with a large housing association where i own a leasehold flat. They instructed a company to repair concrete window cills, they made a complete mess of the repairs but more importantly they never replaced the water drip groove that expels rain water of the building which will lead to water ingress and mould. The Housing association and their CEO are not interested and have no interest in putting it right. Leasehold property is a complete nightmare, never again. Thanks again Rodger for a great video.
Speaking from personal experience, "caretakers" don't often do that sort of maintenance anymore (gulley and gutter clearing and many other tasks) it seems to contracted out. Probably to a company who is approved by the local authority and have submitted a folder full of H&S paperwork, risk assessments, enhanced DBS checks and insurance certificates etc.
lol i feel triggered by this ;) - don't forget equality and diversity policy, carbon reduction plan, waste recycling, and all your ISOs like 9001 etc! - but the gutters still not bloody cleaned ;)
Correct. Caretakers spend most of their time in warm offices and storerooms with a flash of tea. They put chairs and tables out, and lock doors, that's about it in my experience.
I love these videos as they calm me down after a stressful day at work. Roger is like a comfortable and kind old chair. He is so relaxing to listen to and I always learn something.
Don't sit on Roger or try to re-upholster him!
👍👍👍
Our local hospital has gutters filled with grass and weeds growing more than 1/2 metre high. Thanks Roger
Whilst the managers of the hospitals are earning big money.
Blocked guttering led to water cascading onto a very very sheltered lean to shed that I built for a neighbour the best part of fifteen years ago. It’d probably be still fine now but the whole corner of the shed roof is knackered. And it’s not even grade 2 listed! I still felt there was a bit of blame going on, even though I’ve fixed it for her, as if it should still be under bloody guarantee.
Great video that raises a wider concern in the UK. Schools are maintained on large FM contracts not old boys that can have a word with the headteacher and sort the gutters. Now its a geezer that comes out to do a job and leave. Old victorian schools were always damp but there is no excuse for mould these days, which is something I see in our kids School due to poor maintenance in key areas like the gutters.
Likewise housing associations and similar
Problem with schools is short sighted councillors on the take out sourced what was done by live in caretakers who had pride in the building. Now every small job needs a budget, someone to come and survey it, cost, project manage the job and before you know it your school is paying £10K to get the gutters cleaned.
Hi Roger i work for the manufacturer you mentioned to the latter end of your video and having a father-in-law who was in the building trade for 50 plus years said he experienced this issue. I believe the products made and supplied today are compatible with other market leaders putting an end to that problem you encounted many years ago. Hope this helps and thanks for all the great videos 👍
Such a shame. Clearing gullys and guttering must be relatively inexpensive, particularly compared to masonary repairs. 🤨
I once popped out to have a look at my recent handiwork during a deluge. I imagine my neighbors thought I'd lost my mind staring intently at a driveway drain in the pouring rain.
A cheap fix for the down pipes is a flexible extension on the bottom, taking the water ten feet or so into the garden away from the blocked grids, I did it decades ago until I could get to do the drains properly.
Love your videos Roger, also love how anyone else you get on here are masters of their trade. Learnt so much from your videos, youre one of the best on TH-cam by far
Timely video Roger, I was only clearing a gutter of a neighbour to my mother this morning. One downside, whoever jointed two gutter lengths used a step up join, not often water runs uphill and no wonder there were soil etc filling the gutter.
Our village achool has massively overgrown trees and a blocked drain that results in the car park being inches deep in mud and water.
Also who is the head of that school? they should be sacked for letting that building be destroyed by neglect. It angers me to see this 🥵
My guess is, if you saw his budget you'd understand.
"Maintenance team"? You're having a laugh. That's disgusting. Lazy, shoddy attitude displayed by the building's owners. Utterly shameful. 90% of those problems could be sorted out with a week's work.
amen
This is how the idle rich live. Too lazy to do the work themselves or too poor to maintain such a big house. Or too mean to spend money on having the work done.
@@kathleensmith644 not actually true. but go richbashers ! yay soshallizm
Does a school deserve to be attacked because their students become employed later ? NO
does the pointing need doing , yes!
Don't hate wealth !
It's ok to have more than 100 quid in the bank & not be dependent on the gov.
People are people & we are all much the same, regardless of how many tokens we can afford. Or can't !
@kathleensmith644 It's a school - a business. A large part of the blame should also fall upon the bodies that administer listing's for buildings. They should issue enforcement notices and penalties if premises are not kept up to a decent standard. People know what is involved when they purchase a listed property - leastwise they should.
Idiots in suits, too busy being clever and important to realise the "oik's" have skills and expertese without which the ivorybtowers crumble and fall!
Lol
Cleaned my front gutter two weeks ago, amazed me just how much crud was in it - no trees within 100 yds of the house. Just the gradual build up of 4 years worth of moss which had mostly composted itself into soil- south facing roof too.
