FTB - Homebuyers report back - advice please!!

bryanb

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Cartridge fuses are OK too. Arguably better than MCBs.

Flattish grey cable can be plastic, which is better than rubber. But they could be lead, which would require an immediate rewire.

Sure, but these checks give a rough indication of age.

David_Aldred

Hi Bella,
There are a couple of things to be aware of from the information you have given to date that might be worth considering:

A 1930's house should have been built with a damp proof course under Building Regulations applicable at the time the property was originally built. The level of that original damp proof course (dpc) should be beneath the level of the floor joists which themselves are likely built directly into the walls and the reason the dpc is below the level of such joists is to offer them protection against rising dampness and hence reduce the risk of their decay.

Failure of the dpc the house was built with is often misdiagnosed. The original dpc the house was built with may well be slate or bitumen and these materials may crack with settlement over time but the amount of dampness rising up through such cracks will if you think about it be minimal and not the full wall lengths of dampness.

An electrical damp meter does not confirm rising dampness or failure of a dpc and high readings on such meters when placed on wall surfaces only indicate areas of concern requiring further investigation. Such further investigation may for instance determine if there is debris within the cavity of the wall allowing moisture to rise up through it and give all the effects of rising dampness even though the original dpc may well be intact. Or for example there may be issues of dampness emerging up from the void beneath timber floors if the oversite is poorly vented / damp etc which again is an example of where low level dampness due to some other reason may be misdiagnosed as rising dampness.

It appears two different contractors have come along and likely without undertaking laboratory analysis to determine if true rising dampness is present on the back of high electrical damp meter readings have installed chemical dpc's for theor own profit yet dampness remains a problem. This may be because the original cause of the dampness was not true rising dampness and the original problem may remain unaddressed, or it may be due to poor workmanship by the contractor.

In either case your surveyor has found high readings with an electrical damp meter to walls yet again. This suggests damp plaster which may or may not be contaminated. Re-injection of the cavity wall from outside is unlikely to dry this plaster down and may be viewed as nothing more than a gesture of goodwill to ease through the sale of the property.

This being the case I would tend to agree with your gut feeling that you are being taken for a patsy amongst the friendship you point out that exists between contractor and vendor. Once the contractor says they have re-injected they can say re-treatment has been undertaken and say you need to monitor the situation over twelve months for drying down. However if workmanship is poor / things such as plaster are not to specification such as the plaster is contaminated the dampness may well remain and getting the contractor back to do more free work for re-treatment once you own the property in the future may be less easy.

You may well hope that people will behave with the same level of integrity that you live your life but unfortunately this is often not the case and in order to protect yourself from suffering a loss you may wish to consider having a competant third party look at the property before things go further and prior to re-treatment currently being offered so a true assessment of how things currently are can be made with independent recommendations for any further works required.

On the cavity wall tie front a precautionary note of care is that although new cavity ties may have been installed some types of original tie can be left within the wall (generally small wire gauge) without causing structural damage whilst others (generally thicker gauge wire and plate type ties) often require isolation / removal from the wall otherwise their continued expansion with corrosion will cause mortar beds / render to crack and degrade the wall / lift roofs etc making the elevation unstable despite new cavity ties being fitted.

Checking what type of tie the house was originally built with would be prudent as removing / isolating ties from the wall is not always undertaken when it is appropriate to do so by those installing new ties (in order to make their quote competitive) and the cost of doing this now if such large gauge / plate ties are present may well be considerable given the scaffolding costs and issues of making good cavity insulation / brickwork / render if applicable where opened up to address each and every original cavity tie.

As tyllwyd states dampness, timber and cavity tie issues may be common to many similar properties of this age location and type but you still need to allow for such in your purchase negotiations in order to protect yourself from suffering a loss. That being the case an attitude of taking the view if you were selling this property a few months after you had just bought it what problems could a potential purchaser bring to light and request a justifiable reduction in the asking price would be prudent. Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Independent damp and timber surveyor

bella1985

Thanks.

I've had a look on the website you suggested to find an independent specialist but there appears to be noone in my area (manchester). Could you recommend any other? I found a national co on googlr but was put off when it said cost of report can be deducted from work- doesn't feel like they would be as independent as they should be for the price they are charging, but maybe I'm being overly sceptical.

Also- can you give me a rough idea of how much I should expect to pay for a damp report/timber report.

My plan of action is to get someone in before the work is done as you suggested.

Thanks for your help

shane42

if you buy an old house be prepared to rewire and replumb unless done within last 20- 30 years, as for damp yep its old hardly a surprise, just get the work done and enjoy

Doshwaster

bella1985 wrote: »

That's very true - wish the surveyors didn't need to cover their own backs so much though because it doen't make good reading!

Very true. I got my Homebuyer's Report back a few days ago and almost had a heart attack when I read it - red warning marks all over the place. Then you get to the conclusion and find it says that it is a nice house in good condition!

As others have said, it's in the surveyor's interests to point out every possible fault they can find - otherwise they may be liable for any problems if they miss anything. Mine even had a warning that I should get an expert in to test the paint for asbestos!

chris_m

Doshwaster wrote: »

Mine even had a warning that I should get an expert in to test the paint for asbestos!

What about lead?

bella1985

Doshwaster wrote: »

Very true. I got my Homebuyer's Report back a few days ago and almost had a heart attack when I read it - red warning marks all over the place. Then you get to the conclusion and find it says that it is a nice house in good condition!

As others have said, it's in the surveyor's interests to point out every possible fault they can find - otherwise they may be liable for any problems if they miss anything. Mine even had a warning that I should get an expert in to test the paint for asbestos!

Mine mentioned asbestos. And squeaky floorboards. And decoration defects in the childrens bedroom (because it has a painting on the wallpaper).....