The roof space is a vital part of the surveyor’s inspection, as it can provide so much information in regard to the construction and condition of any particular property, but it can also be home to many unwanted guests.

I recently undertook an inspection of a Victorian terraced house.  I suspected a potential vermin infestation after hearing sounds of scurrying and movement, so armed with my Petzl headtorch and surveyors’ ladders, I ascended into the roof space.

Both rats and mice are commonly found in domestic properties and both species have adapted well to the human environment.  They pose significant health risks and can cause substantial upset if found in your home.  I have seen cases where homeowners have been woken by the sounds of rats scuttling in the loft space, and others who have claimed it was too embarrassing to invite people over to their new home.  Whilst this could be construed as an overreaction, it is true that rodents can pose a health hazard, particularly for vulnerable members of the community.  Those most at risk include the elderly, the very young, and people with a disability or existing health problems.

Rodents are among the most successful animals on Earth, largely due to their natural intelligence, reproductive abilities, and their ability to adapt to their environment.

There are two species of rat in the UK; the brown rat (also known as the Norway rat, common rat or sewer rat) and the black rat (also known as the ship rat). The average lifespan of a brown rat is two to three years, and the average lifespan of a black rat is one year.

The brown rat usually eats around one tenth of its body weight every day.  Rats are opportunist omnivorous eaters, meaning that they eat whatever they can find (both plant and animal products), but typically their diet consists of grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. This means many human foods, such as breakfast cereals, will attract them if left out.

In suitable conditions, the brown rat breeds throughout the year and a female can produce up to five litters during this time.  The gestation period lasts only 21 days and one litter can result in up to fourteen rats.  This means that the population can grow from just two rats to fifteen thousand in just one calendar year!

Mice are also a common pest, but they are usually more troublesome during autumn and winter. The two types of mice are the house mouse and the field mouse (also known as wood mice and yellow necked mice).  Like the rat, mice are omnivorous but prefer to eat grains, fruits and seeds.

Grey squirrels also pose a problem. They may be a familiar animal in the United Kingdom, but they aren’t a native species.  They were introduced from North America during the late 19^th Century.  Since then, the grey squirrel has displaced the smaller, native red squirrel across most of England and Wales, although the latter has managed to hang on in parts of Scotland, Ireland, Cumbria, Northumberland and the Isle of Wight.  Grey squirrels are regarded as a pest species in the UK, whilst the red squirrel is a fully protected species.  Grey squirrels can enter domestic properties in search of food and shelter, and because of their size they can cause considerable damage including dislodging roof slates.

All these rodents present significant hazards to both people and property, hence why people want to urgently rectify any infestations.  Rats and mice can spread many diseases which can be contracted by humans in various ways; through direct contact with rodent faeces, urine, blood or saliva, by inhalation of air contaminated by rodent faeces or urine, by ingesting contaminated food or water, or from bites and scratches. Rodents can also contaminate stored water, for example cold water storage tanks, feed and expansion tanks in the roof space.  This can be through their droppings or, in worst case scenarios, when they fall in and drown.

All rodents have a pair of sharp incisor teeth and can gnaw through electrical wires and plumbing, causing flooding and fires in homes.  They can also damage woodwork, soft furnishings and other possessions.

Rats usually nest in burrows, but be aware that nests can also be found in lofts, under eaves and in cavity walls.  They use materials they can find, such as insulation or cardboard, and shred it up to use for their nests.  Mice will also use soft materials for nesting which can be found in places such as lofts, suspended ceilings, cavity walls, under floorboards, behind fridges and in airing cupboards.  Rodents need access to water, so rat and mice runs are likely to be found near a water source such as a leak or water tank.

When conducting my survey of the Victorian terraced house, I did indeed discover a rat infestation in the roof space. After reporting this to our clients, they decided that they would not proceed with the purchase, but they reported the matter to the vendors so that they could eliminate the infestation.

For advice on surveys or rodent issues, please contact our chartered surveyor Andrew Green on 01900 821411, or check out our Surveys website for more information.

If you instruct PFK to sell your home before 14 February 2019, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a whopping £1000 worth of Thomas Cook vouchers.

We are so happy to announce that our sponsored dog Ice has now found his forever home, and just in time for Christmas too!

We are now sponsoring the care of the beautiful Tilly. Tilly first came to the centre in June 2017 when she was only 2 years old. She is now 3 1/2 years old and is still looking for her forever home.

