Advice needed re: damp (again!) and woodworm

chicarg

We are in the process of buying our 1st property and we have just received our Homebuyers report back.

I know that they are other threads running in this forum about surveys & damp and we have read them with interest. We don’t want to start a war on whether the damp is normal or not; or if the survey has any use… etc.

But we would really appreciate fellow mnsers opinions on this because as FTBs we don’t have a clue of how bad it is!

2 items were identified in the report as “urgent matters requiring action”. Oh, and by the way, it is a ground floor Victorian conversion garden flat, really lovely.

1) Timber defect: it says that there is evidence of untreated wood beetle infestation in the cellar which could have spread to other concealed areas. The activity appears historic (what does this mean??)
2) Damp: identified in all the rooms with more severe damp to the rear of the building. Evidence of chemically injected damp-proof course. It also says external levels are too high, a distance of 150mm should be maintained (again, no idea of what does this mean?)

I know that in a Victorian house there is likely to be damp, but does the above sounds really bad?

Other minor issues were also mentioned in the report such bath needed sealing underneath, some guttering needs straightening and unused flue needs ventilation etc; but we are assuming that this are not urgent matters. Also the house was refurbished 2 years ago and electricity and other services are top condition as it was rewired, etc.

We called a couple of specialists to come and have a look and give us quotes for any work needed, but none can come before 2 weeks time and obviously all this will delay the sale, although we know it might be necessary.

Please please any advice??

lilybugs

chicarg wrote:

1) Timber defect: it says that there is evidence of untreated wood beetle infestation in the cellar which could have spread to other concealed areas. The activity appears historic (what does this mean??)

This came up in my survey. If it is historic then I suspect that the surveyors thinks that there is no longer an infestation so it won't get any worse but he can't check all of the wood as some of it is in areas that he can’t get to.

chicarg wrote:

2) Damp: identified in all the rooms with more severe damp to the rear of the building. Evidence of chemically injected damp-proof course. It also says external levels are too high, a distance of 150mm should be maintained (again, no idea of what does this mean?)

As you said, you'd expect to see some evidence of damp in a Victorian property but that seems a very general comment about it being severe to the rear. Did he mention any percentages? I think it is something like, less than 15% is supposed to be acceptable but over this it isn’t. See if the seller has a guarantee for their DPC and get them to get a re-inspection done. I advise you to do this before you exchange. I didn't and am now having problems with the DPC company even though we changed the names on the guarantee.

Our guarantee covers the timber treatment and DPC so I hope yours is the same and you can get your sellers to have both checked out at the same time.

mr.broderick

Typical homebuyers survey..very vague and no commital total waste of money. House sounds excellent considering its age.

chicarg

Thanks!

lilybugs wrote:

T Did he mention any percentages? I think it is something like, less than 15% is supposed to be acceptable but over this it isn’t.

They were no percentages mentioned in the report, although in our viewings we did see the painting peeling off in the rear bedroom supposedly where the damp is more severe. Still don’t know how severe though

lilybugs wrote:

See if the seller has a guarantee for their DPC and get them to get a re-inspection done. I advise you to do this before you exchange.

If the seller doesn’t have the guarantees for the previous DPC, would this be really expensive to fix? I guess we’ll need to have an specialist to quote us on that …

TJ27

Hi Chicarg.

When you say "ground floor garden flat" what exactly do you mean? Some people around here use a term like that to describe what's essentially a basement flat. Is the floor of the flat below general ground level?

The reason I ask is because basement flats do tend to be quite prone to dampness. Strangely enough, I visited such a property last week. Two young students called me out because their (Victorian) basement rooms seemed to be a bit damp. I found that the rooms were a little damp but it really wasn't too bad for a basement. I had a call this afternoon saying that after the weekend rain, the rooms were ankle deep in water!

chicarg

TJ27 wrote:

Hi Chicarg.

When you say "ground floor garden flat" what exactly do you mean? Some people around here use a term like that to describe what's essentially a basement flat. Is the floor of the flat below general ground level?

Thanks for your reply TJ27

It is literally on the ground floor, street level. However, half way through the property there are 3 steps in the corridor and the rear of the building is then 3 steps lower than the front of the flat.

I don’t know if it is clear: we have reception room and master bedroom street level, then 3 steps down and bathroom, kitchen and 2nd bed-room about 30 cm lower.

Does that make any sense?

And could it be why the rear bedroom has more damp, since it is slightly lower?

TJ27

At times of heavy rain you're going to get a lot of surface water and also the ground just below the surface will get very wet too.

Most older houses have very dated forms of damp courses and membranes. Some have none at all really. So it's fairly easy for water too seep/soak through brickwork or stonework, or up through the floor, if the level inside the house is lower than the level outside.

So yes I think it might well be a reason why the lower part of the flat is more damp.

chicarg

Thanks for all these comments so far.

If anyone has anything else to add on the points mentioned in our survey please do! :j

matto

The external level referred to is the ground level and its distance beneath the damp proof course. 150 mm is the current guidance for the distance between the top of the ground and the damp proof course.

TJ27

Yup, Matto is right. The DPC should be about 150mm above external ground level (although older guidance states a bit less than that) to prevent damp rising up the wall. However, if the internal ground level is lower than the external ground level then water can soak through the wall/floor below the DPC. In such circumstances the DPC will not really make any difference. It might not be rising damp. What might be needed is a DPM (membrane) or some sort of tanking.

It's hard to tell what's actually happening without having a good look to be honest, so I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I hope the above stuff gives you an idea of what might be going on.

frannyscho

Have a look at period house forum. Most damp is dealable with by the most obvious means, and damp courses are a waste of time anyway. Have a look at some really bad damp and death watch beetles too and feel reassured. They have oodles of practical advice there.
If you love the property, you will deal with the problems, which more than likely will be common to all of that street (you could chat to a neighbour or two) but use it instead as a bargaining tool for a reduction in price.