Cyprus-Forum.com

[GreekIslandGirl]

The cheap-end stuff is no worse than cheaper estates being built anywhere else. Are you seriously saying builders anywhere else are any better?

Well, yes...

A cheap house in the UK will be properly insulated, meet the latest fire and safety regulations, be fully damp proofed AND you'll be able to flush toilet paper...

None of those things apply to the cheap properties which are still being built here...

It is bizarre to go into a brand new building and see the signs in the toiler that you cannot flush paper - what impression does that give...?

Who puts those signs up in a home? Brits are obsessed with that. It's just a more polite way of saying don't dispose of nappies and sanitary towels down the pan. But you don't need to keep a sign up in your own home do you?

Building regs in the UK are different to building regs in Cyprus. No worse nor better - just different. Cypriot homes have to be built to higher specs for earthquakes and such like (which UK homes can ignore), and less so for damp and insulation as the CLIMATE (if you haven't noticed) is different! To take your moan further, Scandinavians would complain UK homes are not built as well as theirs as they are very poor towards damp-proofing and insulation compared to Swedish homes.

[GreekIslandGirl]

GreekIslandGirl wrote:
The cheap-end stuff is no worse than cheaper estates being built anywhere else. Are you seriously saying builders anywhere else are any better?
Did I say that its better anywhere else? I did check back through my posts. I merely stated that the quality of build in Cyprus is 'pants' and I wouldn't invest (if I had the money) in property here. (For a number of reasons) Quality being one. This is in line with the topic at hand. My wife's family own property here that was built many years ago, (if fact some of the old mud and straw buildings still remain on their land). I also agree that houses are built to a minimum, isn't that covered in the 'pants' quality I mentioned? I'm sure there is good accommodation being built (I have been called back to extend some of my original work at two properties as the owners have had the roof removed and build a new floor before replacing it, so construction work has been good in the past), but 99% of construction here in recent times have been the product of 'developers' trying to make as much profit as possible for the least outlay. There is a company who's name I won't mention, but you can tell from the first to the latest of their developments the quality has decreased.... PS The last building I worked on outside of Cyprus was an old Victorian Construction near Westminster, beautiful building tough as they come.

OK so we agree builders and developers are the same wherever you go and you get what you pay for. Also that Victorian architecture was superior. Equally love the old stone houses in Cyprus villages. And Scottish bothies ...

[Get Real!]

I don’t think roof insulation is suitable for Cyprus because of our intolerable heat in the summer. Heat always travels upwards and slowly makes its way into the roof in whichever way it can (in my case the air conditioning ducts) so as you can imagine an insulated roof would trap that heat and act as a heater covering the top of the house.

Roofs in Cyprus should breathe so that clean fresh air gets easily distributed inside. You can archive this by not using those black optional insulators that are used to cover the woodwork forming the rooftop, and by installing the special breathing roof tiles every few meters. Always go for good quality roof tiles (Italian) that have all the special options you won’t find with cheap brands.

[cyprusgrump]

The cheap-end stuff is no worse than cheaper estates being built anywhere else. Are you seriously saying builders anywhere else are any better?

Well, yes...

A cheap house in the UK will be properly insulated, meet the latest fire and safety regulations, be fully damp proofed AND you'll be able to flush toilet paper...

None of those things apply to the cheap properties which are still being built here...

It is bizarre to go into a brand new building and see the signs in the toiler that you cannot flush paper - what impression does that give...?

Who puts those signs up in a home? Brits are obsessed with that. It's just a more polite way of saying don't dispose of nappies and sanitary towels down the pan. But you don't need to keep a sign up in your own home do you?

Building regs in the UK are different to building regs in Cyprus. No worse nor better - just different. Cypriot homes have to be built to higher specs for earthquakes and such like (which UK homes can ignore), and less so for damp and insulation as the CLIMATE (if you haven't noticed) is different! To take your moan further, Scandinavians would complain UK homes are not built as well as theirs as they are very poor towards damp-proofing and insulation compared to Swedish homes.

You do make me laugh!

