News
The Truth Behind Dilapidations
Frightening Does the phrase “Schedule of Dilapidations” mean anything to you? If you are a commercial tenant, it should strike…
Astragals
No building element seems to offer such scope for bad design as the window. We are nowadays obsessed and confused by glazing bars (known as astragals in Scotland). Our ancestors did not even bother to draw them when they represented their buildings - they were a functional but visually undesirable necessity. Glazing bars were played down and painted a neutral colour so as to minimise their visual intrusion.
Dry Rot, Wet Rot and Woodworm
These are the common names of some of the main diseases that affect timbers in buildings. They all have one…
Dispute Resolution
The conventional approaches to dispute resolution are Mediation, Adjudication, Arbitration and Litigation. Another option that may sometimes have a place…
Building Conservation
There has never been a better time to go back to basics in the care of buildings. To sell a building advantageously in a difficult market it needs to be as free from defects as possible. In a booming market anything went. Now we are back to very careful due diligence and a building defect can unsettle a sale. We will see the number of flagship new building projects diminish as the economy declines but now is not the time to neglect an existing building whether old or relatively new. Dilapidation claims at the end of a commercial lease can be crippling. A stitch in time saves nine.