Bad homebuyer report on 1930s semi-detached house

amateur_house

Hi, this is my first post on the MSE site, though I have been lurking for a while.

I have just had a homebuyer report back on a 1930s 2-bed semi-detached house I was hoping to buy. I knew some work would be needed, but am a bit shocked by the extent of what has been found. It mentions the usual checks for wiring and gas boiler / fire, which I expected to have to replace, and also polystyrene ceiling tiles, which I knew would need removing. The things which most concern me is that It also says there is lead plumbing that should be replaced, rising damp and perished plaster on the ground floor and penetrating damp under the bay window in the front bedroom. I haven't had any further reports or estimates for this work yet, but it seems to me it could be very expensive! If anyone has advice or experiences with this type of thing I would be grateful to hear.

Thanks.

lewishardwick

Damp could be for a whole variety of reasons. But some will depend on the construction type. Is the house solid brick, or cavity wall?

My parents old house was of similar age with a bay window. Like yours it was always damp. They discovered it was a single course of brick so had some remedial work done.

amateur_house

Thanks, it is cavity wall according to the homebuyers report.

G_M

amateur_house wrote: »

....The things which most concern me is that It also says there is lead plumbing that should be replaced, rising damp and perished plaster on the ground floor and penetrating damp under the bay window in the front bedroom.
Thanks.

My 1850s house has lead piping. I'm still alive (though it may explain my crankiness and tendancy to snap at posters who write drivel in their posts (not you)!

rising damp - investigate the cause. It's very rare and more usually a much simpler source of damp to solve.

persished plaster - caused by the damp. Cure the damp, let it dry out, then pay a plasterer £100 to re-plaster (then paint).

penetrating damp under window. Usually simple to cure. Investigate why it is penetrating: guttter/drain blocked? Raised ground level outside? The worst likelihood is the window frame leaking, and if the frame is wood it may be rotting from the damp. May need the wood patching and repainting if not too bad, or new window.

bouicca21

If the house is in a hard water area then the pipes will be sufficiently lined with limescale that the water and lead never meet.

amateur_house

The report says the damp in the front bedroom could be due to poorly installed cavity wall insulation, and this may be expensive to fix. The window is double glazed. The water is described as "very soft" in this area, so good unless you have lead plumbing it would seem.

I don't know whether to go to the expense of paying for reports and estimates for costs of getting work done when it might turn out to be beyond what I can afford. Or if I should just cut my losses and look for another house