HomeBuyer Report...

howellers

Hi,

The following was noted on a house buyers report for a place I am interested in..

The property needs more ventilators to the sub floor void. Perhaps 5 in total. No evidence of damp or warping of the floor. A minor bit of retiling of the roof due to poor workmanship (again no evidence of damp or leakage). Roof insulation is a bit thin (4 inch instead of 11). Some low windows may not be tough end glass by instead just double glazing (a trip hazard apparently).

Mmmm the valuation by my Surveyor is the same as the agreed price.

Anything I should be too worried about?

Cheers,

P

howellers

This was listed as a 2 on the RICS -

It can be seen in many details that the quality of workmanship in the covering of the extension roof falls short of the standard normally expected. There is inadequate overhang at the dormer and main verges, the verge tiles have been cut incorrectly, the pointing is poor and there is inadequate overlap to the tiles on the dormer roof. All of these increase the likelihood of rainwater penetration. Careful inspection inside found no evidence of resulting damp however it may be that some damp is gettting past the roof covering but not
enough to show internally. If that is the case timbers under the tiles may be getting damp and, over the course of time, they will become vulnerable to rot. As a precautionary measure you should have the tiles to the left dormer and the verge to the main roof removed and the covering reformed properly.
Apart from this the roof covering is in generally satisfactory condition. A tile above the front door has been broken and sealed. Although the seal appears sound you should have this tile replaced.

Another 2 -

It was noted that the construction of the extension has effectively blocked off the ventilators to the subfloor void that were in the side wall. Additionally it appears that the installation of the gas supply has resulted in one of the ventilators at the front being closed. Subfloor ventilation is now restricted to one ventilator at the front and three at the rear. Ventilation to the subfloor
void is important to minimise the risk of rot to the floor timbers should damp
be present and to disperse radon should it be present. There is no evidence of any movement in the floor timbers that would indicate the presence of rot however as a precautionary measure it is recommended that two additional ventilators are provided at the front wall. You should take care that nothing is done to obstruct the free flow of air to the ventilators.

Another 2 -

The timber soffits to the original building have been covered with pvc blocking the ventilators that were present. Ventilation is important to allow movement of air to the roof voids to assist any damp present to evaporate. While no evidence of any resulting problem was noted, vents should be fitted to the original soffits as a precautionary measure. No ventilation is required to the extension soffits as the roofing felt is breathable.

The following are 3's -

Low level glazing in windows (less than 800mmm above the floor or less than 1500mm above the floor if within 300mm of a door opening) must comply with BS Safety Codes which means using toughened or laminated glass. The glass in the kitchen window is not marked as toughened however whether it complies with the Safety Codes has not been confirmed as specialist equipment is needed to detect laminated glass. In modern double
glazed units it is unlikely that the proper glass has not been used and in this location it is hard to see how anyone could fall against it however you should have the glass inspected to determine if it complies and, if not, have it replaced.


This is a 3 but seems niggly -

The installation is served by a twelveway consumer unit under the stairs protected by cartridge fuses and a fourway consumer unit in the garage protected by MCBs (miniature circuit breakers). Two of the unused spaces at the consumer unit under the stairs are not covered. This is very dangerous as small children could insert thier fingers and receive a shock. The interior of the light switch in the roofspace is exposed as the box is broken.

MelaBella

howellers wrote: »

Hi,



Anything I should be too worried about?

Cheers,

P

I wish i have your problems.:D My homebuyer's look more dreadful compare to yours. No, there is nothing to worry about i think...

howellers

MelaBella wrote: »

I wish i have your problems.:D My homebuyer's look more dreadful compare to yours. No, there is nothing to worry about i think...

I hope so!

Did you proceed despite the report?

P

buppy

Same as MelaBella I wish mine looked like that. We had ventilation mentioned along with a whole load of other things and no we didn't proceed and lost nearly 1K. To put everything right would have cost around 30k on a £183k house which a) they wouldnt drop by and b) we didnt have time to carry out the work before moving in.
Needless to say the house is still up for sale and will be unless they start doing some of the work.

G_M

Your initial post indicated some very minor, easy/cheap-to-fix, issues.
* ventilation grills are cheap + an hour or 2 of labour
* minor re-tiling? an odd job man plus ladder for 2 hours? £50?
* attic insulation? £5 from B&Q and DIY one Sunday!

However your 2nd post indicates a bodge job on the way the entire extension has been built. General poor workmanship and poor design. When was it built? My key question would be, did the extension have Building Regs certification? If not, what else was bodged?!

The two uncovered spaces in the consumer unit? £2.64 each here!

MelaBella

howellers wrote: »

I hope so!

Did you proceed despite the report?

P

Yes, im still in the process of buying it, calling all sorts of specialists at the moment, compiling the estimates for work needed.:eek:

howellers

G_M wrote: »

However your 2nd post indicates a bodge job on the way the entire extension has been built. General poor workmanship and poor design. When was it built? My key question would be, did the extension have Building Regs certification? If not, what else was bodged?!

The two uncovered spaces in the consumer unit? !

The extension (according to the survey) was built in 2010. I'm presuming it'll be the solicitor that'll investigate the building regs certification?

Thanks everyone for their replies so far!

howellers

MelaBella wrote: »

Yes, im still in the process of buying it, calling all sorts of specialists at the moment, compiling the estimates for work needed.:eek:

Eep! Good luck

Would you call in specialists for any of the things I listed above from my HomeBuyer Report? 99% appear to be fixable myself..

MelaBella

howellers wrote: »

Eep! Good luck

Would you call in specialists for any of the things I listed above from my HomeBuyer Report? 99% appear to be fixable myself..

Thank you. I am so sick of house hunting and house purchase process so I hope to sort out this one asap:)

In my case i was calling specialsts just to estimate how much it would cost to fix it as I had more serious problems, also im not a good DIYer:) You mentioned you can fix it yourself or even if you call for someone then it wont be expensive. So, you cant even re-negotiate on the purchase price much. YOu can still call someone to look at it just to ease your mind.:)

You would also probably need to check the details with your solicitor as advised, but really, i wouldnt worry too much.

G_M

howellers wrote: »

The extension (according to the survey) was built in 2010. I'm presuming it'll be the solicitor that'll investigate the building regs certification?

Thanks everyone for their replies so far!

So does the solicitor know there IS an extension? He's never seen the house remember.

Assume/presume nothing. Instruct him to check, or check yourself.

If the extension is that recent, I can't believe the Building Inspectors would have signed it off with

construction of the extension has effectively blocked off the ventilators to the subfloor void that were in the side wall.

and similar