MCP have been retained to act as Landlord Surveyor and advise on Leaseholders Licence applications. St Pancras Apartments were converted in circa 2005 and form part of the upper floors of the former historic Midland Grand Hotel. The building is Grade 1 listed and contains many original features. The conversion faced many technical challenges when building works are due to … Read More
Is your flat door a fire door?
Fire doors have two important functions in a fire – when closed they form a barrier to stop the spread of fire and when opened they provide a means of escape. Older panel doors, especially if less then 44mm thick, are unlikely to be FD30 – which in the event of fire provides 30 minutes of protection. Hollow flush doors … Read More
Brick is beautiful
Brickwork forms an integral part of hard landscaping features throughout the public realm on both commercial and residential sites. We owe a lot to the skill of bricklayers in creating beautiful brick facades. The difference in scale of brickwork and buildings varies immensely from simple, low level boundary walls, built to basic ‘rule of thumb’ tradition, to more elaborate walls … Read More
Fire safety legislation explained
MCP, working with a managing agent, has been instructed to upgrade a number of common parts to meet the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Until recently fire safety was covered by about seventy pieces of fire safety legislation, the principal ones being the Fire Precautions Act 1961 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997/1999. However the regulations were simplified … Read More
Thames riverbank refurbishment
One of the latest MCP projects involved the unique nature of undertaking the removal of vegetation from the riverbank wall along the Thames in order to assess the condition of the structure. Anyone contemplating works in any watercourse must consider the impact that such works may have, either directly or indirectly, to any other river users. Due to the complex logistics … Read More
Japanese knotweed nightmare
Japanese knotweed is a plant that can tear through buildings, paving and roads. It is notoriously difficult to clear and if you allow knotweed to spread and grow on to another person’s property you could be prosecuted. Brought to Britain because of the beauty of its red stems and deep green leaves it is now causing damage across the country … Read More
Why is asbestos dangerous?
The dangers of asbestos are well known, or at least I thought they were until a colleague was recently told to drill through an asbestos wall by another contractor. Having worked in the building trade for over 30 years, and having known people who have contracted asbestosis, we thought it timely to remind people why asbestos is dangerous. When materials … Read More
Tackling concrete balcony, terrace and walkway repairs
Like all other parts of a property, balconies, terraces and walkways require maintenance and repairs. Most old balconies, terraces and walkways consist of concrete elements. Water will pool and penetrate if there is a lack of an effective waterproof membrane. This in turn will cause the concrete to deteriorate. Balconies, terraces and walkways will suffer cracks and corrosion caused by … Read More
Considering wooden flooring? Remember under floor ventilation
Under floor ventilation is essential to stop damp build up. Put simply, damp is stale moist air trapped inside your house which will overtime rot the floorboards. If your wooden flooring is damp, musty, mouldy, and smelly or you have fungi growing then you will need to install under floor ventilation. The first step is to engage the services of a trained … Read More