Sulphate attack works

hwalkerh

So a house we are buying has possible sulphate attack. If it does the floors would need to be dug out and replaced. I know this is a huge job and will cause disruption and dirt but my question is to anyone who has had it done or seen it done - how much damage will it cause?

Is it likely to be a full house replaster? Will it be damage to the outside walls? Anything else?

keystone

What does possible mean? Is this possibility the result of a comment made by a "surveyor" during a valuation survey or during the completion of a Homebuyers Report. In either case it can be treated with a certain degree of scepticism - particularly if it was just a throw away comment.

Sulphate attack does not affect a single property. Find out if others in the area are afacted. If the property was built during the 50s and 60s then you should be more concerned than if it is a later build. By the mid 70s the use of power station ash was known to be the cause of sulphate attack and suitable precautions were taken.

You are likely not to get a mortgage if the mortgage provider gets a sniff of this.

If this property is affected it will likely cost up to £20k (in some cases more) to get it sorted.

You need to do some more research. What does the Vendors Questionaire say?

Cheers

anotherbaldrick

Agreed . You need to bottom this one out, consult a local engineer and get the truth, if it is or is not affected. Don't wobble into the purchase if you are not shure of the situation. Talk to your solicitor regarding searches .

hwalkerh

Our surveyor said due to the uneven floors (but not uneven enough we noticed), age of house 1958 and that there had been some in the local area it could be sulphate attack. She gave the seller the number of the specialist and the seller has had the test done (samples of cement) and we should find out next week

We have had a mortgage offer (basic on there own survey) but if there is an issue and we reduce the price I am guessing the mortgage company will want to know why. Would this mean no chance of a mortgage unless the seller sorted it before we exchanged?

W.Ford

Would this typically be a result of no damp proof membrane?

hwalkerh

I think it would be, it would be the damp down in the hardcore that reacts with high level of sulphate to cause issues.

anotherbaldrick

hwalkerh wrote: »

Our surveyor said due to the uneven floors (but not uneven enough we noticed), age of house 1958 and that there had been some in the local area it could be sulphate attack. She gave the seller the number of the specialist and the seller has had the test done (samples of cement) and we should find out next week

We have had a mortgage offer (basic on there own survey) but if there is an issue and we reduce the price I am guessing the mortgage company will want to know why. Would this mean no chance of a mortgage unless the seller sorted it before we exchanged?

The usual thing is for the mortgage company to hold a sum of money back until the work has been done and certifed,

hwalkerh

If they held some money back until done then I don't understand how we would be able to pay for the property on completion?

Our mortgage is only about 55% of house value so is there a chance they might loan the amount?

I guess if the vendor pays to have it done before completion then we would be paying the same price and we wouldn't need to tell the mortgage people as they have already inspected.

Sorry - just got the whole bank holiday to stress about this!!!Best case there isn't actually a problem, 2nd best if there is vendor sorts before sale and worse case it has a problem and vendor won't even reduce price and we have to walk away