Tilly has been homed from the centre three times but sadly each time it hasn’t worked out as she has separation anxiety and will need to be in a home for some time for her to overcome this. The Eden Animal Rescue staff and dog trainer Jen Cartmel have been working really hard at the centre on this and she is getting much better.

Tilly gets on well with other dogs and loves to have a good time playing and running with them. She is however unable to be off a lead unless it is in a secure area, as she will chase things and may run away due to her past and her being a sight hound. Tilly is a very sweet girl that loves cuddles and lots of company.

Could you give Tilly a home this New Year? Call Eden Animal Rescue on 01931 716 114 or PFK on 01768 862135.

Penrith Farmers and Kidd’s PLC are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director. Stephen Dunn will join the board from November 2018. Stephen is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Wealth Manager.

Originally from Preston, Stephen joined the audit practice of KPMG in 1976 (which was then Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co) and, after a two-year secondment in London, he became a partner in Preston at the age of 34. In March 2016, he left KPMG after a long and varied career.

While at KPMG, he developed a flair for corporate transactions and quickly gained experience on many acquisitions, flotations and disposals as a founder of Corporate Finance within KPMG in the North West.  During his time as Corporate Finance Partner, he worked on some of the region’s larger transactions and a myriad of project fundraising exercises.

Since leaving KPMG, he now works as financial consultant, and holds a number of non-executive appointments

Stephen commented:

“I am pleased to be asked to join the board at PFK at an exciting time in the company’s development.’’

In addition to this, Jeanette Brown is standing down as chairman of PFK, with John Rowlands taking her place. John joined us in July 2015 as a non-executive director and, being a valued asset to PFK, he was a natural choice for our new chairman.

PFK’s Managing Director, Stephen Lancaster, had the following comment to make:

“I am very excited that Stephen Dunn has chosen to come on the PFK board as our business continues to evolve. Stephen has had a very successful career at KPMG and brings an exceptional depth of knowledge and experience to the PFK board.

I am also pleased that John Rowlands who has been a board member since 2015 has accepted the role of Chairman of the PFK board and I look forward to continuing to work with him closely.

John Rowlands succeeds Jeanette Brown who is stepping down after 11 years of excellent service on the PFK board. I would like to thank Jeanette from the Company and personally for her diligence and guidance whilst at PFK.’’

As one of the largest property and land service groups in Cumbria, PFK have over a 140 years of successful trading history. Stretching back to 1876, PFK have a long Cumbrian heritage with strong community relationships and extensive knowledge of the local property market. PFK offers a broad range of services, from buying or selling land and property, to planning assistance and valuations.

After a lot of work behind the scenes in recent months, PFK are proud to unveil our brand-new website. It’s an exciting time for us, and our shiny new site is just a part of that.

Why the new site?

As technology moves forward and systems change, an old website can get slow and inefficient. To avoid this, a website should be updated every two to three years, which meant ours was due a makeover! When we reviewed our old website in the early stages of the revamp, customer feedback suggested that it wasn’t particularly user friendly or easy to navigate, so we took this opinion into consideration as we were keen to improve our clients’ experience when using our site. We also found that the age of the website was indeed slowing it down.

Our rebranding was introduced at the start of 2018, with new colours, fonts and logo. Our online presence is a massive part of our brand, so it was the perfect time for a new website with our new branding.

What is different?

The site branding has been updated to match our rebranding, and the design is also much more user friendly. The search function is now a lot easier to operate and everything else is a lot more information based, so you can find out much more than you could previously.

The ‘book a valuation’ button on our home page makes it even easier to arrange appointments online, which is a modern and useful alternative to ringing us up. Of course, we are still here at the end of the phone for anyone who would rather give us a call!

Each department now has their own mini-site – Estate Agency, Land Agency, Surveys, Planning Media Services and Investors. Each service having a separate area makes it much more straightforward for people to find exactly what they are looking for, while still having our services linked under the proverbial PFK umbrella.

The Investors’ site gives an insight into the corporate side, something our old website didn’t have at all. Using this to display things like information on shares, management frameworks and the year in review makes it easier for both current and potential investors to have essential information at their fingertips within seconds.

Who’s behind the change?

Over the last six months we have been closely working with Bert, an award winning, independently owned branding agency with studios in London, Madrid and Manchester. Each department has a representative who has worked alongside Bert to ensure the new website design works equally well for each different service we offer. From workshops in Manchester to meetings here in Penrith, our marketing team, department representatives and contacts at Bert have all been beavering away behind the scenes for a long time to get the new site off the ground and into the internet!

