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Buying a new home which requires rennovation

Lally
Posts: 795 Forumite


My husband and I have never done any major works before and have found a house we like. We have been told by the agent that it requires an estimated £60,000 of work. £20,000 of that is wood related and they have a timber report which details different problems; both dry and wet rot, from a section of the roof to various rooms (walls and floors)
If we could get the house for a reasonable price then the work would be affordable so assuming it did not go over the estimated £0,000, the price is not a problem. I am worried about the rot though, if not done properly, could it come back? Would we be able to live in the house when such work was being done? Do you have any idea as to how long it would take to fix?
If you think this is too big a job to take on then please say, I appreciate any honest opinions.
If we could get the house for a reasonable price then the work would be affordable so assuming it did not go over the estimated £0,000, the price is not a problem. I am worried about the rot though, if not done properly, could it come back? Would we be able to live in the house when such work was being done? Do you have any idea as to how long it would take to fix?
If you think this is too big a job to take on then please say, I appreciate any honest opinions.
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Comments
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Probably not a good person to reply at the moment...we are having dry rot dealt with in our house (bought in Jan and discovered it about 6 weeks ago....) the problem was disguised and covered up. What started as a SMALL job has now spread through the hall ...into the staircase, and throught to the kitchen. Looks like the whole of the ground floor.
I personally would not touch a house with dry rot.
If it is not all completely erradicated it will grow back....and then the 20 yr guarantee is worth nothing if it is not the specific area that they treated....
The wood infected rot is removed and fungicide is sprayed into walls, (ie plaster is removed and then holes drilled all over the wall) then replastered and treated wood is put back. It depends how much dry rot there is and where....ie, on our staircase it is on the string, which is the side of the stairs. So potentially we need to eh whole staircase replacing.
Can it be done while you live there? If you have good health and no allergies.
But the dry rot stinks when exposed and the fungicide is not safe for 48 hrs after spraying. I am sure it will still be lingering after that.....(we just had ours sprayed today) There is an incredible amount of dust, and you need to be sure that all the dry rot has been estimated for so that your costs do not end up a lot higher.
Honestly , from my heart....go find another house!
Good luck, whatever you do!0 -
My take on this would be to treat it like, say, a car or motorbike restoration (something I'm familiar with) - and the rule of thumb there is that until you start taking things apart, you're probably seeing between a third and half the jobs that actually need doing.
If you want to get stuck in, I'd get an expert in to check over the house for you and come back with an estimate as well. I mean, surely the agent wouldn't have done something like give you the lowest estimate for the work they could get away with, no?0 -
sounds dodgy. maybe a bit too much to take on
I have asthma so that would maybe rule me out being there at the time. and we have a newborn too.0
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