Islington Area

Islington Area

If you are thinking of moving to the London Borough of Islington or the Islington area or visiting Islington then we hope you find our view and review of the Islington area interesting.

We are chartered surveyors, so our view of Islington may be a bit property biased, but would you expect us to be anything else but property biased! We carry out surveys all over London , including building surveys, structural surveys, engineers reports, of course we are happy to carry them out in Islington. We have tried to put other interesting non-property facts about Islington and the Islington area, many of which we don't think you will find anywhere else on the Internet.

Advert for independent chartered surveyors

We have independent chartered surveyors who carry out building surveys, structural surveys and defects reports in Islington and are very experienced and will give you peace of mind for your new home or commercial property. We also deal with Schedules of Dilapidation and Schedules of Conditions and act for you whether you are the Landlord or Tenant. If you want property advice then please contact us on free phone 0800 298 5424.

Islington, a bit of fun

If you can read these articles in the sprit they were written; that they were written for people that don't know the area. We would be more than happy to add any comments from the Islington area and also comments from Islington locals who feel that we've missed out any important facts, or indeed if any of the facts we have put down are not accurate.

Where in London is Islington?

The Islington area is in North London, or to be more accurate, North part of Central London , on the south side of the River Thames.  Surrounding and neighbouring areas include Camden , Kensington City of London Barnet and Harringay.  Islington is like many London suburbs, made up of many areas, or London villages for want of a better term.  These include. Finsbury Park , Highbury, Holloway, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green,  Hackney and Dalston, Camden and Clerkenwell  Angel shopping area, of course, is located in the area, as are parts of the City of London !

We are having to carry out surveys, structural surveys and building surveys on all sorts of buildings all over London and we have carried out lots in the Islington area.

A bit further afield

To the north of the Islington area are Crouch End, Hornsey, Stroud Green, Lower Holloway, Upper Holloway, Holloway, Tufnell Park , Highbury, Finsbury, Haringey, South Tottenham , Manor House, Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington Green. To the east are Lower Clapton , Dalston, Hackney, Hackney Wick, Clapton, Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Whitechapel. To the south are the River Thames, the City of London, Finsbury, Clerkenwell, Bansbury, Regents Park, Camden Town, Marylebone, Paddington, St John's Wood, Kilburn, Ladbroke Grove, Hampstead, Kentish Town and Belsize Park.

Thanks for the help from Google Maps for this information on the Islington area.

Ways to travel in the Islington area

Roads

The main road into the Islington area is the A406 North Circular Road, also known as Bowes Road . You can then come down into Islington using the A1000 Archway Road, the A10 High Road, also known as Stamford Hill and Kingsland Road, the A40, Marylebone Road, which is a good road to come into the Islington on, the A1 Holloway Road and Upper Street, also known as Archway Road, and Falloden Way and Lyttelton Road, the A503 Seven Sisters Road and Parkhurst Road and Camden Road. The A105, known as Green Lanes, which becomes Essex Road , A1199, St Paul 's Road, the A103 Hornsey Road , A5200 York Way

Other major roads in the area are Clerkenwell Road , Old Street Road, High Alban, Grays Inn Road and Goodge Street .

As with most areas of London there is a good road system, with the duel carriageway on the A41, A1, A12, A5, A40 providing access in and out of Central London, which also goes past the City of London East and parts of West London . 

Tubes

The tubes in the Islington area are Highbury, Islington, Old Street, Dalston, Kingsland, Angel, Kings Cross, Euston, Euston Square, Warren Street, Goodge Street, Russell Square, Holloway Road, Caledonian Road, Farringdon, Barbican, Moorgate and St Paul's.

Trains

The railway stations in the Islington area are Caledonian Road , Barnsbury Road , Highbury and Islington, Camden Road , St Pancras International, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Thameslink, Euston, Old Street , Essex Road , Canonbury, Farringdon, Barbican, Moorgate, London Fields and Cambridge Heath.

This area is also covered by the excellent Google Street View, where you can literally walk along the road.

Interesting facts we know about the Islington area

Interesting fact about Islington number one

The London Borough of Islington was formed in 1965 following the merger of the Islington and Finsbury areas.

Interesting fact about Islington number two

In pre-Victorian times Islington was known as the dairy capital.

Interesting fact about Islington number three

Douglas Adams of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' fame, based some of his characters on people he knew and loved in the Islington area.