Here at PFK, we’re proud to have our very own in-house UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) pilot, Allen Williams, who provides us and others in Cumbria with fabulous media services. We sat down with him the other day and quizzed him on the ins and outs of a drone shoot, and all the other bits in between.

What things do you have to have in place before a drone shoot?

When a job comes in, the first thing to do is online research on the area to make sure it is legal and safe to fly. This involves a lot of searches on Google Images and Google Earth. I then check with the local ATC (Air Traffic Control) and also check if there have been any NOTAMS (Notice To Air Men) issued. These alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight.

How do you set up the drone shoot?

The first thing I do is a visual inspection of the drone to make sure there has been no damage in transit. I pay close attention to the delicate parts such as propellers, gimbal (which keeps the camera steady and level) and of course the camera.

Then I power up the drone to make sure all the vitals are working, such as the GPS lock, the IMU (inertial measurement unit) calibration and all the other sensors that aid the drone.

Once everything is fine, my spotter will have one final look around to make sure flight is safe. My spotter is usually the client, but sometimes a colleague will accompany me to a shoot and act as my spotter.

Then I will take off at low level to check all the controls are working as they should. You always remember your first commercial shoot, checking everything three times as the clients watches your every move!

How do you fly the drone?

The main flight controls, which are the yaw (which turns the drone on the spot), left-right, up-down and forward-backwards, are done via a handheld controller. All the other settings are done via an iPad, such as drone camera settings, gimbal settings and flight characteristics.

Sometimes the drone is flying one way and filming in another, so I have two live feeds on my iPad screen. One shows what the recording camera sees, and the other shows which way the drone is flying.

Do you have more than one drone?

Yes, I have two drones – which I have named Harry and Steve! I need two as they are used for different things. Harry, the main one, is better for general aerial photography and videography. Steve is a smaller drone, used for roof surveys as he can get into tight spaces.

How long does a typical drone shoot take?

I spend one to two hours in the office researching the area first. Then I will usually be on site for an hour if the client is just wanting still images, but video footage takes considerably longer. I then spend around one hour editing the images back in the office.

What type of drone shoots do you do?

As a licenced drone pilot, I do all sorts, from property photography, property film, aerial photography. I work alongside an award-winning wedding videographer and also conduct roof surveys for charted surveyors. There are a number of applications that drones can be used for! There is never a common drone shoot, as it can be different from day to day.

What is your favourite thing to shoot?

Weddings are my favourite shoots, as they are usually in stunning locations with breathtaking views, and these really add to the final wedding video I create. I love getting the opportunity to create an aerial film of someone’s special day.

Where is your favourite place to fly the drone?

Definitely anywhere with a view of the lakes! The Lake District is a beautiful place and I love photographing it from the sky.

How did you get into drone work?

From the age of 12 I was building and flying model aircrafts, and as technology evolved and cameras got smaller, I started attaching them to the undercarriage. Then I moved on to building multirotors (drones) which were able to carry larger payloads and were a lot more stable in flight than a traditional model helicopter.

I then started making drone film YouTube videos as a hobby, and started working commercially in 2013.

Do you have any advice for would be drone pilots?

It is an exciting profession to get into. If you enjoy photography and videography then being a UAV pilot is excellent. However, there are a lot of restrictions that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) impose if you plan on using a drone commercially, which includes a flight exam and a written exam, and there is also a detailed operations manual that each commercial flight has to adhere to. But it’s well worth it!

Are drones safe?

The short answer is yes! If you’re following your operations manual there should be very little that can go wrong. Even in the unlikely event that the drone drops out of the sky, the damage is always limited as we never fly over built-up areas, roads, train lines or large groups of people.

Also, today’s drones are very sophisticated and have lots of built-in failsafes. These include sensors that can detect objects to prevent collisions, dual batteries just in case one fails, a return-to-home feature where, in the event of signal loss, the drone will fly back and land exactly where it took off from!

Check out the Allen Williams Media Services Instagram account @pfkmedia for stunning aerial photography and aerial videography of Cumbria and the Lake District, and exclusive behind the scenes clips.

Eden Animal Rescue are based in Newbiggin, near Temple Sowerby, and have been caring for animals since 1995. Each year the number of animals they take in gets higher, and their animals need you to help them be able to care for them, and find them new homes. PFK are supporting Eden Animal Rescue in the great work that they do, by funding an animal’s care until they find their new forever home. Nicola Hadfield and Harriet Simpson from PFK have been along to Eden Animal Rescue to catch up with Vicki and Jon who kindly showed them around, and we can introduce to you….