Bert Driver was a builder and a friend of Frank Barlow's who looked over 3 Coronation Street at his request when he was thinking of purchasing the house from the landlord. Bert lifted the floorboards in the scullery and found nothing wrong but did see that the house walls adjoining the yard needed pointing. He also found fault with the window frames in the back room. Bert's estimate was that the solicitor's fees and the cost of repairs needed carrying out on the property would be about £100 which was a sum the postman could ill-afford on top of the price of the house. Ida Barlow came home early from work at that point and was disappointed that her dream of owning her own house wasn't to be.
Later on in the day, he was a customer in Jackson's Chip Shop.