I had moss on my drive and I bought some stuff to kill it. Can’t remember the name of the stuff. Started with a B if I remember correctly. Anyway. Sprayed it on and a couple of days later the moss turned it to a grey dust. Just brushed it off and it’s never come back. That was years back.
So many of these old buildings are falling apart. From the great halls to small houses. A lot of the new generation of tradies don't want to work on them, for various reasons. Lack of knowledge of old skills needed to fix them. Fear of contaminants, such as asbestos and lead. A lot just prefer cleaner new work. Then as you say, finding matching parts, or making them. Cost of working on old building Reno's. The one's capable, know it and charge accordingly. Government schools never have any money. Public schools more of a licence to print.
I love old buildings. I used to specialise in doing them up. I think some of the great halls should get public funding to maintain them. But I have been shot down before in the comments for saying that. To me they are so worthy of preservation. When you see what governments waste our money on. I don't think restoring beautiful architecture is one of them. Most modern buildings are just ugly. They could only be improved with a dozer, or a stick of dynamite.
You would imagine that school has damp problems, which could be a health issue. Put that back at them for funding.
Recently removed our old concrete path found underneath that the seal had gone on the joint for the soil pipe that was just above ground level and then found that who ever replaced the gully for the waste water had fitted a 4” gully into the old 6” clay elbow and just packed a bit of concrete , it had been leaking for yrs and washed soil away and some of the pointing
✅ nice one. . Making gutters interesting. Respect. 😂
Storm dried my flat roof walls two days before the rain started. Stop the rain, raining in my downstairs toilet.
Greeting from Southern California. I respect, and enjoy, your no nonsense approach to issues and business. Very hard to find these traits where I live in those involved in construction, unless you are building a higher-end commercial project.
When it rains is a great time to grab a broom and clean off windows and driveways etc. Let the rain rinse it all off and just agitate things so the water takes it away for you.
Can a silicon or similar product be used between a failed gutter rubber union?
Roof and getter sealant.
Question - what is the mesh covered 'hole / window' near a small drain pipe around around 4:00?
I was going to ask the same question. Is that an air brick that's been covered to stop pests?
brilliant video once again. great channel!
There are millions available in grants to build a drain pipe.
But zero, zip, nothing in support to maintain them.
And I am not only talking about "drain pipes".... 😞
25 for a new fitting? Bit cheap that, well worth the 25 for sure.
The building was the subject of external refurbishment in 2007/8, so how can it have deteriorated so much in the intervening 16 years? It may be that the work then wasn't well done and we can see here that basic maintenance has been chronically neglected. The building belongs to the Local Authority but is occupied by a school. Whether the school or the LA is responsible for maintenance I do not know, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the LA. If so, it confirms my belief that LAs cannot be trusted with heritage assets. There are plenty of examples where they have failed to meet their responsibilities, often in terms of maintenance, but also for inappropriate alterations, even to Listed Buildings. In some cases, this work is done without the necessary consent being obtained.
thanks for the tips
Take an umbrella out with you.
I had one
@@SkillBuilder
Yes you did. I’ve used loads of tips from your vides , they have been a great help. Thank you.
Spot on
When it's raining..stay indoors and keep dry
Check out the houses for our forces if you want to see neglect! They are shameful 😡
Good information
Are people really feeling the pinch in the UK? I'm in Germany and haven't been over for a while
yes
@@markbaldwin5455
I'm from Scotland the Central belt. Near Denny. My mate informs me they are planning to build 100s of new homes in the area. I ask myself who can afford to buy these overpriced cheaply built homes? The figures don't add up
@@markbaldwin5455
And yet up in Scotland they are building 250 new homes and asking £300,000 for them. Where are people getting the money?
Do you drink a lot?
What makes you ask? The answer is no. I drink one bottle of wine over the weekend and nothing during the week.
I'm surprised "singing" isn't a top thing to do in the rains..
Not to mention ~ Dancing !
Move abroad, were it rains less.
Nooice!
Blocked Drain!
Where's ratty and ollie when you need them?
Is that forestdale?
What, from Reigate to Selsdon/Addington area?
I assume the lack of maintenance is purposed to create larger problems. Sad.
Go on holiday......
what a sad state of affairs Roger
Roger is basically just a Karen of the building trades
I’d be curious to know who actually owns this building, sneaky way of getting rid of a country’s heritage
Preventative maintenance is always less costly than repairs. 👍👍
As the old saying goes, stitch in time saves nine
One of the major problems with listing a property is that it becomes too expensive to fix anything. So many wonderful buildings are abandoned and falling to bits because they've been listed, and the original users, schools, churches etc simply can't afford to fulfil all the specifications required or aren't allowed to make the modifications needed to fulfil their needs.
