Lettuce Play

When coming across a problem in the built environment it is sometimes possible to overthink an issue. 

This is not surprising as when a property professional is confronted with any problem the old grey matter amassed from years of training and experience kicks in. If our brain activity could be visualised digitally when the thought process is under way I am sure it would be something spectacular and quite beautiful to behold. 

There is some comfort and reassurance to be found in coming across familiar or similar observations, patterns and trends as a basis on which to start that rational and diagnostic approach towards a resolution to keep clients happy. 

Or so I thought. 

My particular quandary was about strange discolouration to the internal walls of a modern cavity built house. 

The occupants had observed a sort of downward creeping shadow to an upstairs outer corner. 

The usual tackling of it with detergent and anti-mould wipes appeared to have been successful in the short term but the problem returned quickly. 

I was called in to provide the answers. 

It was a rented house but the tenants were conscientious in heating and ventilation and condensation could be ruled as the cause. 

The surface was dry when tested. 

The external shell of the house, corresponding roof area, barge-boarding and external brick skin were, visually as good as new with no cracked, damaged or missing elements. 

The orientation of the affected wall was north westerly and so had reasonable exposure to warming sunlight to dry any persistent rainfall driven by a prevailing westerly.. 

The discolouration, according to the residents, did not take place immediately after wet weather. That was in my mind a good candidate for the issue.

This initial diagnosis exhausted my first line of equipment . Moisture and humidity testers went back in their cases along with binoculars, compass and mobile phone Met Office records. 

I now had to call upon technology. 

My rather plasticky but nevertheless effective boroscopic camera was put on charge but I would need a scaffolding rig to reach the area of investigation. That and someone to drill a probing hole would be chargeable services that may not be acceptable to the client. 

We were already in the realms of a mountaineering type expedition for a relatively mole-hill situation. 

I thought laterally which took me into the really fantastic options. 

The environmental company that I knew had a thermal imaging camera did not come back to my reasonable enquiry about using it to check for any thermal cold spots from slipped or absent insulation. 

The drone operator, regularly lobbying for an opportunity to show off his aircraft felt that the locality was a bit tight to take off and fly about in. 

These further thoughts took a bit of time and although grateful and gracious about my efforts the client was still a bit anxious. 

I had to apply myself with even more latitude and ever more thought whilst keeping everything in context. 

Yes, it was an inconvenience but no, it was not a major defect, health hazard or lifestyle issue. 

The actual cause was something that I could not have anticipated or expected. 

This came to light a few weeks after I and the client had reached the stage of mutually accepted defeat. 

In the course of a bit of adjustment to plumbing in another part of the roofspace, away from the observed discolouration the actions or rather inactions of a common or garden slug in an overflow pipe had been the problem. 

Who would have thunk that?