Would you buy a house with dry rot?

jeffroswald

Hi all. I'm just in the process of trying to purchase a house and the survey's picked up a load of damp - so got to tear off the plaster and do re-do of damp proof course in almost all rooms.

The front room also has a really bad case of dry rot in the bay window, and the surveyor's taken up some floorboards and the dry rot looks like all timbers under thefloor in that room are affected.

Would you carry on and negotiate off the price or run like the wind, just out of interest? If you've had experience of this your opionons would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Doozergirl

Damp often doesn't mean new damp proof course. It often means people trying to sell you them, but the best you can do is find the source, rectify it and let the walls dry out.

Finding the source is the most imortant thing. Damp proof courses are often breached - they rarely fail. There are miriad reasons for damp and I've always been able to find the source. We haven't installed a chemical DPC in a decade.

When we have come across dry rot, there is generally a slow leak occuring, which feeds the rot. Despite its name, it isn't dry at all. You have to cut the source and strip back, strip back until you remove it all. If it's in one room, great. If you're planning to take the house back to brick anyway, great. If yours is in a bay window then it's probably a window leak and nothing to do with damp proof courses.

Are you having a mortgage? Are they okay with the rot?

I don't think that dry rot is all that scary. It's ceetainly unpredicatable in its path and work is destructive and messy. It depends on what you want. If you're expecting a project, then that's fine. If you aren't, then it probably should ring alarm bells that you're buying one.