Interesting fact about Islington number four

There are lots of parks and green spaces in the Islington area.

Interesting fact about Islington number five

The Islington area is known for being an area that attracts the media and arty types.

Islington History

As with many areas of London it was once farming land for dairy farming.

With the coming of the railway systems development was rapid.

It suffered from bomb damage during the war.

Famous people that were born, have lived, or are living in Islington

There are many famous residents and ex-residents of the Islington area, mainly because the City of London is just up the road.  We also heard a rumour that that Boris Johnson grew up in this area (maybe you caught him jogging around the area) and that famous writers often lived here, such as George Orwell and Douglas Adams.  It is also associated with Tony Blair.

Famous buildings we have not surveyed!

The Emirates Stadium in Holloway, which is worth a visit and tremendous design that provides a view very close to the action on pitch.

The City University , also known as The University, which is very long to walk to!

Unfortunately we haven't been able to come up with any other really famous buildings in the Islington area, so anyone who knows any please phone or e-mail us, we are sure we can sort out some sort of prize.

We would add that as with many areas of London it has a mass of Victorian and Georgian houses, which may up the majority of the housing stock in the area, with some newer developments for the after war building took place, replacing bomb damaged houses and some housing with 1960 post-war built houses. We are more than happy to carry out building surveys, structural surveys, engineers reports on these properties to give you a clear idea of any problems that you may be buying when you buy your new house.

Things to do in Islington

The small bars, cafes and restaurants are popular with our surveyor that knows the area.  Also, he advises that he is dragged on shopping trips to Angel and Shoreditch, all of which are relatively close, and of course Angel is one of the most hip and trendiest areas that young Londoners visit, you really need to catch the atmosphere here on a hot summer's evening!

Georgian Properties in More Detail

If you need help and advise with regard to structural surveys, building surveys, engineers reports, specific defects reports, dilapidations, please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Independent Chartered Surveyors

As we are Independent Chartered Surveyors we would like to tell you a bit more about the area from a surveyor's point of view, should you be wishing to buy a house for investment or your new home, or buying a commercial property in the Chiswick area.

What does a Georgian property look like?

Georgian properties tend to be quite square in shape. They have large windows, as natural light was precious. They tend to have hidden roofs and hidden guttering and downpipes to the front of the property, which can cause problems (more about this later on). They have sliding sash windows, and normally have Flemish Bond brickwork.

Sometimes the fronts are in brick, sometimes they are rendered, depending upon the style and class of person they were aimed at. Often the quality of the front can be quite different to that of the sides and rear.

Our guide to buying property in the Islington area

We give you some examples of typical Georgian streets and other eras, that are typical for the Islington area and explain a bit more about the typical problems that we as chartered surveyors commonly find. Hopefully this will give you a good idea, whether you are buying the 1930's suburb style house or a converted Georgian apartment, or a large detached property.

Typical Georgian roads in the Islington area

When surveying this type of property it comes in three forms:

•  Terraced Georgian properties, as in those adjoining houses on roads such as the Upper Street , College Cross, Windsor Road and Liverpool Road

•  Larger Georgian properties, either terraces or semi-detached, or even detached, with double height bays and often grander entrance halls. Typical roads are Upper Street for example Waterloo Terrace.

•  Although, in many areas these have been converted into the third type of Georgian property that we commonly come across, which is the conversion to apartments or flats.

Typical problems in Georgian properties

When we survey large, small or medium size Georgian properties we commonly come across problems with:

The Chimneys

Chimneys in Georgian properties are subject to intense heating and cooling cycles and therefore problems such as condensation. There are also issues with damp entering around Chimney Walls which we diagnose and remedy.

The Roof

The first problem is that you often can't see the roof from the front at all and there is often a limited view to the rear, due to the height of the Georgian properties and the parapet walls that surround them. However, from our experience, there is normally box gutters behind the parapet walls and they may be hiding, what is known as a London roof, also known as a butterfly roof. These were used as they simply didn't have the technology to do larger roofs.

Common problems with these are leaking central gutters, which cause rot into the valley. Chimneys and parapet walls can be a problem where the flashings have been replaced with cement flashings, or tiles on edge, rather than the original lead. This can also allow dampness into the property.

Then we have the problem where the properties have been insulated to modern standards without ventilation being added, causing condensation to occur in the roofs.

