Building Survey Report - Areas of concern

Owain_Moneysaver

mazibee wrote: »

Lastly is it worth going for the Damp and Timber Survey, I got a quotation yesterday and it wll cost £265.

From a company that sells preservation chemicals by any chance?

In most cases you will know if a property is damp - damp smells.

Owain_Moneysaver

mazibee wrote: »

Shall I go for

1) EICR report for |Electric Condition
2) Which survey to use for checking Gas meter and the Heating condition of the property as the property?
3) Damp and Timber Survey for Timer , Joist condition

1. No; the property is likely to need rewiring. You don't need to pay someone to tell you this.

2. The seller might have a boiler service report or service history. Or you could ask for a "landlord's" gas safety certificate. Probably cost about £75. That would cover the gas meter and boiler. Might be worth asking the vendor for access to do that and you pay for it. The gas person could give you an informal report on the system too - however it is not a warranty. The boiler could still fail irreparably the day after you move in. That's the risk of buying houses.

3. Complete waste of money likely to lead to more waste of money. And if you are getting a mortgage you don't want to give the mortgage company any excuse to reduce their valuation.

mazibee wrote: »

This property is fitted with Worcester boiler in the kitchen, heating tank in the cupboard of one bedroom and I also saw a tank in the loft.

Can we remove the tanks from the heating system and any idea how much it will cost?

Not easily. If it's a system boiler you will need the hot water cylinder in the bedroom, and you can't remove the loft tanks without converting to mains pressure unvented - which would need a new unvented HW cylinder.

You also run the risk of the radiators leaking under the increased pressure of an unvented system.

Normally you should have two tanks in the loft - big one for cold water, and small one for heating primary circuit.

Davesnave

Albala wrote: »

Davesnave, depends on what access the surveyor got. Moving furniture can impede access as well as enable it.

I was going on "I was shocked as the photos look like the vendors have taken all the stuff out to hinder the surveyor do his job properly.

I don't have an alternative meaning for the italicised words, unless the 'stuff 'doesn't refer to the furniture at all, but what was inside it .Even if that's the case, the reasons might be nothing to do with deliberate hindering of the survey.

Anyway, it seems the surveyor did do their job thoroughly, so the OP didn't lose out.

Albala

Davesnave wrote: »

I was going on "I was shocked as the photos look like the vendors have taken all the stuff out to hinder the surveyor do his job properly.

I don't have an alternative meaning for the italicised words, unless the 'stuff 'doesn't refer to the furniture at all, but what was inside it .Even if that's the case, the reasons might be nothing to do with deliberate hindering of the survey.

Anyway, it seems the surveyor did do their job thoroughly, so the OP didn't lose out.

That 'stuff out' confused me too, but could have meant a number of things- e.g. took things out of cupboards and left things out all over the place. - 'their' stuff, rather than 'the' stuff. You'd hardly say 'to hinder the surveyor do his job properly' if it meant 'removed furniture'. Sometimes peope tidy for viewings but may not bother for surveyors. Hard to tell. Maybe the OP could explain?

mazibee

Sorry for any confusion caused as english is not my first language.

What I am trying to say is that , it looks to me is that vendor is trying to make the job difficult for the surveyor by taking all the stuff out of the cupoards etc and put it ouside ( on the floors , tables , making a mess , restricting surveyor access to different parts ofthe house.

Surveyor has added a lot of photos in the start of the report and mentioned limited access for him to work

Behind the garage there was a gym room amd a shed which were locked and surveyor was unable to report about them.

When we viewed the house we went in those areas but the surveyor was unable to access those two areas.

Surveyor has done a good job but vendor has tried to limit his views in every possibe way.

Davesnave

OK I've amended my earlier post now I understand the situation, as in your post 26.

It's up to you how you respond to your surveyor being denied visual access to parts of the house. That's very different from not being allowed to lift floorboards or drill holes etc.

However, I'm not clear about the importance of the parts of the house that were closed to inspection. Sheds, for example, are classed as temporary structures, so normally just mentioned in general observations in a survey, or maybe not at all.

Nevertheless, your surveyor reported that they were hindered in their work, so you should ask them if the restrictions they faced prevented a good overall report and act according to their answer. The report still looks pretty comprehensive from the parts you quoted.

Chickenlips

I would get the floor looked at.

I work in insurance, and I have seen many claims where the floor has fallen through. There has also been damage to the sleeper walls and joists, with the repairs costs for the ground floor being in the tens of thousands.

Rot, woodwork, defects, poor workmanship, and gradually operating causes are excluded under most policies. Additionally, domestic policies are written on a perils based policy, which means you can only claim for specified events... this would not be one.

As you were aware of the potential issue prior to purchasing, no insurer would pay for the damage.

I would get a survey done as soon as possible so that you can negotiate with the seller or walk away if you feel it is too much.

A lack or sub-floor ventilation sounds like a small thing, but it can cause extensive damage.

The gas and electrics will typically only comply with current regulations for a short period, as the regulations are updated frequently. It may be worth having an electrician and gas safe engineer take a look at the safety of the installations.

Albala

Good advice, Chickenlips- but we couldn't find a timber expert who would lift carpets, even with the vendor's agreement. Basically, the reply was universally 'not until you own it and take the carpets up for us yourself'. Best we could do was note that despite the 'readings' there was no smell or visual appearance of damp and that the surveyor tried bouncing the floors close to the walls and they didn't seem to move, and hope for the best whilst preparing for the worst.

Davesnave

If reports I've read on here are anything to go by, you will also struggle to get an independent timber and damp specialist in many parts of the country.


Most people like the 'free' surveys that firms in this type of work offer!

mazibee

I plan to use http://www.clifffullerassociates.co.uk/

Any one has used him before and any reviews?

I am confused as we have not bought the property and have no idea whether vendor will allow to remove the floor coverings and the floor boards to carry out the survey. ( In my view vendor is not so cooperative)

Kindly if someone explain how the survey will be carried out in such situation if the surveyors is are unable to remove floor coverings and floor boards to check the condition.