damp proofing cost

stevenharri13

Hi

We are currently looking to buy a town house (3 levels) with the lower ground floor being underground on one and a half sides (sloping). We have had the survey back which has shown there is no damp proofing in the lower level. There has been a problem with damp before.

Can anyone give me a rough idea of costs please?

Thanx

justjohn

Cant help, would assume it needs tanked. Unless sides could be dug out.

BlueC

Hmmm difficult. Without a lot more details there is no way anyone can suggest a cost. Are the mortgage company insisting that this damp problem is resolved before they will lend on it? If so, you'll have some good leverage to negotiate with the vendor about getting quotes and having it fixed.

The mortgage company may insist on a specialist damp report, and if they do then BE CAREFUL. We got badly stung here by a damp company so my advice would be to get at least two specialist reports, and only let the lender see the one you're happier with. Again, you can use any recommendations or costs from the report as leverage to negotiate with the vendor. Ideally use a damp surveyor who doesn't actually carry out remedial works themselves, then there is no incentive for them to over-quote on the work required.

If the mortgage lender isn't bothered (unlikely?), then I'd perhaps try to negotiate on the price, but more importantly I'd live in the house first before rushing into any damp treatment... you will learn a lot more from living there for a year than any survey will tell you. You may even find that it doesn't need treating at all... surveyors seem pretty keen to highlight a little bit of damp but it is perfectly acceptable in lots of period properties, and can sometimes be treated with nothing more than better ventilation or a dehumidifier.

stevenharri13

Thank you for your responses. Actually the mortgage provider was happy with the survey and have not requested that it be rectified, which is good news. :beer:

We have decided to get an independent damp specialist to quote for the work and we are still going to use this to negociate on the price, as the vendor and estate agent arranged for plastering to be re-done to hide damp issues and then claimed it had all be fully resolved.

We like the advice about living with it for a while to see just how bad it is and where the real problems are - we hadn't thought about that, I think we just went in to panic mode!

stevenharri13

Just another quick question, what is involved in 'tanking'? (This is all new to us!) Would that involve digging round the walls beneath the ground to damp proof or would the work be carried out from the inside?

We are aware that buyers have pulled out before on this property and we are wondering if this is because it is such a massive task to resolve?

111KAB

stevenharri13 wrote: »

Just another quick question, what is involved in 'tanking'? (This is all new to us!) Would that involve digging round the walls beneath the ground to damp proof or would the work be carried out from the inside?

Can be done either internally or externally but if you can dig around the perimiter I would always recommend external tanking so long as the 'bridge' between the external wall and the floor slab membrane is 'connected' in some way. Internal can be Sika, bitumen or similar, external can also be Sika rendering or proprietory sheeting. Basically with internal protection you are allowing the outside wall to remain damp/wet with no ingress to the usable area - with external you allowing no damp to penetrate the wall but you need to allow a far greater time for the wall to dry out.