Penetrating damp repairs - how painful?

LucyMS

I'm a first time buyer in the process of buying a 1 bedroom, second floor flat in a terrace built circa 1880. The homebuyer's report has raised the following:

Significant dampness was noted within the property and remedial works are required. The area affected is the right hand party wall in the living room close to the front elevation. This may be the result of a defective rainwater downpipe externally or may emanate from the ducting to the boiler flue.
Instruct an appropriately qualified person to investigate the cause and full extent of these faults and to carry out appropriate remedial work and allied repairs.
Timbers in contact with damp walls may also be affected by rot. Instruct an appropriately qualified person to make a thorough examination including underfloor areas to identify the cause and full extent of damage and to carry out all necessary repairs.
Plasterwork saturated by dampness will probably be contaminated by hygroscopic salts which will attract moisture vapour from within the building even after insertion of an effective membrane. Such plaster will need to be hacked off and replaced - preferably by a sand/cement mix with a waterproof additive.

Does anyone have experience with a similar problem and have a sense of how difficult this kind of repair is to have done? I will get quotes from a specialist, but I'm nervous about buying this flat now. I don't want to just pull out of the sale if it's an easy fix, though, as I love the flat!
Any advice much appreciated.

Soph1988

Did you see any damp? Did you smell any damp? Was it covered in thick wall paper or freshly painted? Was their furniture you didn't see behind on the mentioned wall? Does the mentioned wall have any cracks around windows?

I've just had a home buyers report on a 1950s 3 bed semi and my home buyers report also said "Timbers in contact with damp walls may also be affected by rot. Instruct an appropriately qualified person to make a thorough examination including underfloor areas to identify the cause and full extent of damage and to carry out all necessary repairs.". Were in - there's no issue and it was something the surveyor put in to cover his backside. He also gave us a 'medium' damp rating... we moved in anyway and discovered he'd just shoved his gadget on a bit of wallpaper in a house that had sat empty for 6 months. The moisture reading was of course a little high because of the weather and temp of the house. We did have SOME damp, but it was where the bay window is shoddy and the plaster around the window had fallen off. It's been a relatively cheap fix.

Do you know what the moisture readings were? Google how they identify 'damp'... its quite interesting and puts it into perspective!

If plaster is saturated by dampness, it'll be stained or crumbling or cracked. Wetness and plaster doesn't mix well - can you see the walls or are they covered by wall paper?

Can you see water staining on the wall outside?

AdrianC

It depends entirely on the cause. It might just need a bit or mortar around the flue. It might need a downpipe on the gutter (which would be the freeholder's responsibility).

One thing's for sure, the usual most likely's unlikely to be the issue... A build up of earth bridging the DPC... <grin>