ABSTRACT
Two principal reasons why old houses decay are lack of main-tenance and the use of inappropriate materials to repair them (which is covered further in the next chapter). Lack of maintenance Maintenance principally means preventing water from collecting where it can do harm, since water in the wrong place sets off most building decay This means carrying out periodic checks to ensure that gutters, downpipes and drains are not blocked or leaking and dealing with problems when they arise, not a year later when a large quantity of water has got into the fabric of an old house. Dealing with small problems before they get worse will save a lot of time, money and effort.
