which survey to book

smacky

Hey guys

i have my final offer in place , hopefully able to exchange it before month end

few issues as per valuation report

1> conservatory needs repairs (vendor is doing it)

2: 2 dampness issues highlighted

a: there is evidence of dampness in ground floor walls and timbers in contact may be affected

b: there is evidence of penetrating dampness and timbers in contact could b affected

what exactly is the diff between "a" and "b"

and should i go for some survey like this i found through google

http://www.kenwoodplc.co.uk/Fast-free-surveys.shtml?gclid=COCzhNOQ8LgCFcfJtAod1jIAgw

or

http://www.kenwoodplc.co.uk/Fast-free-surveys.shtml?gclid=COCzhNOQ8LgCFcfJtAod1jIAgw

thx

holly_hobby

You've already had your survey for mge purposes, which has revealled suspected Damp & Timber (D&T) issues.

You now need a specalist D&T expert to examine and prepare a report and estimated cost to rectify the issues.

Some will do a free report (likely to find work to justify the free report), some will charge (try and get the vendor to pay or go half).

A well respected national provider of such services, is Peter Cox, of course there will also be other local providers, but PC has been going for yrs with a good rep.

You/D&T company, will obv need to liaise with your vendor for access for the inspection to be conducted.

The findings will determine what remedial works are reqd ... hopefully its just condensation (poor ventilation) or a failed damp course, with no timber issues (esp no dry rot ) - but all will be revealled on the D&T report. Whether the vendor will rectify, and you elect to proceed with the pch, will depend on what rears its head.

Hope this helps

Holly

pmartin86

Hi Smacky, I've just bought a house with damp myself! The difference between the 2 is as follows:

Ground Damp or Rising damp is basicly coming in from surface water, this might indicate a break in your Damp Proof Course or that the outside ground level is too high in comparison with your DPC

Penetrating damp is water that's coming in from the rain, thi scould be leaky gutter, blown rendering and/or damaged wall ties.

We got a damp and timber specialist survey done that cost £35 for a comprehensive report, unfortunatly for us, we had all the problems listed above and the cost of repairs (New wall ties, new rendering, new DPC, lowering of outside ground floor at one wall and tanking in the walls) for a 3 bed detached house come in at just under £10,000. In our case, we still decided to go ahead but just be aware that the costs can be very high.

hope your problems aren't as bad as mine were and you can solve them easily!

Good luck
Paul

kingstreet

Look for an independent T & D surveyor from this list and avoid contractors' "free" reports which often seem to require a damp course, when leaky rainwater goods, or soil level bridging the damp course are often to blame;-

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

smacky

oh boy,

this sounds serious... 1 reason i thought could be that they generally have been out of country for few months due to business and they have this as a spare house. This could be the reason for dampness :-(

3 > point also mentioned the property has suffered movement in past. Surprisingly they said the same for another house we had out offer on 4 months ago but the vendor pulled out stating they cant find house they want , wasting our valuation money and time ofcourse

smacky

http://www.londondampsurveyors.co.uk/index.htm

They seem to be independent ! anyone has any experience with them

TAB101

Peter Cox are the most established company in the Market but in recent years, they have employed what they call sales surveyors who really don't have much experience in construction. There are hundreds of ' Specialists' out there who trade on people's fears, but far too few with scruples. Contact your local authority building services section for their approved list of contractors and at least avoid fly-by-night organisations