We live in an end-of-terrace house. Should we be calculating our rebuild costs for house insurance renewal as a terraced house or semi-detached?
The below comments are not insurance-specific advice, but outline on matters that could affect the costs to be met by such insurance.
Specialist advice should always be sought in relation to your own property, which is beyond the scope of this comment
Please see other threads which discuss items which should be included in your cover, such as demolitions and carrying away as well as the cost of building professional and legal fees.
"End of terrace" would seem to be the appropriate basis for costings.
That's not intended to be flippant.
Many of the issues arising relate to the age of the property.
To my mind there are a lot of older terraced houses our cities and towns and proportionately fewer semi-detached dwellings of a similar vintage.
I'm talking a century or more old here, and I could stand corrected.
That having been said there are exceptions to the rule and I know of at least two semi-detached "castles" on Strand Road in Killiney.
FIRE
Mid terrace houses are at risk from fire from two sides
End of terrace and semi-detached are on the surface similar - one side only.
However, the construction methods in older terraces can differ considerably from newer semi-detached houses.
In particular, where the party wall in semi-detached houses of more recent construction may be assumed to be constructed a firebreak in accordance with Part B of the building regulations [it should be] older terraces may not be so constructed.
Exceptions to the rule [visually apparent exceptions] are houses where the party walls were fully built up and taken above the roof.
Take, for example, some of the red bricks along Donnybrook Road.
This may have been done to prevent spread of fire along the terrace at some point.
If memory serves me right, this was an approved method under the old Proposed Draft Building Regulations, but I could stand corrected.
Current practice is detailed in the Technical Guidance Document for Part B of the building regulations dated March 2006;-
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,1640,en.pdf
Diagram 13 P.81 refers and this was preceded by a similar requirement in Part B 1997.
Notice the eaves firestopping also.
Both semi-d's and terraces not built with one or other detail [party wall taken above the roof or full firestopping] may be at significant risk of fire spread from the adjoining property and may themselves pose a significant risk.
Given the known path of fire spread along older terraces and semi-d's through the attic spaces along eaves, and along the battens where they are continuous above party walls, all terraces and semi-d's should be inspected by their occupants to ascertain the risk.
I'm surprised that this hasn't been made mandatory before now or that no government department has been assigned the task, although again, I could stand corrected on this.
I suppose this raises thorny legal issues of who would bear the cost for this upgrading.
PROPPING & SUPPORT
Older terraces may have timbers built into walls which can compromise neighbouring properties if a collapse occurs.
Current practice uses hangers to avoid generating overturning moments in the wall of the floor collapses
Propping may be more significant in any rebuild after collapse.
Propping may also be required if extensive new works or renovations are intended to be undertaken to a terraced dwelling.
In some of these the floors along the terrace all all that provide lateral support to the party walls - Georgian Houses for example.
If subsoil problems arise, older terraces may be discovered to have poor or no foundations.
Ensuring support is maintained during the works may be required, for example, while underpinning walls, etc.
Sometimes [in centre city properties in Dublin for example] the condition of an adjoining property may be so poor that works undertaken alongside it may cause unknown damage.
In such a case the contractor may be asked to get non-negligence cover in addition to his standard insurances and this would be an exceptional cost possibly not covered by the insurance.
Services and Drainage
Many of the these may be conjoined or run along the rear yards of houses.
The drains are more likely to be a Combined Drain than Separate Foul and Surface Water.
Existing service pipes, conduits and cables may not have been renewed previously and/or recently and may require such works in the near future.
In the case of the three main utilities, you should have them checked by competent persons [mechanical and electrical consulting engineer] and assess their condition.
Special care may be required when working on these older properties and this will tend to raise costs.
FWIW
ONQ