We should also talk about modern ceiling lights being added, which can become a fire risk, and woodworm, wet rot and dry rot, of course.

Georgian wall problems

As with Victorian properties there can be problems in Georgian properties with cement mortar. This causes deterioration to the brickwork seam. This wrecks the appearance of a property by spalling brickwork, then allowing dampness in. The repointing is often carried out with the argument that it will make the building more watertight. This is the opposite of what it does.

See sketch below about the breathability of the walls. We apologise if you have read the Victorian section as it is the same, but it is so important.

Bonding timbers are very important in this age of property. We have explained what these are elsewhere within this www.1stassociated.co.uk website.

Another problem is the embedded floor timbers that are commonly used in this age of property. These do rot over the years, which have resulted in all types of repairs occurring, from back to backing with other timber joists to the adding of steel joist hangers.

A mixture of old and new materials

The mixing of old and new materials can be a problem. It is very difficult to talk about, but we often find that the original construction is not the problem, it is the repairs, modifications and alterations that have been added over the years, and it is the combination of these that has made the problems difficult to diagnose without us actually visiting the property.

If you do have any problems and you want us to carry out a survey then please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Windows

Sliding sash windows were a great step forward many years ago, but now are often considered draughty and certainly don't meet many of people's pre-conceptions of how wind and watertight they should be. Many people love the look of them, many people hate the fact that they allow draughts in.

During our surveys we typically find problems and the difficulty is not just the expense of repairing them but finding the right person. Having said that, research shows that the timber sliding sash widows and joinery in general lasts longer than the plastic version, if it is maintained.

Georgian sliding sash windows tend to be slightly larger than Victorian and, depending upon the year, they had or hadn't been affected by modification in the London Building Act, to make them more fire resistant.

Other things that we could have told you about but we just haven't got the time, but if you do have a look on the website there are articles on it

•  Structural problems and cracking within Victorian properties

•  Rising damp, lateral damp and condensation

•  Bay windows

•  Cast iron gutters and downpipes and soil and vent pipes

•  Cellars

Whilst the Victorian era spans a number of years the majority of the building was carried out in the 1880's to early 1900's and then we moved into the Edwardian period.

If your property is from an early Victorian era then we suggest you also look at the information that we have on Georgian properties, as this can also be relevant.

We would estimate that 99% of all problems that we look at are solvable. Some, however, are very expensive to solve and some make the properties un-mortgageable. These are areas that you want to avoid. The remaining one per cent, whilst not unsolvable, are best left to professional developers who understand property and have the advantage of being able to get market rates of trades people and materials.

We are also happy to carry out surveys on properties where you are looking to buy as an investment, as well as surveys on properties where you are looking to buy it for your home.

Victorian Properties in More Detail

If you need help and advise with regard to structural surveys, building surveys, engineers reports, specific defects reports, dilapidations, please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Independent Chartered Surveyors

As we are Independent Chartered Surveyors we would like to tell you a bit more about the area from a surveyor's point of view, should you be wishing to buy a house for investment or your new home, or buying a commercial property in the Chiswick area.

What does a Victorian property look like?

Victorian properties tend to be known for their pointy architecture, with quite a high pitched roof, executive fascias boards and bargeboards, a classical door pediment and an apex detail to the roof. Typically, they have bay windows to the front and sliding sash windows.

Victorian housing was a massive step forwards. It was the first time that common man had drainage, which really was the latest mod-con back then.

Our guide to buying property in the Islington area

We give you some examples of typical Victorian streets, Georgian streets and other eras, that are typical for the Islington area and explain a bit more about the typical problems that we as chartered surveyors commonly find. Hopefully this will give you a good idea, whether you are buying the 1930's suburb style house or a converted Victorian apartment, or a large detached property.

Typical Victorian and Edwardian roads in the Islington area

When surveying this type of property it comes in three forms:

•  Terraced Victorian properties, as in houses adjoining residencies three different streets to be put here , Hornsey Road and Tufnell Park .

•  Larger Victorian properties, either terraces or semi-detached, or even detached, with double height bays and often grander entrance halls. Typical roads are Upper Street , Douglas Road and Noel Road.

•  Although, in many areas these have been converted into the third type of Victorian property that we commonly come across, which is the conversion to apartments or flats.

