It can look pretty and is lovely if you don’t have anywhere to go, but most of us are a little bit fed up with it now and want it to disappear! (more…)

Hard to believe that our firm is 140 years old this year! Up until 2009, the firm had been in the Watson family since the first day, and there is an original photograph of the very first Edward Watson that I am going to find and upload so that you can see it! Watson House, next to the old Odeon cinema is where the firm was started, as Edward Watson & Sons, if you are in town and are passing by, if you look up you can see the Watson name on the building. Now that the firm is run by McSkimmings and not Watsons, we still strive to achieve the professional work ethos which is part of the Watson family legacy.

A house is likely to be the most expensive thing that you will buy in your lifetime. It is a long term investment that will provide a place to live and hopefully increase in value in the time that you own it. (more…)

I tweeted last night that the Dispatches programme on Channel 4 would be interesting to people who had Leasehold property. The programme was interesting, but I admit, it was on a different Leasehold issue than I thought would be covered. (more…)

Paul found these wasp nests when he was surveying a property! (more…)

Paul’s second column in the Derwent Valley Express resulted in someone coming up to him at our local school summer fayre to say that he liked the column and that he had taken his advice and checked his gutters! (more…)

When I am using Google to look for a product or service I often look for a page that is titled ‘About us’ this is because I like to know the people behind the business who they are and what the look like. (more…)

Hello, let me take a moment to introduce myself I am Paul McSkimmings, Principal of Edward Watson Associates Chartered Surveyors and welcome to my column! In my regular column I will be writing about a topic that is close to everyone’s heart – your home. ‘Home is where the heart is’ rings true, for a lot of us our home is our safe haven. In my column I will be giving pointers and information about how to care for the structure of your home and talk about property maintenance issues. Anything from cavity wall tie corrosion, damp problems and even insects nests! This column will focus on condensation. There is more than one type of condensation, however surface condensation, is most common in homes today. During September to May (condensation season) we have the heating on more, the windows don’t get opened as often and we sometimes dry clothes on the radiators (be honest how many of us have done this?). These conditions are perfect for surface condensation to occur. Warm air is able to hold moisture, however when the temperature of the air drops below a certain level, called the ‘dew point’, it can no longer retain moisture. When the moisture comes into contact with a cold surface, for example walls and windows, it turns into a liquid. Condensation can occur in cold spots, such as an unheated spare bedroom and not necessarily in the room where the moisture is produced. This is due to the flow of air around the house. The black mould we are all familiar with is a result of condensation occurring, and to avoid the mould we need to avoid the condensation process. So a few pointers to avoid condensation in the first place would be: 1. […]

We had a great day at the North East Expo yesterday and enjoyed meeting other people running their businesses in the North East! It was great to see the enthusiasm people had for their businesses! We hope that you grabbed one of our flyers which offered 10% off our featured services, if you didn’t get one and would like one please email me and I will send one out to you! If you run a business you may work from home or already have business premises. Surveyors can help when you are moving premises, whether buying or renting. When buying a property it is wise to get a building survey, this will ensure that the structure of the building you are buying is sound. If you are renting a Schedule of Condition should be attached to the Lease so that a written and photographic record of the condition of the building at the beginning of the tenancy is documented. If you rent, Surveyors can help if your Landlord instigates a rent review, negotiating with your Landlord’s Surveyor on your behalf. Thank you to everyone who came by to meet us at our stand and we hope that if you have any property surveying needs you will think of Edward Watson Associates! We are always happy to help and to have a chat with people!