If you lived here you would know that Cyprus homes get very hot in summer (requiring air conditioning) and cold in the winter (requiring heating)...

In the whole of Pissouri I know of only two houses which are properly insulate and therefore don't require heating and cooling... What a terrific waste of energy...

And as for damp, if you lived here you would know that we get a terrific amount of rain in a few winter months... Enough to last us the whole year in fact...

And if you lived here you would notice that there are hundreds of thousands of properties everywhere you go that are completely riddled with damp... not just 'holiday homes' before you say it, just about every house, shop, office, etc. because they do not fit any damp proofing when they build....

And I am very well aware of the building regulations here regarding earthquakes, etc. But building a concrete frame on a huge concrete slab does not in itself show good building practice...

[GreekIslandGirl]

What is it with Brits and taking the damp with them wherever they go? You are not an expert on Cyprus just by living in a Brit enclave and just because you've retired there for a few years. My birthplace and home is in Cyprus and you'll never makeup to my experiences just with your few retirement years in the sun.

As I've said a million times, Cypriot homes do not need air conditioning and they certainly would never suffer from damp if they did not have air conditioning and people would have fewer headaches and less sinus troubles if they stopped using air conditioners! None of my homes have or have ever had air-conditioning - we just open windows! And the only time we ever had a spot of damp was from an earthquake crack which we didn't repair in time.

Some of us have real homes - not just retirement homes! They don't have to look big to make a statement and be built on the cheap just to manage a "mortgage" and then lead us to reselling problems.

Open some windows! Get used to the outdoors! Bugs and all.

[supporttheunderdog]

GiG you obviously are out of touch....many of the houses round here, which were mostly built in the 80's on wards, have rising damp issues, not condensation issues, that or many places have flat roofs which leak like mad... . and you can hardly call most of the properties round where I live a retirement home let alone a Brit Enclave.

[GreekIslandGirl]

How so? I'm not a fan of those villas which skimp on quality materials just so that they can be big and 'beautiful' - but not necessarily functional for Cyprus' climate. It's hard to aerate a huge mansion and so people resort to air conditioners. Usually it's these air conditioners which stop people opening windows and then that also causes a build up of dampness. It's the same in the UK. I hate going to people's houses which just depend on closing all vents, sticking draft excluders in every nook and cranny, over-lagging and using central heating to warm the house up day and night. Then they get mold! Open some windows to cool the house and wear a fleece if you're cold!

Maybe it's that some people just don't know how to look after a home. TLC.

(Don't get me started on carpets and wallpaper )

[bill cobbett]

GiG you obviously are out of touch....many of the houses round here, which were mostly built in the 80's on wards, have rising damp issues, not condensation issues, that or many places have flat roofs which leak like mad... . and you can hardly call most of the properties round where I live a retirement home let alone a Brit Enclave.

Yes a couple of things... cos you do see these signs of this dampness many, many times on these new builds, so often caused by poor or even no application of damp-proof tars between the concrete base and the columns. It needs to be sorted cos a few inches in are those reinforcing rods or rebars... and less than funny things happen to them if they are damp for any length of time.

Presumably the prob can be retro-sorted by injecting damp-proof solutions...???

[supporttheunderdog]

we are not talking big villas we are talking ordinary houses that ordinary working Cypriots (eg the Village mayor) lives in ( a modest 1996 built 3 bed semi) nor am I talking about mould from bad ventilation practice but rising damp that peels away the outside rendering from brick....

these modern houses have thin walls that readily transfer heat in in the summer and let it out in the winter and flat roofs are the worst design feature so many have ...

[Get Real!]

we are not talking big villas we are talking ordinary houses that ordinary working Cypriots (eg the Village mayor) lives in ( a modest 1996 built 3 bed semi) nor am I talking about mould from bad ventilation practice but rising damp that peels away the outside rendering from brick....

these modern houses have thin walls that readily transfer heat in in the summer and let it out in the winter and flat roofs are the worst design feature so many have ...

That's efflorescence which has nothing to do with heat coming or going through walls.

The walls get soaked from heavy rainfall and then the strong sun evaporates the wetness causing salts which raise the plaster.