New build snagging survey in Tiverton

Tiverton is built where the Lowman joins the Exe, on steep-sided ground with the historic centre low and residential streets climbing sharply north and west. The town's large modern development sits on its eastern edge, extending the built-up area onto ground that, like most of Tiverton, does not sit flat.

A house on a graded plot with retaining walls and a stepped garden is a slightly different build to one on a level pad, and the roof detailing at eaves level can vary from plot to plot on the same street as the ground falls away, which is worth checking rather than assuming every roof on the phase was finished identically.

The Exe valley around Tiverton is notably wet, well above the Devon average, which is already a demanding climate for any roof covering. Add the steep sites that put many Tiverton roofs above the general roofline of the surrounding streets, catching more wind loading than a roof tucked in among its neighbours, and the combination of sustained wet weather and elevated wind exposure is harder on a fixing detail than either factor would be alone.

A ridge or verge system rated for standard exposure but installed on a plot that effectively sits proud of the street is the kind of detail worth checking specifically, because it is easy to miss from the ground and expensive to discover from a stain on a bedroom ceiling.

On a large modern development, the site team that built your phase will not be on site indefinitely. A defect reported and photographed while the development is still active and the defects period is still running gets a straightforward response. One reported after both have moved on is a slower, harder conversation, which is the whole case for booking this early rather than late.

Tiverton's postcode area is EX16. The Grand Western Canal and Knightshayes Court sit on the town's western side, while the modern development this survey is aimed at is on the opposite, eastern edge, which is a useful distinction to make when giving directions for a site visit, since the two sides of town sit at different points on the valley's steep gradient.

Crediton and Wellington, both covered elsewhere on this site, sit within a similarly wet stretch of the Exe and Tone valleys, and a plot close to either boundary is worth checking against the right page before booking, since the specific wind and rainfall notes differ slightly town to town.