RICS Level 2 Survey in FY4

From the mid-Victorian era onwards, Blackpool’s rise as a seaside resort left a clear mark on the housing in FY4. Across South Shore and Mereside, there are large numbers of late Victorian and Edwardian terraced and semi-detached homes dating from roughly 1880 to 1930. Most were built in locally sourced brick with lime mortar, timber joists and rafters, slate roofs and timber sash windows. They are durable buildings, but they also come with particular maintenance demands and risks that buyers should understand before purchase.

Much of the remaining FY4 area was filled in during the 1940s to 1970s, bringing in cavity wall construction, brick and blockwork, concrete roof tiles and a different set of structural characteristics. The postcode also has a smaller share of more recent housing. Even so, one thing runs through the whole mix, many FY4 homes are old enough to have built up maintenance issues and defects, from the merely cosmetic to the genuinely serious. Our RICS Level 2 Survey sets these out in a structured way, so buyers have a clear view of the property before they commit.

In recent years, semi-detached homes have made up the largest share of sales in FY4, with terraced properties next. Detached houses sit at a notably higher price point, averaging over £300,000 compared with an overall FY4 average of around £164,000. That spread reflects just how varied the postcode is, from the tighter-built streets around South Shore to quieter residential pockets near Squires Gate.

Damp comes up more than any other defect in older FY4 homes, and it is rarely just one type. Rising damp caused by failed or missing damp-proof courses is common in Victorian and Edwardian buildings where the original slate DPC has broken down, or where outside ground levels have been raised and now bridge the DPC, letting moisture rise through wall plaster. Penetrating damp is also regularly found in solid brick walls, especially where pointing has worn away or render has cracked and started to detach from the substrate. Our surveyors take moisture meter readings methodically across all ground-floor walls to map the pattern and identify the most likely source.

After damp, timber defects are one of the main findings we see in FY4. In pre-1940s houses, suspended timber floors rely on sub-floor ventilation through airbricks to stay dry. Where those airbricks are blocked, damaged or simply too few, moisture builds up below the floor and conditions become suitable for wet rot in joists, or dry rot in more severe cases. Roof timbers can run into the same sort of trouble if failed roof coverings have allowed water ingress. We check accessible timber by probing surfaces and recording any softness, staining or fungal growth that points to active or past decay.

Roof condition nearly always deserves close attention in FY4 inspections. Older slate roofs often suffer from nail sickness, where corroding ferrous nails let the slates slip. We also regularly find failed ridge tile bedding, cracked leadwork around flashings, and worn hip and valley details. Concrete tile roofs from the 1960s and 1970s have their own typical problems, including lifting at verge edges, broken tiles caused by impact or thermal stress, and moss growth overhanging enough to drive water beneath the tiles. Our surveyors adjust their inspection approach to the roof type as standard.

Because Blackpool’s housing developed around the hospitality trade, FY4 has a fair number of former guest houses and bed-and-breakfast buildings converted to residential use over the last 30 years. Those buildings can bring issues that a normal residential survey needs to spot. Original room sizes, the number and siting of bathrooms added during the guest house period, and any structural changes made to form self-contained flats or separate units all create a layout and risk pattern that differs from a house built solely for residential occupation.

Where a former commercial building has been turned into flats, we pay particular attention to signs of structural work, the quality of fire separation between units, which is a legal requirement under building regulations, and whether any extensions or alterations appear to have been carried out with the right building regulations approval. Missing approvals can create legal liability for a buyer. If we think further legal checks are needed, our survey will say so clearly before you commit to the purchase.

Drainage in converted properties can be awkward as well. Bathrooms added during the guest house era were not always connected to drainage originally intended for that level of use, and later conversion work can make the layout even more complicated. We inspect all visible drainage for condition and apparent adequacy, and we flag cases where a professional drainage survey would be sensible.