RICS Level 2 Survey in BN23

Most of BN23's housing came with Eastbourne's post-war spread east into Langney. Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, local authority and private estates filled out the area with semi-detached houses, terraces and purpose-built flats, and those homes still make up most transactions in the postcode. They were built to the standards of the time, with cavity walls either left empty or filled with early glass mineral wool, flat and low-pitch roofs finished in asphalt or felt that are now often beyond their design life, and electrical systems that in many cases have never been upgraded.

Across BN23, our inspectors regularly come across the following defects:

• Penetrating damp through failed render or pebbledash on 1960s and 1970s cavity-wall houses
• Flat roof deterioration on rear extensions and integrated garages - felt blistering, ponding water and failed upstands
• Blown cavities from early urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, causing localised damp patches on internal walls
• Corroded or scaled copper pipework in properties not re-plumbed since original construction
• Dated fuse-wire consumer units and unprotected circuits without RCD protection
• Timber window frame rot, particularly on south and west elevations exposed to coastal wind-driven rain
• Salt crystallisation damage to external brick and rendered surfaces within half a mile of the seafront

Closer to the Langney village core and along Seaside Road, the housing stock shifts. Here there are some inter-war and Victorian properties, often still with solid wall construction, original single-glazed timber sashes and cast iron drainage in place. They need a different inspection focus, and when defects do show up, repair bills are often higher.

In parts of Eastbourne and across the BN23 district, the ground beneath is Gault Clay, a marine clay deposit that swells in wet conditions and shrinks in dry ones. Buildings founded on this geology can be vulnerable to differential settlement, and that movement is rarely even across the whole footprint. The result can be stepped or diagonal cracking in brickwork, sticking doors and windows, and distortion to door frames and internal finishes.

Our surveyors judge crack patterns against BRE Digest 251 criteria, from Category 0, hairline, no action, through to Category 5, very severe, structural engineer required. During prolonged dry summers of the sort now seen more often in the south-east, shrink-swell movement tends to be more pronounced and more visible at inspection. We record crack positions, widths, step patterns and any associated distortion, so you get the full picture.

Ground conditions change again on chalk towards the South Downs fringe, around the BN26 boundary area, but within the main BN23 postcode Gault Clay remains the main ground-related risk. Where buyers are purchasing on clay soils, we always advise checking the insurance excess position with their insurer before exchange, because some policies apply higher excesses for subsidence on reactive soils.

Langney, which sits at the centre of BN23, was built out mainly between 1950 and 1975 as Eastbourne expanded eastwards. Early phases used traditional construction, cavity brick walls with tile-hung or rendered upper elevations, pitched roofs with interlocking concrete tiles, and timber floors throughout. By the late 1960s and into the 1970s, methods had shifted towards larger concrete block cavities, flat and monopitch roofs over rear extensions, and UPVC windows replacing original timber sashes and casements.

Homes from the first Langney phase, late 1940s to early 1960s, often still have original rafters and joists that remain sound, but the roof felt is commonly at or beyond the end of its serviceable life. Gutters and fascias are also frequently original cast iron or timber, and the maintenance they need has often been put off. Our inspectors test fascias and soffits for softness and look indoors for signs of long-term water ingress at roof-to-wall junctions.

Further south, Princes Park is more mixed in character and has a greater share of flats and converted buildings. Purpose-built blocks from the 1970s often sit under flat roofs that have already been recovered once or twice. During inspection, we look for ponding, failed upstand flashings and ceiling staining internally that matches either historic leaks or active water entry through the roof deck.