Typical problems in Victorian properties

When we survey large, small or medium size Victorian properties we commonly come across problems with:

The Chimneys

Victorian Chimneys typically have problems at high level due to design and detail that has been used around them to make them weather tight.

The Roof

Victorian properties with the original slate roofs may have what is known as nail sickness. This is where deterioration occurs to the fixing nails and the slates start to slip off. Typically, we can see there are problems where lead tingles are present. We normally say that if you have more than a dozen of these in one area then you will be looking to re-roof.

Alternatively, Victorian properties may have a clay tile on them and you have to check to see if the nibs on the clay tiles are deteriorating.

Also, weak areas in these Victorian properties can cause problems, such as at the valley gutters, which originally were lead, which generally worked very well. These over the years have been replaced with felt or other lesser materials.

Finally, we need to make you aware of concrete tiles, that have been used to replace the slates, or manmade slates have been used to replace the slates, both of which have their problems. The concrete tiles due to their additional weight and in a worst case scenario cause roof spread and wall spread and associated structural problems. Manmade slates are relatively light but can, due to poor workmanship, chip and lift at the perimeter.

We should also talk about modern ceiling lights being added, which can become a fire risk, and woodworm, wet rot and dry rot, and bonding timbers, of course.

Victorian wall problems

Typically, the Victorians built with English brick or stone. In the roads that we have surveyed in the Islington area this is typically in red or yellow stock brick with features in a softer red brick or render finish, which has often been applied over the years.

Probably the most common problem we come across is the repointing of walls in a cement mortar. This causes deterioration to the brickwork seam. This wrecks the appearance of a property by spalling brickwork, then allowing dampness in. The repointing is often carried out with the argument that it will make the building more watertight. This is the opposite of what it does.

The adding of damp proof courses is often unnecessary and tends to work in the opposite way to which the original structure of the property works. We are more than happy to tell you more about this if you do have damp in your property, please free phone 0800 298 5424.

A mixture of old and new materials

The mixing of old and new materials can be a problem. It is very difficult to talk about, but we often find that the original construction is not the problem, it is the repairs, modifications and alterations that have been added over the years, and it is the combination of these that has made the problems difficult to diagnose without us actually visiting the property.

If you do have any problems and you want us to carry out a survey then please contact our free phone number 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Joinery

Sliding sash windows were a great step forward many years ago, but now are often considered draughty and certainly don't meet many of people's pre-conceptions of how wind and watertight they should be. Many people love the look of them, many people hate the fact that they allow draughts in.

During our surveys we typically find problems and the difficulty is not just the expense of repairing them but finding the right person. Having said that, research shows that the timber sliding sash widows and joinery in general lasts longer than the plastic version, if it is maintained.

Drains

Drains can be a nightmare in Victorian properties, causing structural problems and dampness.

Other things that we could have told you about but we just haven't got the time, but if you do have a look on the www.1stassociated.co.uk website there are articles on it

•  Structural problems and cracking within Victorian properties

•  Rising damp, lateral damp and condensation

•  Bay windows

•  Cast iron gutters and downpipes and soil and vent pipes

•  Cellars

•  And, we haven't even mentioned London roofs, known as Butterfly Roofs.

Whilst the Victorian era spans a number of years the majority of the building was carried out in the 1880's to early 1900's and then we moved into the Edwardian period.

If your property is from an early Victorian era then we suggest you also look at the information that we have on Georgian properties, as this can also be relevant.

We would estimate that 99% of all problems that we look at are solvable. Some, however, are very expensive to solve and some make the properties un-mortgageable. These are areas that you want to avoid. The remaining one per cent, whilst not unsolvable, are best left to professional developers who understand property and have the advantage of being able to get market rates of trades people and materials.

We are also happy to carry out surveys on properties where you are looking to buy as an investment, as well as surveys on properties where you are looking to buy it for your home.

Independent Chartered Surveyors

If you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a chartered surveyor, and many of us are also chartered builders, with regard to valuations, mortgages, mortgage companies, surveys, building surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, structural surveys, home buyers reports or any other property matters please contact 0800 298 5424 for a chartered surveyor to give you a call back.

Commercial property independent chartered surveyors advice

If you have a commercial property, whether it is freehold or leasehold then sooner or later you may get involved with dilapidation claims. You may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com .

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

The contents of the web site are for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.

All rights are reserved the contents of the web site is not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or part without the express written permission of www.1stAssociated.co.uk .