No-fines Concrete Houses

Another form of non-traditional construction in residential dwellings is no-fines concrete. The most common type is probably Wimpey No-Fines. There is also Laing Easi-form which is similar. Both are so named after the developers who created them. The walls are formed from concrete poured into a timber frame. Once set, the timber is removed, leaving the solid walls cast in situ. The concrete was of a special type with an aggregate of round pebbles and no fine particles, hence the name 'no-fines'. The design resisted damp penetration as rainwater simply dripped off the pebbles and was unable to pass through to the interior due to the absence of any finer particles.

From the outside they look like typical post war semi detached houses with rendered walls. A matching rendered concrete chimney stack can be an identifying feature, but not always. Some of them have brick bays on the front. For a definite identification you need to look at the inner face of the gable end wall in the roof space. There you will see the round pebbles, as described above and shown in the photo below.

Usually the Wimpey no-fines is accepted for mortgage purposes. I have heard that the Easiform ones can be more difficult to mortgage due to known defects, but there are none in my area, so not had experience of them. If you've had dealings with a Laing Easiform house, it would be great if you could comment below. If you've been enjoying this week's articles on non-traditional houses, please 'like' my page at Hallworth House Survey Education and click on 'get notifcations'. Future ones should then go to your timeline.