Damp found in survey, what do I do? (long post)

lilybugs

We are trying to buy a 1890's end terrace for £320k. The building survey came back OK with nothing substantial to worry about. However, it did say this;

"It is apparent remedial damp proofing works have been carried out in the past (there being evidence of injection holes externally), however it has not been wholly effective.

We therefore strongly recommend prior to exchange of contracts, the original installer be instructed to inspect completed works and carry out any remedial action necessary under the terms of a guarantee we assume was provided."

This is on one wall between the kitchen and utility room.

Our solicitor is chasing for it but I still don't know if the seller has the guarantee or if he has, the company might not still be in business. I'm not sure what to do if this happens. The valuation came back at the same price we're buying for and this mentioned the damp too so should we be asking for him to rectify it or for money off? We're all expecting to exchange in the next few weeks with a completion two weeks after that and a delay won't really hurt anyone as neither of us are in a chain.

Any advice would be great.

clairehi

what is the nature of the damp problem? is there evidence of damage to the structure of the building

"rising damp" is the only form of damp that a DPC will protect against and is quite unusual.

if in a kitchen/utility, problem may be condensation

seller probably will not want to do any works before they move out due to hassle factor. if there is a guarantee, it should be transferrable to the new owner.

always possible that your surveyor is being a little over zealous.

lilybugs

Thanks for replying clairehi. The information was under the header 'Rising Dampness' on the report so I guess this isn't just condensation.

This is some more wording from the report;

"Tests were made with a moisture meter at the base of walls, skirtings and over ground floors for indications of excessive moisture. Higher than normal levels of dampness were recorded to sections of plaster/skirting, more specifically the wall between the kitchen and utility room."

I'm concerned that I'm going to be hit with a huge repair bill when I move in and it was something I could have negotiated before the sale completes.

clairehi

on the face of what you have said so far, it doesnt sound like there is an immediate problem. What makes you think there will be a huge repair bill, has the survey pointed out any damage caused by damp?

damp meter readings on the surface of the wall alone will not tell you what the source of the damp is. condensation esp. in a kitchen/utility is highly likely to be the cause - honestly. can be cured by opening a window.

worth putting in a phone call to the surveyor, they may give you a bit more explanation of the report over the phone. they are probably trying to cover their backs.

courtjester

I would imagine that even if you had to have the work done again, it would'nt be too costly, especially if only restricted to one area. This is a Victorian property which has shallow foundations and no damp proof course, so all properties of this age have rising damp to some degree.

The important thing is that this is not affecting any timberwork as this could lead to an outbreak of dry rot which would be much more expensive and difficult to eradicate.

Easiest way if you want things to proceed is to get a damp proof treatment company (or the original company if possible) to provide a quote for the work needed and deduct this from the agreed sale price or get the vendor to pay up front - leaving you to have the work done after you move in. Not ideal, but the only other option is to delay the sale until it's done. Don't forget that there will be costs to reinstate damaged decorations and plasterwork which also need to go into the quote.

dragonsoup

The cost may not be as bad as you fear. We bought a 200 yr old house for full asking price in knowledge that all 4 walls of the dining room had severe rising damp as did one wall of another downstairrs room. There was also a patch of penetrating damp upstairs. There were half a dozen offers on the property at full price and we did not want to lose it.

We did have a quote beforehand so we knew what we were facing around £2000 iirc which seemed reasonable for stripping off plaster on all the walls ( both sides) & injecting a chemical DPC and replastering. The cost also included replacement of skirting boards which were completely rotten. Mind you the MESS it made was something else entirely!

Doozergirl

Is the wall between the kitchen and utility structural and internal? People often only damp proof the outside walls, though it's perfectly feasible for damp to affect internal walls too.

It's probably not much to worry about, especially when you consider how long the house has survived already. If you can get it fixed by the vendor then fine, otherwise I'd live with it without much concern. The surveyor obviously doesn't think it's much of a problem, otherwise it would affect his valuation.

aloiseb

WE once bought a house with a 30 year damp and woodworm guarantee: turns out the work must have been done by cowboys because, six months after we moved out (thank goodness) we heard that the kitchen floor had collapsed and the guarantee wasn't worth anything as the company no longer existed......so watch out if you get a guarantee from a vendor.

WSO

We had damp reported in our survey too, however we figured it was the surveyor being over-zealous as the areas he had identified were where the walls were altered (eg windows that had a few courses of bricks added or where old windows/doors were filled in). As the materials used were different (stone vs brick) the moisture wicking properties will be different and so will affect the electronic readings.

At the end of the day, surveyors do not want to be pulled up on something that may be an issue in the future - so will likely report any anomalies they find however trivial.

We got £500 off because our survey mentioned damp - but we decided not to do anything about it since we thought the readings were just down to a change in the use of materials. 18 months on and the areas identified are still as dry as they always were, if there really was damp in the area I would have thought we would have seen some evidence of it by now.

By all means, use it to get a discount if you can - but I'd hold off fixing it until you are sure it is really a "problem that requires attention".

Forgot to say - it sounds like the wall in question was once an external wall so will be made of different material to the internal walls - I suspect that the readings are different because of the differences in material used and not necessarily because they are actually damp... but then I'm no expert and do not have to risk my reputation...

Wickedkitten

Definitely have a read of this

http://askjeff.co.uk/content.php?id=3

Jorgan_2

Just a thought, due to the location of the dampness, is the area of concern close to a washing machine/dishwasher? The higher readings may be because of a leak or faulty connection. Worth investigation.

I was selling a property once & the surveyor found high readings in the cloakroom, little odd as it was all internal walls. Spoke to the vendor, turns out they had just started toilet training their son. Problem solved.