Concerns following building survey

aliwyc

Hi guys,

First post (but long-time observer) as I would be grateful for your opinions. It's a bit of a long read.

By way of background: we are in the process of buying a house. We have a house to sell, which we put on the market around June, and which we accepted an offer on in July. Our buyers are FTB and we told them that we were still looking. We put in offers on a few properties but we outbid/offers not accepted etc. until we came across the house we are in now the process of buying. Offer accepted 4 Aug.

The house we are buying is a "do-er up-er". It is a probate house which although habitable, is not somewhere you'd want to live as it is. We factored this in when we made our offer, taking into account that we want to build a double storey side extension, get the house re-wired, new bathroom, new kitchen, new boiler etc. We would not want the house without the extension. We tried to estimate the cost of the build by all the information we could find online. After the offer was accepted, we asked a builder to come round to the new house to give us an estimate of the cost of the work that needed doing. His rough estimate was about £20k more than what we were expected (but included things such as bi fold doors and all the plastering). We were worried as are funding the work by releasing max equity in our current property and using our savings. We are getting a 95% mortgage (which we have been offered) and we don't really have £20k extra sitting there but if we get the kitchen on credit or something, then we could make it work. Also by the time it's done, we would hope to have more saved up. Essentially, it is going to be a stretch but we could make it work. Nb – we already factored in some contingency and the fees etc.

It's now been 6.5 weeks since our offer was accepted. Yesterday, we received the full building survey which we commissioned. There were the expected things: it needs a new bathroom, kitchen and the flat roof (on the existing rear extension) needs fixing ASAP (category 3). However, also in category 3 was:
- Chimney stack (share with neighbour) needs repointing;
- ALL ceilings need to replaced
- Significant dampness was detected to all the ground floor walls, and the exact cause of the dampness is unknown (he recommended we obtain a specialist damp and timber report). This damp may have also affected the timber floors (and skirting boards) next to the walls, though he couldn’t say due to the carpet.

So now we're worried. As above, it was going to be a stretch anyway. Now that we have the report, we're worried it's just a big money pit. We're particularly worried about the damp in every wall because the cause is unknown – we don't know and cant plan for how much that will cost to rectify.

We still like the property and were excited about doing work to a property (making it our own etc.). The property is also in our desired area, has a good garden and generally is a good plot. We cant find anything similar.

Re-negotiating the price would do little in terms of capital (given that we're getting a 95% mortgage).

We are worried about annoying/losing our buyer if we walk away from the new house.

So – what do you think we should do?! Should we spend more money on the damp report to see what the cause is and potentially see whether we could fix it? Or should we cut our losses and walk away? If it isn't too expensive, we could try and borrow money to fix etc.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

FreeBear

aliwyc wrote: »

- Chimney stack (share with neighbour) needs repointing;
- ALL ceilings need to replaced
- Significant dampness was detected to all the ground floor walls, and the exact cause of the dampness is unknown (he recommended we obtain a specialist damp and timber report). This damp may have also affected the timber floors (and skirting boards) next to the walls, though he couldn’t say due to the carpet.

How old is the property ?
Repointing is not a major task, although on a chimney, it will probably need scaffolding. Be as well to check the flaunching & flashing while the scaffolding is up. If you were thinking of putting in a wood stove, doing it with the scaffold up makes sense (as does capping any unused pots).

Why do the ceilings need to be replaced ?
If they are plaster & lath, a very, and I do mean very dirty job that will generate loads of dust along with several tonnes of spoil - Fortunately, lime plaster can be recycled either as hardcore or ground up and used in fresh mortar.

Check the perimeter of the property and see if the soil level is below the DPC - If it is above, then it will need digging away and possibly have a french drain installed. Damp in a property that hasn't been occupied for an extended period is not unexpected. Just don't get conned in to wasting money on injected DPC and/or waterproof plaster being slapped on the walls - Neither will fix the issue with damp, and will only store up trouble a few years down the road.

If you must get a damp report, get an independent surveyor in who is not PCA registered and not tied to any damp/timber treatment company.

aliwyc

Thank you for your response.

The property is circa 1930s.

Chimney: the report suggests reflaunching at the same time as repointing. Also mentions scaffolding as you have mentioned.

Ceilings: you're right, it's lath and plaster. The reports cracking and to various rooms which is a reflection of the age of the plaster. "These are signs the plaster has past its lifespan and should be replaced now." We had never heard of lath and plaster before. Several tonnes of spoil and lots of dust does not sound good given we were planning to live in the house through the work as much as possible.

Damp: never heard of French drain either. I'll look into it - thanks. Sounds like it will be a big job though It's the fact that he used the term "significant" damp in every ground floor room which worried us.

