Opinions on photos from first viewing

NewShadow

AdrianC wrote: »

No. No survey will do anything but say "I'm not a sparky. Get a specialist report if you're worried" - same for boiler, plumbing, damp...

However, if that consumer unit was fitted after Part P came in in 2005, then the electrics would have been fully checked at the time. There should be a copy of that report.

The slightly peely silver sticker seems to have a 7/12/2017 "checked and all OK" date on, with a suggested next check due in Dec 2027.

Thanks - I think I was hoping the report would recommend if an electrical survey/damp survey/other was needed or not...

I'm hoping to go back for another look around when I'm next in the area so will try to take a better picture and play 'spot the sockets' :cool:

If I wanted a survey - given it looks like structural surveys are in the region of £500 - are electric surveys about the same?

I've seen rewires can cost anywhere from £4-8k... any idea what's a decent cost if it's not a case of a full rewire, but I wanted a couple of extra sockets in a couple of rooms?

AdrianC

NewShadow wrote: »

Thanks - I think I was hoping the report would recommend if an electrical survey/damp survey/other was needed or not...

Boilerplate "We haven't, you may want to."

If I wanted a survey - given it looks like structural surveys are in the region of £500 - are electric surveys about the same?

I wouldn't bother. Honestly. You know it had a lot of work and a full condition report two years ago, and not much has happened to it since. You know it wants electrical work, too, even if only to extend everything. Save your money.

Personally? I'd do the bare minimum, move in, then figure out what I wanted to do to live with it long-term.

NewShadow

AdrianC wrote: »

Personally? I'd do the bare minimum, move in, then figure out what I wanted to do to live with it long-term.

I like that plan... I do want a structural survey - purely because I know nothing and there's only so much you wonderful people can tell from photos.

If I was in my dad's area then I'd drag one of his builder friends to a viewing in return for a couple of pints, but - while 70 miles is closer than 170... that's a big ask and a survey seems the next best thing

markin

Its not a split unit but it is modern, The 2 other boxes are also fuse boxes, the bottom one is labeled DB3 Stair lift, Both are dated as dec2017. Im sure most of what is there is fairly new and safe, I don't think its worth getting it inspected if you already know it needs a lot of work, you would be better just getting a quote for it but they may not reduce the price for your improvements.


This needs fixing, also means the are no sockets under the counter top, so again still more work.

Smodlet

As AdrianC says, RICS surveyors will include caveats (a shed load) in their reports whichever kind you go for, all saying, "... Advise you to get a specialist report for (fill in the blanks)" They are not sparks, plumbers or gas engineers so fair enough.

They would also find damp problems in a tent in the Sahara, from what I read on here and from my own experience. Their damp meters measure conductivity, not damp and conductivity can have many other causes, not least the salts naturally occurring in plaster... Which does not mean there is not damp, just that it is advisable to take their reports with a pinch of, well, salt.

I will say to you what I always say; get a builder to look at it with you if at all possible. If you already know some... Sure, 70 miles is a long way but how well do you know these builder-mates of your dad's? I would suggest, if you trust them, it might be an idea to pay them a couple of hundred quid rather than pay twice+ that to some surveyor you don't know from Adam. Your call.

As for the cost of re-wiring, I think it depends to some extent on where in the country you are. We are in Notts and paid less than £2k for a full re-wire including a new consumer unit 7 years ago for a 3 bed semi approximately the same size as your prospective purchase, as far as I can tell from the pics. This was for one fully qualified and one so-called part qualified sparks for 2 weeks minus week ends so ten days. They were both personally recommended (not yell.com) and absolutely wonderful. 11 years before that, we paid about the same for a bigger, detached house in Cambs.

We did have to wait two months for them to be free because good tradesmen tend not to be available at a moment's notice. We still use the fully qualified one to this day and would not hesitate to use his part-qualified "mate" were he not available. Part qualified means only that they are not authorised to sign off on their own work, not that they are in any way inadequate. Even fully qualified sparks have to get every tenth job they do signed off by someone else; we were happy to be one of these.

Again, good luck and please keep us posted.

AdrianC

NewShadow wrote: »

If I was in my dad's area then I'd drag one of his builder friends to a viewing in return for a couple of pints, but - while 70 miles is closer than 170... that's a big ask and a survey seems the next best thing

Builders know builders... Does your dad's mate have any contacts in that area?

Doozergirl

Smodlet wrote: »

As for the cost of re-wiring, I think it depends to some extent on where in the country you are. We are in Notts and paid less than £2k for a full re-wire including a new consumer unit 7 years ago for a 3 bed semi approximately the same size as your prospective purchase, as far as I can tell from the pics. This was for one fully qualified and one so-called part qualified sparks for 2 weeks minus week ends so ten days. They were both personally recommended (not yell.com) and absolutely wonderful. 11 years before that, we paid about the same for a bigger, detached house in Cambs.

I just want to put this into perspective. £2,000 for 10 days work for two men is barely minimum wage plus about £400 in materials.

I wouldn't be expecting any re-wire to cost that if I were suggesting a price to others. I'd expect it to be around double that for the OP for a full rewire.

I'm going to guess that it has been partially rewired. There are still some old style plug sockets dotted around, so new-ish wiring may have been connected onto older. It may not be that great.

The consumer unit may be 'safe' but as soon as you start connecting new sockets to it, it needs to be upgraded to a new, metal one that isn't combustible. There might also be some question marks over whether a kitchen cupboard is a suitable container for it.

Rather than a structural survey, I'd be very interested in a full electrical report.

AdrianC

Doozergirl wrote: »

I just want to put this into perspective. £2,000 for 10 days work for two men is barely minimum wage

It's a bit more than that - it's £12.50/hour, assuming eight hour days.

But it's certainly nowhere near any kind of viable commercially profitable rate... Even twice that would be borderline, once all the costs of doing business and employing people are taken into account.

Doozergirl

The other thing that people haven't mentioned, which be very expensive is plastering. Woodchip wallpaper was a cheap way of covering up plaster nearing the end of its life.

Not only is it a pig to remove, it tends to hide a multitude of sins. I suspect that at the very least, the walls underneath would want skimming. Worst case scenario is going back to brick.

How old is the house, exactly? They tend to look 50s but they go back to the 30s. Original 30s plaster is likely to fail entirely. I don't actually have much experience of the plaster on 50s houses, but it's not going to be amazing and will need at least some help.

The placement of the heating pipes and radiators really messes with my Chi. You can tell it's a council grant job.

That's a B&Q kitchen, by the way.

Doozergirl

AdrianC wrote: »

It's a bit more than that - it's £12.50/hour, assuming eight hour days.

But it's certainly nowhere near any kind of viable commercially profitable rate... Even twice that would be borderline, once all the costs of doing business and employing people are taken into account.

I said 'barely minimum wage plus about £400 in materials'. I know that minimum wage isn't £12.50 an hour. I allowed £10 for 'barely minimum wage' but I also wasn't expecting a forensic breakdown of what we agree is a unrealistic figure in the first place.