I suspect the school is run by an accountant who thinks he’s saving money by not worrying about maintenance.
Madness isn't it, we see it all the time Roger, people spend a fortune on designer clothes and a fancy new car or whatever and then don't bother to spend a few quid getting the gutters cleared, more fool them, it keeps us in business, not what you expect on nice old historic buildings though. All the best.
A house that size must had had cottages for the workers originally though??, I imagine at least a couple of guys doing that kind of maintenance, plus gardeners etc as well. I guess with insurance and pro gear for health and safety, then it becomes seemingly impossible to afford maybe. Kind of ironic that a nice expensive thing can't be maintained because of nice expensive things.
I was talking to my dad about the money I'm spending to investigate and remove a potential rodent problem have in the loft, 200 odd pound for three appointments, and he was outraged at me. "You could get a holiday with that!" and went on about how will never get rid of rats, etc... ignored him of course but I was astonished to hear that sort of logic spelled out to me without any self awareness.
The term is ‘fur coat and no knickers”.
Reigate is a very wealthy town, council tax is very high too. Can't believe this beautiful building is in that condition, very sad to see.
Watching this having just carried out maintenance on 50sq mtrs worth of flat roof. I’m a novice and it was my first attempt working with GRP, but there’s something very satisfying watching the rain come down there after having made it all watertight again and then this clip was right on point! Thx for the upload 👍
I remember they used to hire good all round 'handymen' on a permanent basis for schools, instead now they hire companies into do a bit at a time to patch things up and run for profit. A good handyman is worth his weight in gold. The last school I worked at the school care taker was just the key holder, he told me health and safety wouldn't allow him to do anything because even the odd jobs have lists of health and safety restrictions.
You are so right, I used to nip up a ladder to clear out blocked rainwater pipes and clear the gutters. Now they want a risk assesment and method statement. There is no risk assesment of leaving buildings to rot.
The health and safety department has become a monster ,too many people trying to justify their jobs whilst common sense jumps out of the window.
You're so right with all this and it's sad. But yeah, rain is often a good thing when you want to find what's wrong. It threw it down the other night and I was easily able to find the leak I had become aware of a while ago but couldn't easily trace while rain wasn't falling. Turned out to be a badly installed Velux - easy to fix and £20-worth parts are on order.
You could use a power washer to trench your roof. Very satisfying when you can sort these repairs yourself with minimal costs
it's Raining heavy here, I go out and look at my Gutter, where the Gutter is leaking
Wasnt the reigate priory also in a sherlock holmes book? "The reigate squire" was very good.
Most people just ignore rainwater drainage even on their own property, unfortunately so do the neighbours if you are joined such as a semi or terraced property, they seem to think if a leak is outside then they can just live with it !
Gaz Yorkshire.
Also, when buying a new house, look for any signs of mould and the likes, will likely show you what will likely happen in the next few years. Saw so many new builds from the last 5 years already looking in bad shape, clear design flaws
Just a thought on listed buildings. We live remotely, and have six listed buildings locally. A castle and five houses/shops. Two of which have been left to dereliction by the owners. For the reason that the appropriate works would cost more than demolition, and building new. Grants are available, but only accessible when the works have been completed and signed off by Historic Scotland. So, no guarantees of the grant when you're making the outlay. To that end, the conservation ethos is destroying the buildings in question.
A bit of Storm Guard needed there Roger🤣🤣 works well on my house in comparison to my neighbours house by the way
Love Roger . Wise words .
More wandering Roger vids plz ...on ..
1 , what are thet teaching in brick courses ..?
2 , do they teach - poly pipe instead of copper ?in college
3 , is passive- haus building (salford university) is ANY house builders taking up there Knowledge & research .
My neighbour Roger... detached dormer house, the annual block down spout overpouring. I'll mention it, then probably clear it for him. The issue relatates to lazy, disorganised people, as these are visible and obvious issues, perennial if not perpetual in their occurance.
Big problem with the UK is that we are greedy. Roofing companies charge a fortune, welsh slate although better is far more expensive than Spanish slate, VAT on building materials. Basic maintenance is cheap and not that difficult to learn.
Thanks Roger that was very informative and interesting. It is actually a meme for both the National and Local Government ‘estate’ - be that schools, hospitals or armed forces. It is a very sad and quixotic situation - save £10,000 per annum for 10 years on the maintenance budget and end up with a £1 million repair bill - and in the meanwhile you have made the occupants of the building miserable and impacted on their operational activities. I see a few comments about ‘Oh well it is a listed building that’s difficult’ - there is nothing in those controls that inhibits keeping drainage and guttering clear.
Roger Do you live around Reigate?
