Advice on buying house with a little damp

deafpanda

Hi everyone,

I have signed up to this forum because it seems to have some very well-informed people in the area of damp!

We are buying our first house. It is a Victorian terrace, built around 1880. It doesn't have a physical damp proof course. The walls are solid brick.

A chemical DPC was recently injected into the front wall. That was a few months ago (I think around 3). There has been no-one living in the house for more than 6 months.

There are slight damp spots on that wall. They are not very big, and the house doesn't smell of damp. The estate agent thinks that the damp should clear up when someone starts living there, airing and heating the house etc.

We've had a survey done, and the surveyor phoned me to talk about the results. He didn't sound very concerned about the damp - he said it's not a problem for living in the house but it might be a problem when we come to sell.

Would you buy the house?

Thanks!

BTW this emoticon is the weirdest thing I've ever seen: :money:

richardw

What sort of damp is it?

If it is caused by condensation, then airing and heating may help.

propertyman

With a chemical dpc they can be expertly installed but purchasers and lenders want to see
- what the original scope of the work was and if it addressed the original problem
-they have a guarantee or warranty that is comprehensive and can be assigned to a new owner
-that the company is reputable and long standing or the above is supported with an insurance policy of they cease trading

deafpanda

Well, we assume that since a chemical DPC was used, they thought it was rising damp. The visible damp is around 1.2 metres above the floor - the surveyor speculates that they might not have replaced the plaster quite high enough.

deafpanda

properyman - thanks. There is no guarantee for the work that was carried out. The lender however seems happy, we have received our mortgage offer.

maninthestreet

deafpanda wrote: »

properyman - thanks. There is no guarantee for the work that was carried out. The lender however seems happy, we have received our mortgage offer.

The vendor is happy? How is that relevant in any way?

deafpanda

maninthestreet - I said lender, not vendor.

brillopadsaplenty

maninthestreet wrote: »

The vendor is happy? How is that relevant in any way?

OP said that the lender is happy.

G_M

maninthestreet's question still relevant:

lender is happy. How is that relevant? Lender does not have tolive there!

We are buying our first house. It is a Victorian terrace, built around 1880. It doesn't have a physical damp proof course. The walls are solid brick.

Very unusual - they usually have slate dpc

we assume that since a chemical DPC was used, they thought it was rising damp.

:rotfl:

Ask to see the original inspection report that recommended this remedial work. It should make clear what the problem was, and how the treatment will help.

There is no guarantee for the work that was carried out.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Tells you a lot, doesn't it?

My guess? Some mickeymouse outfit cam along, took a quick look, said "yeah you've got a damp problem - we can do a chemical injection treatment which should sort it out. Only cost you £2000. Paperwork? You don't need that - once the treatment's done you'll have no more damp"

Having said all that, if the property has been empty a while, it is quite possibly just cold/condensation probs.

But who knows?

deafpanda

I went back to the house today and there is no visible sign of the damp any more.

Also spoke to a neighbour who said he had seen the damp in the house before they had the treatment, and it was obviously very bad (you could scrape bits of the wall off with your finger).

G__M - the surveyor said in his report that the property didn't have a physical DPC. Should we get a second opinion?

We're thinking about getting a specialist damp surveyor in. Is it worth it, or is it a waste of money, given that there is no visible damp now?

Thanks for all your help