And thanks re: comments on a non PCA registered surveyor. Our report actually recommends a report from a PCA contractor! Maybe we'll have a look into the costs of the report first.

FreeBear

Have a good read of this web site - https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html - There are links to reputable surveyors who can advise on damp.

A 1930s property is very close to what I currently live in. I also have cracks in most of the ceilings. Minor hairline cracks are nothing to be concerned about. Large cracks where the plaster has come detached is. I had one section above a bay window that had a crack in it. Thought it would be a good idea to give it a little poke and then it fell down. Ended up taking the whole ceiling down.... A good opportunity to reroute some of the central heating pipes and make a few changes to the wiring.
Still got a few more rooms that need looking at as the other ceilings also have some large cracks.

Got some slabs waiting to be laid, so the old plaster will come in handy as hardcore - No need to pay someone to cart it away. Will also be digging a trench for a french drain. It is nothing more than a shallow trench about 200mm wide back filled with gravel. Easy enough to do by anyone that can wield a spade, and the only cost is a bulk bag of gravel (less than £50).

AdrianC

Decrepit lath and plaster ceilings are a right PITA, but they aren't the end of the world at all.

Ripping them down is indeed filthy - not so much the ceiling itself (but that is filthy), but all the grot and muck that's hiding between the ceiling and the floor above. Once they're down, it's just a case of getting shot of the rubble. Re-boarding is a fairly quick and easy job, then a skim of plaster, paint, and it really is done.

If the old plaster lets go, life gets a bit entertaining. We had about half the kitchen ceiling in our old place come down - a crack opened up very suddenly, then a large chunk just let go. While I was clearing that up, another big bit came down... So a good poke and a prod, and all the loose stuff was pulled before it fell. Once it was down, no issue. It actually stayed like that for a few years until we totally redid the kitchen... Our current place is going to need the living room and hall ceiling down at some stage - it's not lath - it's hardboard. Bless the 60s.

FreeBear

AdrianC wrote: »

Ripping them down is indeed filthy - not so much the ceiling itself (but that is filthy), but all the grot and muck that's hiding between the ceiling and the floor above. Once they're down, it's just a case of getting shot of the rubble.

I found the hard part was making sure all the nails were removed - The heads rust away, and when the laths are pulled down, half the nail is left in place. Suffice to say, a claw hammer has nothing to pull on, so the remains have to be pulled out with mole-grips. Well worth having a small scaffold tower so that you can get up close to see the little beggars.

And the laths, being bone dry after 90+ years indoors, make excellent kindling - One room is enough for a couple of years of fire lighting.

AdrianC

FreeBear wrote: »

I found the hard part was making sure all the nails were removed - The heads rust away, and when the laths are pulled down, half the nail is left in place.

Hammer 'em flat.

I'm fairly tall, and both houses had low ceilings, so it wasn't that hard for me to reach - just a small step ladder made it very easy.

Slithery

AdrianC wrote: »

Hammer 'em flat.

This.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

supa34

Since your getting alot of work done, I would get the builder in again and get quote for chimney repointing, remove ceiling and replaster and whilst your at it just do the walls too. With that quote go back and reduce the asking price.

It does depend on buying price and how much less your currently paying compared to neighbouring houses.

Cakeguts

The ceiling in one of our bedrooms fell down. Lath and plaster. Dust everywhere.



The other thing is that if you are tight for money don't do the extension. Any type of work like building an extension always costs more than you think it will. You have to have extra money to put right things that you find during the build. So unless you have quite a good surplus over what the builder quoted you are going to get into a problem.

aliwyc

Gosh, this lath and plaster stuff sounds like a nightmare.

Since your getting alot of work done, I would get the builder in again and get quote for chimney repointing, remove ceiling and replaster and whilst your at it just do the walls too. With that quote go back and reduce the asking price.

Thanks - I've messaged the builder to ask and see what he comes back with. Our concern is that even with a reduced asking price, it wouldn't really make much difference to the capital we have.

The other thing is that if you are tight for money don't do the extension. Any type of work like building an extension always costs more than you think it will. You have to have extra money to put right things that you find during the build. So unless you have quite a good surplus over what the builder quoted you are going to get into a problem.

Thanks, we're now thinking about it. Thing is, property needs a lot of work including a new kitchen and bathroom. We would want to do the extension eventually, but then it would be wasteful to fit a new kitchen and re-decorate just to then add a new extension a few years down the line and have to re-jig the kitchen/bathroom again.

We have factored in a contingency for unforeseen things but you're right, there may be more things that get uncovered during the build which we would find difficult to deal with since we're already stretching.