Sub-floor ventilation is inadequate

GDVS

I plan to have a full survey carried out on the property I'm purchasing (it's an Edwardian terrace) but at the moment I just have the valuation report which contains the following paragraph...

"Sub-floor ventilation is inadequate which may have allowed defects to occur. You should instruct a timber treatment contractor to investigate the full extent and carry out the necessary work"

I'm guessing the defects in question would be wood rot but what's the likely cost of getting the ventilation from inadequate to adequate? Hundreds, or thousands?

G_M

Odd job man (£10 per hour) or DIY: 1 hours labour.

Knock out two or three bricks below floor level and replace with

http://www.screwfix.com/p/air-brick-terracotta/13873?kpid=13873&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CKuO1oK9sbYCFUnMtAodQU8ARw


If double thickness /cavity wall, use :

http://www.i-sells.co.uk/double-sized-air-brick-cavity-liner-ventilator-cw-air-blast?gclid=CMLm-dm8sbYCFS7KtAodxjAAsw

and add another hours labour!

GDVS

Ok, I like those numbers. So assuming a timber specialist doesn't find hideous rot under the floor then getting to an acceptable state to ensure there are no future problems wouldn't be an issue. Thanks for the quick response, appreciate the help.

No doubt I'll have a million and one other questions by the time I'm done with this process!

Mayflower10cat

The levels outside the property may have risen since the house was built - we found this with our Edwardian semi. A horrible concrete path was laid on top of 60-70's crazy paving, which was on top of old rubble from the outhouse that was the Loo, bringing the level up to the old iron fretwork vents. Not helped by a modern flowerbed right up against the front wall of the house, effectively covering the vents. We discovered a small amount of woodworm in the floorboards, but no dry or wet rot. (If you have rot in any shape or form, lifting just one floorboard, you'll smell it.) Our Builder said to us; 'they built good houses back then, that's why they're all still standing!' We just need to take good care of them and I'll bet in 100 years time, they'll still be standing...

GDVS

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

Our Builder said to us; 'they built good houses back then, that's why they're all still standing!' We just need to take good care of them and I'll bet in 100 years time, they'll still be standing...

This is what I'm hoping

kingstreet

If getting a specialist, pay for an independent surveyor, rather than a timber & damp treatment company.

Reports to them are a good little earner, akin to putting the rats in charge of the cheese store. They can't resist telling you work is required in the hope they will get it!

Look here and pay for an inspection and report;-

http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

GDVS

kingstreet wrote: »

Look here and pay for an inspection and report;-

http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

Sadly the Yorkshire contingent is unwell and unlikely to be returning to work any time soon, however I managed to find a company over in Doncaster who had the PCA logo displayed (I'm led to believe that's a good thing?) and I couldn't find anything negative about them online. The quote for doing the damp and timber survey came in at £175 so not as high as I expected.

kingstreet

Hopefully, that's better than someone wanting you to spend £2k on unnecessary damp and timber treatment work.

Tancred

GDVS wrote: »

I plan to have a full survey carried out on the property I'm purchasing (it's an Edwardian terrace) but at the moment I just have the valuation report which contains the following paragraph...

"Sub-floor ventilation is inadequate which may have allowed defects to occur. You should instruct a timber treatment contractor to investigate the full extent and carry out the necessary work"

I'm guessing the defects in question would be wood rot but what's the likely cost of getting the ventilation from inadequate to adequate? Hundreds, or thousands?

This is the usual tedious stuff that surveyors tend to write about on period properties. 99 times out 100 there will be absolutely nothing worth worrying about, but in order to cover their rear ends they will make a point of pointing out this sort of issue every time.
Improving the ventilation is a very simple job, certainly not costing thousands!

Tancred

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

Our Builder said to us; 'they built good houses back then, that's why they're all still standing!' We just need to take good care of them and I'll bet in 100 years time, they'll still be standing...

Indeed. And I wish that people understood this instead of relying on surveyors who greedily want commission for engaging tradesmen to fix any tiny issue. The young FTB idiot who made an offer on my late Victorian terrace and then withdrew it when he found the usual comments about damp from the surveyor should have investigated this type of property more thoroughly before going ahead with an offer and wasting 3 weeks of my marketing time.