THE RENOVATION FILES TOP TEN PART #2: CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

This month we look at some of the most serious ‘crimes against property’, many of which occur all too often. The rankings reflect how dangerous a defect could be, and how much of the home’s value it’s likely to destroy — with illegal structural alterations at number one.

So if you are considering taking on any remedial or improvement works, read on before you go ahead and take the plunge.

6 MIRACLE CURES

Many homes have been subjected to damaging quick-fix botches where the cure turns out to be worse than the original affliction. In most cases this is down to enthusiastic DIY attempts to fix problems like damp patches, leaking pipes and gutters, or slipped roof tiles.

The root problem is that a lot of widely advertised shortcut products (such as ‘roof paint’ or ‘one-coat damp sealants’) are promoted with spurious claims about their potency. Anything advertised with the phrase ‘quick and easy’ should be very carefully assessed. For example, self-adhesive ‘flashband’ tape may come in