Buying a house - Survey done - Now how should we approach this?

BohemianRhapsody

Hi all,

We are in the process of buying a semi detached Victorian house. We got the results of the Building/Structural survey. It doesn't look too bad considering the age of the property. The main issues flagged up are:

Damp discovered in two of the ground floor rooms - this needs to be treated by injecting chemicals to the affected areas to remedy it and to re-plaster etc.

Electrics - very old and likely needing to rewire part/the whole house - although not sure how immediate. Also not sure how safe it is at the moment but the surveyor wrote that it's functioning.

Boiler/heating system - Boiler is old and nearing the end of its life cycle. Also it's only a combi which is inadequate for the size of the house, Surveyor wasn't sure if the heating works properly. He surveyor recommends to change the boiler and instal Mega flow system.

There are other areas flagged up in the report but my understanding is that the 3 above are the most immediate. The Surveyor recommended that we get in tradespeople to give us quotes on the work prior to exchange. Out of the 3, he said that the Damp situation needs to be checked most urgently before moving forward.

I am a bit worried to ask the EA to ask the vendor to allow 3 tradespeople in for quotes. The vendor is old and in poor health and we negotiated hard and agreed we feel a fair price. However, we don't want to end up in a situation after exchange where we face major costs.

If I am honest, we have expected the issues with the electrics and boiler from the viewings. The damp issue is the one we didn't foresee for obvious reasons.

How common is it for buyers to ask the vendor to let tradespeople in before exchange? I imagine the vendor wouldn't be too keen as it might imply lowering the agreed price. We wouldn't lower the price unless the costs are substantial/far more than estimated. I am not sure how much fixing the damp issue will cost. Should we just focus on the damp issue as that's the one we were totally unaware of and might costs a lot or should we try to get in all 3? What would you do?

Many thanks for reading.

Doozergirl

Victorian houses DO NOT need injected damp proof courses.

IF there is an issue, it will be a maintenance issue and should be far cheaper to fix and less invasive than chemical treatment which does not work, just disguises the issue by covering it in render.

What else does your survey say about potential damp ingress?

What evidence of damp is there other than his magic meter reading?

If there is an issue then then the actual problem causing it is mentioned there... ground level too high to the damp proof course, cracked render, deteriorating pointing, blocked gutters, gullies...

https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html

I've been renovating for 20 years. It took me 10 years to work out I was being hoodwinked.

Smodlet

Hi BR, Doozergirl. The only thing I'm going to say is, Doozergirl owns a building company; she knows whereof she speaks.

Good luck with it all and please let us know how you get on.

babyblade41

Agree with everything above ... seems standard for a survey and I don't buy chemical injections either .

Find the cause and solve the problem

BohemianRhapsody

Thanks all for your input.

Doozergirl - he used a moister meter/electric damp meter and high readings were discovered the the 2 mentioned rooms. That's all. He writes that the readings might indicate a partial failure of the damp proof course. To remedy this he suggests a chemical damp proof injections might need to applied and specialist re-plastering.

Doozergirl

BohemianRhapsody wrote: »

Thanks all for your input.

Doozergirl - he used a moister meter/electric damp meter and high readings were discovered the the 2 mentioned rooms. That's all. He writes that the readings might indicate a partial failure of the damp proof course. To remedy this he suggests a chemical damp proof injections might need to applied and specialist re-plastering.

What kind of survey did you have?

Did he actually go outside? What is on the other side of those two walls?

Smodlet

So-called "damp/moisture" meters actually measure conductivity. If you held one against a copper wire, you would get a high "damp" reading. Sometimes I wonder if these surveyors have a clue what they are doing. Give me a (reputable) builder any day.

FreeBear

BohemianRhapsody wrote: »

Doozergirl - he used a moister meter/electric damp meter and high readings were discovered the the 2 mentioned rooms.

Those meters with pointy prongs on the end are only good for wood. Great if you need an approximate indicator that your logs are dry enough to go on the fire. Next to bloody useless when checking for damp in a building. Way too many things will throw the readings off. e.g. Type of plaster, salt content, type of paints used, previous chemical "treatments", and so on.
To measure the moisture content with any degree or reliability and accuracy requires a sample to be taken and inserted in to a device known as a Carbide Moisture Meter - Very few surveyors would have one, the majority wouldn't know what one was even if it hit them across the back of the head.

BohemianRhapsody

It's a Building survey. The RICS surveyor was recommended by a friend who used them in a previous purchase of a period house, the firm is well established with good reputation and reviews. The surveyor who did it is one of the partners and has 25 years experience. This is not to say that they are faultless, just to say that I tried to do as much home work as I can prior selecting the surveyor. Having a quick look at the link Doozergirl posted it looks as if the surveyors tend to recommend damp proofing as that seems to be part of the 'culture' in this country.

He didn't mention what could be causing the dampness. It says that he tested extensively around the property with damp meters looking for evidence of penetrating damp but found no noteworthy readings or evidence of any leaks. Both mentioned rooms are facing on one side the side return corridor which leads to the back garden. The surveyor didn't mentioned where exactly in these rooms the reading was high.

LadyDee

BohemianRhapsody wrote: »

It's a Building survey. The RICS surveyor was recommended by a friend who used them in a previous purchase of a period house, the firm is well established with good reputation and reviews. The surveyor who did it is one of the partners and has 25 years experience. This is not to say that they are faultless, just to say that I tried to do as much home work as I can prior selecting the surveyor. Having a quick look at the link Doozergirl posted it looks as if the surveyors tend to recommend damp proofing as that seems to be part of the 'culture' in this country.

He didn't mention what could be causing the dampness. It says that he tested extensively around the property with damp meters looking for evidence of penetrating damp but found no noteworthy readings or evidence of any leaks. Both mentioned rooms are facing on one side the side return corridor which leads to the back garden. The surveyor didn't mentioned where exactly in these rooms the reading was high.

I worked for a Chartered Surveyor for many years, and I remember him saying that most (if not all) Victorian houses will have some damp generally due to lack of air bricks, blocked cavities due to the mortar being old and crumbly and dropping down inside the wall space, this can cause the space to be bridged and damp outer skin being transferred to the inner. Also the ground level probably having gradually built up over the years and bridging the slate damp proof course. Added to which driveways being created for cars and lessening the natural drainage of the ground.

BohemianRhapsody

Thanks again for all the input. This seems to be part of the natural issues with old houses.

So how would you proceed? Would you just go ahead without getting any quotes for the work? Or would you get in an independent damp surveyor?

Doozergirl - you have a lot of experience - your view please?