Damp and Timber report - help!

airasay

Hi there
I am in the process of buying a house - it's a late Victorian Terrace - the valuation by the lender put a retention on the mortgage offer of £2500 - pending a damp and timber report and evidence that any issues have been picked up are fixed (referencing potential damp/beetle infestation).

The D&T report came back with over £4k's worth of things quoted to fix and fortunately the sellers have agreed to pay for all quoted work which will begin shortly (our retention would still have applied even if they reduced the house price by £4k so they sort of had to fix it or put it back on the market, we already offered £12k over the asking price because it was competitive and went to sealed bids).

However 2 things mentioned in the report were not quoted for (the company don't fix concrete damp problems or external brickwork problems) and we now need to fix them ourselves:

Excessive dampness was noted to the concrete flooring in the utility room - floor should be examined and either a new concrete floor with damp proof membrane considered or it may be feasible to damp proof the existing floors, depending on their condition, using epoxy resin or similar. Room size: 6’ 6” (2.00m) x 4’ 6” (1.38m)

- How much would this cost? Is it a serious problem?

And the second thing:

The damp to the rear left hand corner of the property in and around the cupboard is severe and it will therefore be necessary for a building contractor to undertake the necessary repairs to the external brickwork and render as well as checking the flashing and seals above the roof. New flashing may be required, chased into the back wall

- They are fixing the internal damp but not the brickwork/flashing mentioned above - is that likely to be costly?

We need to know fairly urgently because we want to know whether or not to offer on another property we have an eye on because this current one is likely to be costly to fix or grit our teeth and try and fix all the problems popping up with this one (it also needs double glazing and new flooring throughout and we haven't even had a survey done yet...!). It's top end of our budget so don't have much money to spare on it. Best case scenario - these issues are not going to be too costly and we'll go ahead with the house we have.

Any ideas?

Very many thanks,
Sarah

G_M

fixing the internal damp? Where internally is it coming from?
* condenation?
* leaking pipework/shower tray etc?

Damp is far more likely to originate from outside and penetrate.

The D&T report came back with over £4k's worth of things quoted to fix

I suspect this was a damp proof company who did a sales 'survey' and (surprise!) found £4Ks worth of work they could charge you for.

Or were you sensible and got an independant damp survey done (paid for) by someone who does not do work himself so has no vested interest?

makeyourdaddyproud

Damp is insidious. Powdery foundation brickwork caused by long term spalling and damp (which you cannot ascertain easily), is bank breaking.

IMO, Run for the hills.

fishpond

As has already been asked:-
" got an independant damp survey done by someone who does not do work himself so has no vested interest?" ?
Who did the survey?
What was the survey?

airasay

It was by timber preservation and damp proofing specialists recommended by the seller's estate agents, we couldn't afford independent surveyor and had to go with what they recommended at the time. Not clear what the cause of the damp is in the report but it is clearly severe (very visible) and was noted by the valuation survey too. Damp readings were taken with a protimeter. It says "the wall plaster is breaking down (being contaminated with mineral salts, sulphates, chlorides and nitrates some of which are hydrscopic, i,e. moisture attracting)".
We are lucky the sellers are paying for all the damp and timber work other than the utility and the external work mentioned. Because it went to sealed bids and they are already doing a lot of work we have been told they won't do any more for us. We need to sort the utility damp concrete and brickwork/flashing.
There is a 20 year guarantee on the damp work being carried out internally so i was initially assuming they must be dealing with the root cause of the damp otherwise what is the point of them doing all the internal damp work if it is just going to keep happening... but obviously we want to get the external problems fixed asap before we move in as they recommended it be looked at - don't want to risk it coming back, we're going to speak with the company that did the report asap on monday. Is external work to brickwork/flashing like this likely to be pricey? How much is replacing concrete flooring? Thanks

[Deleted User]

I had a kitchen concrete floor that was damp to the touch. I coated it with a bitumen paint, tiled it with normal floor tile adhesive and tiles.., didn't have a problem for years til I moved out (and no problems then either).

My dad the builder recommended putting a thick plastic sheet on the floor in a previous house, I didn't this time.., and it was still fine.

I gather from googling, there are also concrete tanking solutions you can pour on. Not overly expensive.

SG27

A damp and timber report is about £200 you couldn't afford that? I expect not paying that may well cost you a lot more in the long run. The specialist company fixing the internal damp are most likely hacking off plaster and injecting chemicals if the brickwork flashing is still faulty the damp will come back and the guarantee won't cover it as it won't be thier chemicals that have failed. It's a different problem. Also I wouldn't want the vendor doing any work there is a good chance they will do it on the cheap they aren't going to pay for a decent long lasting job to be done.

If I was in your situation I would pay out for a proper survey now. It may well come back with a couple hundred pounds of guttering or flashing repairs needed. but you will know he sorce of the problem and get it appropriately fixed rather than a bodge job and a worthless guarantee.

DRP

definitely agree with sg27.

Most likely, the work a damp proof company will do is just to hide the problem.

Speak to a range of professionals (roofers? builders? surveyor? plumber?) and do some investigating yourself... (internet and rooting around under floorboards etc).

G_M

Oh my god. That's all I can say.

airasay wrote: »

It was by timber preservation and damp proofing specialists recommended by the seller's estate agents,
The EA works for the seller. Take their recommendations with a pinch of salt and find your own specialists.

we couldn't afford independent surveyor and had to go with what they recommended at the time.
You're spending £X00,ooo and "cannot afford" blah blah? So you'll risk hundreds of thousands for the sake of ... quite frankly - you're mad.

Pay for a proper survey or walk away.

And do NOT rely on the seller putting things right. In 6 months when the damp starts showing through again, they'll be long gone......