Advice needed regarding concrete houses?????

[froggy]

Does anyone know anything about PRC (Pre-cast Re-inforced Concrete) houses?
Our house is currently on the market (we're moving down south) and have (potentially) found a house that is a lot cheaper than any other in the area but because its a PRC construction its is advertised as CASH only buyers.
Does anyone know why you wouldn't get a mortgage on this?
Have tried googling it but there seems to be differing opinions depending on what site i go in.
Anyone live in a PRC house or work for a mortgage company that might be bale to point me in the right direction? (i'm just a skin flint looking to save money really :lol: :lol: :lol: )

 

[easy]

My first house was concrete (an ex council house) and i got a mortgage on it no probs :mrgreen:

 

[Harlequin]

google "concrete cancer"
A lot of houses in Cornwall built in the 70's can suffer with this, but some estates get
tagged with the concrete cancer label even if the effects are not found in the main building
but make them cash only buys at a very reduced price.

 

[Sydney1]

There is a general concern regarding the quality of workmanship and materials used in system built houses and flats (e.g council tower blocks) in the period after the war and upto the 70's. A lot of properties suffer from corroding reinforcement or failure of the sealing between panels. I'd definately get a full structural survey carried out.

 

[dandaz]

Yes preformed concrete houses are only suppost to be temparary [like 50-100 years],I noticed one of the notra dame church [Royan]is made of concrete.... :?

Watch for the rust coming through,the van and the house....

 

[robins]

ok mate dont let the word cancer frighten you,if the house is a what they call a Cornish unit,where the tiles come down to the top of the down stairs windows.
if it is and you get it cheep all you do is prop the roof take the walls down and build back up in blocks and bricks.the top half is timber frame.

if you look around the estate you will see that some have already been done the ones that are not are privately owned.

Name: Cornish Unit Type: PRC

Construction
Post and panel construction. Exposed concrete columns at 36" to 40" centres, carrying concrete slabs to form the leaves of cavity walls. Slab depths vary from 9" to 24" depending on type. Traditionally constructed Mansard roofs (Type I Cornish Units), although some were built with conventional hipped roofs and tile hung upper elevations. Type 2 units may have post and panel construction to upper elevations beneath a hipped roof.
Common Identifying Features
Exposed post and panel construction, Mansard roofs.

 

[faux]

I think Scott lives in one of these and mentioned the issues with getting a mortgage, Mind you you couldn't get a nicer spot than where Scott lives, worth the hassle and research in my opinion.

I'm sure a mortgage is possible, but it is the terms, conditions and fee's that will be the problem. Talk to some of the neighbours to see how they have got around the problem.

Good luck.

 

[ianscooby]

check the actual construction a lot of these were built with the "no fines" method i.e. no sand in the concrete mix and poured on site to form the walls etc between shutters. Mortage companies tend to stay clear as they had a life span because they were only supposed to be temp after the war, but construction as some say did continue into teh early seventies. Around here all the council ones have had the external walls removed and built in traditional construction (block/cavity/brick) which costs circa 50K ish.

The main issues as others have said is the detreiation of the reinforcement as unlike concrete there are a lot of voids and which during construction held water causing the metal cancer to start (does that remind you of a earlybay).

With the correct structural/mortage survey there are some compnaies that will provide a mortage you just need to search.

Not wanting to put a downer on your potential new purchase but you need to consider that they are more difficult to heat up and maintain the heat, putting pictures up or drilling holes can often end up in a big hole if it is no fines, and finally internal alterations and extended is often difficult or impossible

hope this helps along with others views

 

[froggy]

Have spoken to a few diferent estate agents and once again i'm getting different opinions
Some are now saying that the houses they are selling are known as ex-authority housing and not PRC, even more confused :x
Might just leave this type of house alone and look for something made of bricks and mortar (although alot more expensive :evil: )

 

[ianscooby]

do you have a post code of where it is as with a google earth view I may be able to tell you what type it is

 

[scott wilson]

its all been said really.Its a pain but you can get a mortgage on one of these but just at worse terms. Most get dozed for fancy la-de-da holiday homes here in cornwall....cracks me up really as timber frame houses are mortgagelable but only have a 30 year warranty!!!you`ll have just paid 100`s of thousands for the priviledge of hearing your next door neighbour but two having a wee at 3am and your house will fall down :lol:

 

[robins]

its all been said really.Its a pain but you can get a mortgage on one of these but just at worse terms. Most get dozed for fancy la-de-da holiday homes here in cornwall....cracks me up really as timber frame houses are mortgagelable but only have a 30 year warranty!!!you`ll have just paid 100`s of thousands for the priviledge of hearing your next door neighbour but two having a wee at 3am and your house will fall down :lol:

dont see anything wrong with timber frame house,i dont think they have a 30 year warranty it would only be 10 the same as traditional built ones.
they are 70% warmer

 

[dandaz]

look what you can buy in France for 30,000 pounds

all I had to do was shuffle a couple of bricks around... 8)

and put a roof on , er and build some rooms and a bit of plumbing and electrics and bobs your uncle....

Think of the garden 1800 m2 of car parking... :msn4:

 

[Sydney1]

its all been said really.Its a pain but you can get a mortgage on one of these but just at worse terms. Most get dozed for fancy la-de-da holiday homes here in cornwall....cracks me up really as timber frame houses are mortgagelable but only have a 30 year warranty!!!you`ll have just paid 100`s of thousands for the priviledge of hearing your next door neighbour but two having a wee at 3am and your house will fall down :lol:

Its a shame timber frame got a bad reputation in the 80's and 90's. It's a lot different now especially with SIP's and the new building regulations covering acouistics, heat loss/air tightness. In terms of longevity, there are timber framed buildings around now that were built over 500 years ago.

 

[ianscooby]

I work for a company that builds care homes and villages and we use timber frame only, like anything if it is built correctly it will last forever, and if it falls down you can become eco friendly and use all the timber again :lol: :lol:

 

[Dean]

One of the main problems/causes of decay with prc properties is that the metal is too close to the surface of the concrete poured around them. Thus allowing the moisture build up in the concrete during rainy periods to attack the steel. If it was properly protected the type of construction wouldn't be so bad.

As previously stated heating and keeping them warm is really difficult and costly. The council have to by law repair/rebuild some types as they have been condemned.

Search on the Building Research Establishments website for further info

http://www.bre.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[scott wilson]

pants to the prc`s lets have a good ole traditional build versus timber frame slanging match :lol: by traditional build i mean double skinned cavity masonary built property preferably using lime and stone or brick.
I hate timber frames as there crap :roll: four by twobie dad? :mrgreen:

 

[robins]

pants to the prc`s lets have a good ole traditional build versus timber frame slanging match :lol: by traditional build i mean double skinned cavity masonary built property preferably using lime and stone or brick.
I hate timber frames as there crap :roll: four by twobie dad? :mrgreen:

:lol: iam bricklayer like your self,but timber frame all day for me mate,

durox blocks rubbish always crack,dont mater what you do.

lime :?: mixed with sand and cement,or on its own

150mm timber frame with brick/block render/ stone on the out side no comp

 

[scott wilson]

sacrilege...a brickie admitting timber frame is ok.....

 

[scott wilson]

lime putty like the old days...allows movement, expansion, contraction