dump found on the survey - what's next?

kokolino23

Hello,
We have the survey returned and this is what it's been written:

There is evidence of dampness to ground floor walls and timbers in contact may be defective. You should instruct a damt & timber treatment contractor to investigate the full extent and carry out necessary repair work.

There is evidence of condensation and timbers in contact may be defective. You should instruct a damp & timber treatment contractor to investigate the full extent and carry out necessary repair work.

Some of the walls are only of single brick thickness. This can cause problems with penetrating damp and condesation. I recommend you obtain a specialist advice to upgrade the structure.

Should we spend money with the above survey and see what's the cost involved? I'd guess the vendor doesn't care anyway as he wants to sell anyway so a price cut is unlikely.

The house is only 17 yrs old so the report looks a little bit odd to me.

Not sure what to do next... should we pull out?

kokolino23

I'd guess we only have 2 options: pay for a damp & timber specialist or pull out.
I reckon is wise to go for the first one and hope is not going to be very expensive to sort it out.

G_M

dump found on the survey - what's next?

As in Stick of the ....? Or as in someone took a ......?

Davesnave

A 17 year old house shouldn't have walls of only single brick thickness. It wouldn't have passed building regulations in 1997/8.

I would get that point clarified. Has the house been extended?

I would not expect a 17 year old house to be damp anyway, so I'd be extremely reluctant to go forward with the purchase if it was.

What kind of survey did you have? Normally, when damp is present, a surveyor will point out potential causes.

Davesnave

G_M wrote: »

dump found on the survey - what's next?

As in Stick of the ....? Or as in someone took a ......?

I hate to be pedantic, but it's "Stig of the Dump."

G_M

Dve you're so right. Mea Culpa. Must go back to my reading....

kokolino23

Davesnave wrote: »

A 17 year old house shouldn't have walls of only single brick thickness. It wouldn't have passed building regulations in 1997/8.

I would get that point clarified. Has the house been extended?

I would not expect a 17 year old house to be damp anyway, so I'd be extremely reluctant to go forward with the purchase if it was.

What kind of survey did you have? Normally, when damp is present, a surveyor will point out potential causes.

We only had a valuation, not a survey. What I mentioned initially are under "Matters affecting value" therefore they don't get into details. I wasn't fully aware about the valuation and I thought I paid for a survey. Only when you asked me I had a look on the Halifax website and seen their fees.

kokolino23

I need to ask the EA when the house was built but from what I've seen on rightmove, they were developed around 97/98.


The house has a garage which it's been converted (kind of as the garage door is still there and is just one single brick wall) so I'm hoping they were referring to that.


As I've got my MIP with Halifax, the valuation was done by Colleys. I rang them explained them my concerns so I've been given the valuator's mobile. I rang him twice, no answer so I left him a message but he didn't bother to ring back.


I think I have to speak to him first then decide if should I pay for a dump & timber survey.

Davesnave

A damp and timber survey shouldn't be from a damp and treatment contractor as the building society valuer recommended, but from a independent damp and timber specialist surveyor, who will not have a conflict of interest as he/she won't be looking for work. Damp & timber treatment surveys might be free, but that's because the contractor hopes to make money from the work they find......and they will almost always find some, whether it's needed or not.

I can tell you for free from here that in the case of a garage being used as living space without the appropriate alterations, the only solution to long-term damp & condensation issues would be to rip everything out and start again. There is no other solution.

So, what you need, if you decide to go forward with this one, is either a homebuyer's report, or a full structural survey covering more than just damp. If the previous owners have 'converted' the garage without taking proper steps to insulate it, then what else might they have done? It might have met their immediate needs, but it would not have met building regs for the very reasons that are coming to light now. It will not have added any value to the house: in fact it may have devalued it.

Robin9

We had damp on an internal wall reported on our house - proved to be a damaged pipe - repaired it, remastered and decorated.

Freecall

kokolino23 wrote: »

The house has a garage which it's been converted (kind of as the garage door is still there and is just one single brick wall) so I'm hoping they were referring to that.

So there is your single brick wall. It sounds unlikely that Building Control approval was obtained.

Why not check? It won't cost you anything and may save you a load of money further down the line when your solicitor asks for evidence of compliance and it can't be produced.