Gwynne Anthony 2020

ART506 Dissertation 2019. Anthony Gwynne . 22 Figure 5: Inappropriate maintenance to old buildings (not to scale) (Source: Gwynne, 2013). 3.3.0 Modern construction (post 1919) 3.3.1 Legislation Following the First Public Health Act in 1875 (www.parliment.uk) , there were two major revisions in 1936 and 1961 (www.legislation.gov.uk) . This led to the Building Regulations 1965, 1976 and 1983 (www.legislation.gov.uk) . The Public Health Act was replaced by the Building Act 1984 (www.legislation.gov.uk) and provides the framework for today’s Building Regulations. The current Building Regulations in Wales are the Building Regulations 2010 and The Building (Approved Inspector’s etc.) Regulations 2010 (www.legislation.gov.uk) . A separate system of building control applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The current legislation applicable to Wales is summarized as follows: Roofs replaced with modern impervious roof coverings /felts and lack of proper ventilation that traps moisture that cannot evaporate, potentially causing damp, deterioration of timbers including insect and fungal attack, condensation and mould Poorly maintained/blocked rain water gutters and down pipes allowing water to run down face of building Hard impervious cement mortars, pointing, water proof renders and impervious paints that traps moisture in the building that cannot evaporate Ground floors constructed with dense concrete and impervious pvc damp proof membranes Rain Deterioration of timbers, lintels etc including fungal and insect attack due to trapped moisture Dense concrete paths and paving allowing rain to splash back onto /concentrated into the building and trapping moisture Rising damp is trapped by impervious floors, pushing moisture to external walls Rain penetrates walls though cracks in hard cement renders Hard/ impervious plasters and paints trap moisture potentially causing damp, condensation and mould Insulation packed into roof and at eaves levels- preventing adequate ventilation of roof Blocked land drain/ rain water disposal pipes/ inadequate soakaways causing saturation of ground around building Chimneys/fireplaces/flues blocked up preventing passive stack ventilation of the building Lack of natural ventilation High levels of water vapour produced by modern households is trapped by hard impervious plasters and paints that cannot evaporate, causing condensation and mould growth