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leakages discovered have been localised, the actual
condition of the main drain being known, and the
defects in the branch connections remedied without
further trouble.
The absence of efficient damp courses create a
great difficulty in a very large number of cases, and
involves considerable expense to underpin, and lay in
a good horizontal damp course, which is really the only
effectual remedy, although in some cases a vertical
damp course with additional floor ventilation is tried,
but is seldom satisfactory. It is not an uncommon
occurrence to find the main walls of a house extensively
saturated to an alarming extent by capillary attraction,
sometimes caused through carelessness in neglecting
to remedy a defective rainwater pipe, but more often
from the absence of a damp course. This gives rise
to considerable difficulty and is the most costly to deal
with.
Water Supply.
Although implicit instructions are given to Inspectors
with regard to the water supply of districts, our
difficulties thereunder are reduced to a minimum,
having regard to the method of supply. Waste of
water, however, is specially mentioned as a part of our
duty, and whenever such is discovered the Metropolitan
Water Board is immediately notified, and defects are
promptly attended to before much damage is done.
The extension of the house supply to other tenements,
especially where an additional sink is needed, has
received due attention, and in many cases demanded.