Q Despite a lot of difficulty I finally managed to rent a house in Dublin late last year. The garden at the rear of the house was overgrown and looked unsightly. In order to tackle it, I had to rent some equipment, which was quite costly. The landlord's lawnmower which was in the shed did not work. First, who is responsible for the garden on a rented property and second, in the event that I am not responsible, is the landlord obliged to refund me the cost of renting the equipment?
A The shortage of rental properties in Dublin means that sometimes, tenants rush to sign leases without reading them. Responsibility for maintenance of the garden should be dealt with in the lease. Many landlords leave a lawnmower in the garden shed and the tenant takes on responsibility for cutting the grass and the landlord undertakes to have hedges trimmed twice a year or something along those lines.
More expensive rental properties may include a gardening service. In any event, the lease should be clear on who does what. You should have told the landlord that the lawnmower was not working and asked to have it repaired or a replacement supplied. You should have agreed with them that you would hire equipment and that they would cover the cost. If, as it appears from your question, you went ahead and hired the replacement and other equipment without clearing it with the landlord, I think you will find it more difficult to recoup the costs.
Simon Stokes is the chair of the Residential Agency Professional Group of the SCSI
Smoking chimneys
Q Recently I discovered that my chimney had been leaking smoke into my attic space and a number of upstairs bedrooms. What can be done to fix this problem? What professional should I contact and is the process expensive?
A First do not light a fire under any circumstances until you have sourced and fixed the leak of smoke/gas into your property. Chimney gas is extremely toxic and contain a high percentage of carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as nitrogen. It will also contain carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides. There is also the risk that a fire could start in your property and spread to adjoining properties.
The first step in addressing this problem is to inspect the chimney stack to identify cracks or openings into the house. There are many reasons why a liner might be damaged. This can be from settlement around the chimney (shifting foundations), nesting, chimney leaks from cracking to the liner caused by chimney fires, bad workmanship or shoddy installation of stoves or fireplaces. Poor maintenance can also be a cause.
A characteristic problem of chimneys is they develop deposits of soot/carbon (creosote from wood-burning) on the walls of the flue. Deposits of this substance can interfere with the airflow; more importantly, they are combustible and can cause dangerous chimney fires. These tend to burn at a very high temperature causing damage to the flue liner material.
In order to properly assess the problem, a comprehensive survey must be carried out. This will start with a visual inspection and may include a smoke test, use of CCTV equipment and in some cases opening it up. In all cases this should be carried out by a recognised specialist firm.
If the problem is thought to be structural, the appointment of a registered building surveyor or structural engineer would be prudent.
In almost all cases the problem will be remedied by the lining of the chimney with a metal liner (stainless steel) or similar material. A liner is a fire-proof resistant lining inside the chimney that resembles a long vent hose.
The most important consideration in using any of these systems will be the guarantees provided by the company employed for the supply and installation of the product and its projected lifecycle. Always check the warranties provided and the suitability of the company providing the product along with references from previous projects/clients. Where the problem is found to be structural then the greater the financial imposition will be, as the remedy may include demolition and rebuild. Costs can be expensive and will vary greatly from property to property depending on the cause and remedy.
Robert Patterson is a Chartered Building Surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) Building Surveying Professional Group
Heating options
Q I recently bought a three-bed terraced house in Dublin that is about 100 years old. The house has never had central heating installed and I would like to know what the best option is for me. I am interested in air-to-water heat pumps but I have concerns over their efficiency to heat a home and supply hot water compared to gas. I would be happy to pay slightly more to install a heat pump if it was going to be more cost-effective in the long run. Can you please give me some advice?
A While air-to-water heat pumps are an efficient way of heating a property, they tend to be relatively expensive and have a long payback period. I note that the house in question is a mid-terraced house and this does have a bearing in the selection of an appropriate solution.
As the house is mid-terraced, there is a limited amount of external walls/surfaces. The key element to concentrate on is the level of insulation with a view to reducing the heating requirements in the first place. In this respect, you should review and upgrade the thermal insulation standards to the roof, front and rear external walls, the floor and the windows, paying particular attention to both the roof and the windows. You should then consider installing solar panels for the purposes of providing your hot water requirements as this is a very cost-effective way of meeting your needs.
At this stage your actual heating requirements should be minimal and I would recommend a high-efficiency gas-fired condenser type boiler with high-output radiators. The capital cost will be relatively modest and together with the good insulation level, running costs should be low. I would really only consider the air-to-water heat pumps with larger properties. More specialist advice would be required on this from a services engineer.
Val O’Brien is a Chartered Building Surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) Building Surveying Professional Group
Send your queries to propertyquestions@irishtimes.com or to Property Clinic, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2. This column is a readers’ service. Advice given is general and individual advice should always be sought
