Problems that weren't picked up in survey

SarkeBeeley

Hi
We completed on our house last December. We had a Building Survey by a RICS registered surveyor done, he recommended a damp and timber report (which we had), then we got a local builder to do a cheap survey and quote. We thought we were being thorough. Due to the damp that was noticed, we got a little bit off the house price and got the work done.

Since then there have been loads of damp issues come up. The whole fitted kitchen was damp (they'd even emulsioned the back of the cupboards to try cover it but you could smell it as soon as you opened them) so we had to pull it all out, get more damp proofing done and have a new kitchen fitted. This builder noted quickly that next door's garden comes halfway up that kitchen wall so it was getting water logged and damp. The surveyors hadn't noticed.

We've had damp come through quite bad in two hallways and five other walls that weren't noticed in the survey. We recently asked a new surveyor to come round, he easily pointed out to us that loads of the rendering has come off the side of the house so water is stuck behind it, that the stone sills above and below two of the windows have totally crumbled so water is running down the walls causing lots of damp on the internal walls under those windows AND the balcony that had been built out back had been built in such a way that it was holding rainwater behind it, causing damp to come through on two further walls. Again, he just stood in the garden and pointed these really obvious things to us. None of this has changed since we moved in. There used to be three separate chimney stacks and where some of them have been removed on some floors, this is causing damp and salt. Again, the surveyor didn't pick up on this.

My question is - do we have any way of getting any money from the surveyor? We've already had to spend about £7k on unexpected damp work and have thousands more for the other damp walls, plastering, pulling off and replacing the rendering (it's a 3 storey house) and replacing the stone sill things.

To be honest, it's feeling soul destroying, we'll never be able to afford all of this work and the damp is spreading. I don't really know what to do. Sorry for the really long post!

Sarah

Nobbie1967

Why do you want to go after the surveyor? They recommended a damp report be done. If there was negligence, it sounds like it was by the firm that carried out the damp report that should be pursued.

Did you pay for this report, or was it free?

SarkeBeeley

The surveyor only recommended the damp and timber report due to some other issues that we've already fixed. I would have thought the issues we have that are really obvious when you know what you're looking for (the lack of balcony drainage, the broken rendering, the damaged sills, the garden against our kitchen wall) should surely have all been picked up by a building survey?

Also, all surveyors seem to recommend a damp & timber survey, an electrical survey etc to cover themselves. We did pay for the damp & timber survey too, it wasn't a free quote.

Hoploz

What exactly did you ask the damp surveyor to do? Survey the whole house, or only survey certain parts?

G_M

If the 1st surveyor missed issues that any reasonable, professional surveyor should have highlighted, then yes, you have recourse.

In the first instance, raise a complaint and see what they say; they may make an offer that is sufficient for you to avoid the need for escalation/legal action.

If not, you can follow the RICS complaints process, or take legal action. For either of these, I'd suggest you will need independant, professional, written evidence - so get the 2nd surveyor to write a report not just listing the problems, but also specifying how long the problems would have been self-evident to a surveyor.

AdrianC

It wasn't only the surveyor who missed the high ground level and damp odour in the kitchen cupboards, was it?

The specialist damp survey also missed it.
The builder who quoted also missed it.
YOU also missed it...

TBH, the surveyor's the last on the queue of people to blame because he suggested you should get a specialist to investigate and report.

Chanes

We had a survey on a house years ago that picked on wall ties to be replaced (they didn't need to be) and missed damp to the ground floor that meant we had a lot of joists plus a concrete kitchen floor replaced with associated replastering. We had an idea to pursue the surveyor but it became entrenched in argument and opinion so we gave up. Maybe we would have won but the time it took and the frustration of it all was dreadful and you cannot get that time back. Sometimes you have to take a deep breath and a lesson from things. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

SarkeBeeley

The damp and timber survey was for the whole house.

@AdrianC - we missed it but we aren't surveyors, didn't know what to look for and didn't have a meter to measure damp. They had painted over it so it wasn't visible to the naked eye and we didn't know enough then to know the obvious issues outside would cause damp.

@G_M thanks, I've emailed both the original surveyor and also the damp & timber survey company.

@Chanes - sadly, because we had to have a new kitchen fitted which we didn't know we needed, we have no money left to do any of the work but as it's spreading along all of the walls pretty quickly, it's all quite urgent! If money wasn't an issue, I'd just be getting it all done to get it over with it because it's totally put me off the house. We've had 9 months of dealing with damp and probably lots more to come.

Chanes

SarkeBeeley wrote: »

The damp and timber survey was for the whole house.

@AdrianC - we missed it but we aren't surveyors, didn't know what to look for and didn't have a meter to measure damp. They had painted over it so it wasn't visible to the naked eye and we didn't know enough then to know the obvious issues outside would cause damp.

@G_M thanks, I've emailed both the original surveyor and also the damp & timber survey company.

@Chanes - sadly, because we had to have a new kitchen fitted which we didn't know we needed, we have no money left to do any of the work but as it's spreading along all of the walls pretty quickly, it's all quite urgent! If money wasn't an issue, I'd just be getting it all done to get it over with it because it's totally put me off the house. We've had 9 months of dealing with damp and probably lots more to come.

You have my best for a good outcome for you. It's so frustrating having a persistent problem, I remember well. I hope it gets fixed soonest. We were similar about being put off the house we're in now, because of items unforeseen (a leak in a nice swish bathroom meant we had to have the thing replaced but insurance covered that) plus the roofline...keep your chin up, it will get better.

Hoploz

In that case, as you instructed the damp survey on the whole house, it is this survey which should have picked up these items. They have not done their job properly.

SarkeBeeley

Update: the MD from the damp & timber survey company came to see us this morning, has admitted they should have mentioned a couple of things and have given us some money. He's also suggested chasing the Chartered Surveyor further.