"Nobody has any money" yep. And nobody has any time either. Makes you wonder what the hell we're all so busy with and more importantly, who's actually benefitting?
Great video and reminder to us all to prioritise where we put our energy, thanks!
Where I live in Ireland very, very few of my neighbours seem to do any basic property maintenance at all and I sometimes wonder why I never see anyone else up a ladder cleaning gutters, washing windows etc. I clean my own gutters twice a year and I see it as in invaluable opportunity to inspect the roof condition and general state of repair of the chimney etc. Western society has forgotten how to repair and mend, everything has to be outsourced to a "professional" now! Fair enough, not everyone has the ability, tools or know how but like owning a car, if you do own a house you should know the very basics when it comes to looking after it.
Reigate Priory has been in public ownership since 1944. It is a great pity that the borough council have been so negligent in caring for the building.
Thanks for highlight the situation.
Many years ago we had a damp wall in the space under the house near the soil pipe. Digging out around the pipe revealed an old large ‘bean’ can split to fit around the soil pipe, held in place by a bit of twisted wire. The bottom end was just poking into clay pipe connection. Obviously over the years it had rusted and failed. A new rubber connector was fitted, the wall dried out remarkably quickly after that. Had I not been under the house running some wiring I would never have spotted it, also there was no smell.
shocking that the building is not being looked after. and the current tenants?
Some time ago you gave the same advice. Your words are as sound now as they were then. I did as you suggested and been out when it was raining. I spotted a leaking gutter and two blocked drains. It cost nothing to fix, just a bit of effort. That priory is a classic as it shows what happens when you let useless people administer the maintenance and let lazy oafs look after your buildings.
Shocking tbh. Can't be any regular maintenance person there. Was the school sold to a Chinese multinational?
I think I may be guilty of something similar. Just discovered the old well under our front door that's been a soakaway for decades is full to the brim! Inches from disaster!
All the mortar is being dissolved by rising water in my flat but obviously London and Quadrant won't care until the building collapses and then charge us to foot the bill. Britain at its best.
Another great educational video,love your content and the way you explain,thank you Roger 👍
Try sourcing K2 gutter fittings .................NON EXISTANT!
Hi Roger. Thanks so much - i used to live in Reigate and now retired to Devon. But all my three lads went to the Priory school and it's so sad to see it in this state. But as you say - unless its on a screen and keyboard - no one has a clue to do anything. But thanks again and did not know you were sort of local.
Again greed, selfishness and incompatance. No wonder the system cracks in so many places.
Big estate owners, looking for somebody like out of the movie; ¨The Gentleman¨ to look after Them
I have a constant battle with blocked gutters (as I back onto a wood) but better clearing these regularly rather than leaving them
Roger as we spend most of our evenings in lounge could you do a short video on every thing we can do big and small to make this room as warm as we can. We have a concrete floor.
Real shame take responsibility whoever you are
I would take all the vegetation off that grows on the walls.
Great video Subscribed.
The site manager should be sacked .
Everything. Everywhere you look there are better things to be spending our tax money on over people from other countries. Blows my mind.
Gotta get the ivy off🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
This is utter rubbish. In the 70s as ayoung hoddy we headed for the nearest boozer. Always knew what day was market day in local towns. Some of the best days of my life. Not a care. Now retired and not a care
Thanks for telling us about your life, it sounds like you have lived the kind of life others dream of.
One time my gutter down pipe have sunk down and was leaking from top all over the wall. After inspection I found out that it was blocked mid way by old Samsung cellphone plus some rotting leafs on top of it and weight of water inside pushed it down caused it to sink into ground.
I think that was my phone, I put it in there so I didn't drop it.
Roger I wouldn’t put my hands into that gully which has a rat trap next to it .I’ve worked with someone who had Wells disease.
Good point well made. Luckily it had been raining for hours before I got there so it would have been cleanish water but, yes, one cut and the dreaded rat is poisoning us back.
ah, that reminds me - i must clean the gutters of my country mansion. thanks roger, so useful for the working man
Are you seriously suggesting that the scale of the building affects the problem? One blocked downpipe or gulley is proportionate.
Hope free delivery for the gutter clip. 😉
🙌🏻
Shameful
Obviously it would help to clear the drains. However, many years ago Building Control made us put rainwater into soakaways - guess what happens = flooding. Sense is no longer common.
What a crying shame to see such a once grand building crumbling away before your eyes. Always saying to people that keeping gutters and drains clear saves your house from expensive damage.
Looks like redigging the soakaways would do no harm. The building will probably be demolished because essentially nobody can be bothered anymore.
If walls could talk you could almost hear them say "not my job guv'nor" "speak to companies customer care team i.e Dave the rave 😢
I'm seeing this kind of basic neglect in NHS properties -- talk about falling for a sucker punch