Chimney breast removed in kitchen but still remains in room above

tbs624

If vendor can't produce appropriate paperwork then get a structural engineer's report. Ask the vendor to pay half the costs of doing so.

Tango5

I will do that. Now also seems the roof needs significant work....the joys of buying a period property!

Tancred

tbs624 wrote: »

If vendor can't produce appropriate paperwork then get a structural engineer's report. Ask the vendor to pay half the costs of doing so.

If you ask the vendor to pay half, make sure that he/she gets a copy of the report as well!!

Tancred

Tango5 wrote: »

Yes, I like that house very much...it's pretty much perfect and we've been looking for a long time. I really don't want to walk away which is why I want to try and establish whether or not the is a problem, and if so how expensive it might be to fix.

This is why it's always best to do full structural surveys on older houses. The home buyer's report will merely mention the issue without checking anything.

chappers

Tancred wrote: »

This is why it's always best to do full structural surveys on older houses. The home buyer's report will merely mention the issue without checking anything.

To be honest a FSS would only highlight the possibility, they wouldn't go round lifting floorboards etc.

Tango5

chappers wrote: »

To be honest a FSS would only highlight the possibility, they wouldn't go round lifting floorboards etc.

Exactly! We had a FSS on a house we later had to pull out of and to be honest I have found the homebuyers report to be more helpful than the FSS. The FSS suggested lots to be checked but didn't seem to investigate issues raised in any greater detail than the homebuyers.

Tango5

After much back and forth between the solicitors. The vendors have replied by saying that they didn't remove the chimney(I didn't think they had) and that they weren't aware of this when they purchased the property so they assume that it has been like this for a long time.
I'm wondering how best to proceed? Whether I should get a structural engineer to take a look? How much might this cost (ball park)?
As earlier posts have pointed out, just because it has been like this for a long time, doesn't mean it will stay like this forever!

Tancred

Tango5 wrote: »

After much back and forth between the solicitors. The vendors have replied by saying that they didn't remove the chimney(I didn't think they had) and that they weren't aware of this when they purchased the property so they assume that it has been like this for a long time.
I'm wondering how best to proceed? Whether I should get a structural engineer to take a look? How much might this cost (ball park)?
As earlier posts have pointed out, just because it has been like this for a long time, doesn't mean it will stay like this forever!

A structural engineer visit would cost at least £500 and he'll probably just say that it looks OK - or not OK. He won't guarantee anything, nor can he.

At the end of the day if you are not comfortable with buying a house with this issue then walk away. If it has been like this for years and there are no obvious visible signs of structural problems then it's 99% going to be fine. If this isn't good enough for you then don't waste the seller's time any longer.

Tango5

Tancred wrote: »

A structural engineer visit would cost at least £500 and he'll probably just say that it looks OK - or not OK. He won't guarantee anything, nor can he.

At the end of the day if you are not comfortable with buying a house with this issue then walk away. If it has been like this for years and there are no obvious visible signs of structural problems then it's 99% going to be fine. If this isn't good enough for you then don't waste the seller's time any longer.

I am not wasting the vendors time. I just don't fancy moving into a house that, worst case scenario, could be unsafe. It may well be adequately supported but we don't KNOW that. I presume that the structural engineer would be able to tell me whether or not it was supported and if not, what would need to be done to make it sound.

Yorkie1

You may find that a structural engineer cannot give you a definitive answer without doing some structural checks to see whether there is a support - either by opening up the wall to look for an RSJ, or through the floor above as described by a previous poster.