Mould and electrical socket problem on final viewing - where do we stand?

ProDave

MBJUK said:

ProDave said:

When are people going to learn that old properties have no or little insulation, so the walls are cold unless you throw a LOT of heat into the building and condensation forms on cold surfaces if there is little ventilation.

Let me guess the EPC rating is E or worse?

If you want a cosy warm house that is well insulated and never gets any condensation, buy a new house.

30 years old doesn’t seem that old to me...it’s energy rating is D so no, your guess is wrong. I’m not keen on buying an extortionately priced new house with a tiny garden that is boxed in super close to the neighbouring homes, and a sales agent trying to flog me loads of overpriced extras - we strongly considered a new home and once we’d looked at some of the preowned ones of a similar size for less money it didn’t seem very appealing.

So buy it and live in it well. By that I mean heat it properly and ventilate it properly.

30 years ago is a period (1980's /90's) when house building was generally pretty rubbish.  It will have a cavity wall so less prone to damp than a Victorian house but not much else in the way of insulation.

It is probably no worse than any other house of the period. Don't take it as a "fault" of this particular house. That can happen with any house of that era if you don't take care of it. 

EPC D is not good by modern standards.

RelievedSheff

MBJUK said:

ProDave said:

When are people going to learn that old properties have no or little insulation, so the walls are cold unless you throw a LOT of heat into the building and condensation forms on cold surfaces if there is little ventilation.

Let me guess the EPC rating is E or worse?

If you want a cosy warm house that is well insulated and never gets any condensation, buy a new house.

30 years old doesn’t seem that old to me...it’s energy rating is D so no, your guess is wrong. I’m not keen on buying an extortionately priced new house with a tiny garden that is boxed in super close to the neighbouring homes, and a sales agent trying to flog me loads of overpriced extras - we strongly considered a new home and once we’d looked at some of the preowned ones of a similar size for less money it didn’t seem very appealing.

Energy rating D isn't all that great. Our previous 1930's semi achieved an EPC rating of D with not a lot done too it over the years to improve its efficiency. I'm surprised that a 90's house wasn't rated higher.

Don't completely rule out new builds it is possible to find plots that are not boxed in. Our nearest neighbours are 6m away across a double width driveway with the next closest being 13m away along the length of our garden and the width of their driveway. We also benefit from having a very private walled garden with no one over looking it.

Our new build is an EPC band B and despite being larger then our previous 1930's semi, the runnings costs are very nearly half what they were in our old house which is quite a considerable saving over a year.

Having done living in older houses (1970's semi, victorian villa semi, 1930's semi) we now very much appreciate the appeal of a new build. The layouts work so much better for modern living and the runnings costs are so much lower. Yes they come as bland out of the box houses but the fun part is then putting your stamp on the house and making it your own home. 

davidmcn

MBJUK said:

We also spoke to the surveyor who did the homebuyers report to ask why it wasn't picked up on his survey. He's come back to say that there was no mould identified at all during his survey and therefore he thinks it's a ventilation issue causing condensation, and not to worry, no further inspection needed. Seemed a bit odd but I suppose I have to take him on his word 

His word sounds the most plausible explanation to me - very common to get mould in poorly-ventilated corners where there's a cold wall (in this case, poorly-ventilated because there was stuff stacked against it, which also would prevent the surveyor from seeing the mould). Just clean it after you move in, it's not something to make a fuss about with the vendors.

AdrianC

Except new houses DO get condensation... unless you leave windows open to ventilate, because they're so well sealed...

'course, the difference between D and E might just be one EPC point - and we all know how irrelevantly useless EPCs are at the best of times.

But the difference between a 1990 property and a new one, in terms of insulation, will be marked.

RelievedSheff

AdrianC said:

Except new houses DO get condensation... unless you leave windows open to ventilate, because they're so well sealed...

'course, the difference between D and E might just be one EPC point - and we all know how irrelevantly useless EPCs are at the best of times.

But the difference between a 1990 property and a new one, in terms of insulation, will be marked.

New houses are very prone to condensation over the initial drying out period which can be between 12-18 months depending on when the property was built. Best to try and move into a new build in the Spring time so you can ventilate the property with the windows open and let it dry out naturally rather then cranking the heating up in the winter which forces drying to happen too quickly and promotes shrinkage cracking.

Watching the houses being built you can see why they take quite so long to fully dry out. House being constructed over the wetter winter months will take considerably longer to dry out then those built over the (supposedly) drier summer months.

ProDave

AdrianC said:

Except new houses DO get condensation... unless you leave windows open to ventilate, because they're so well sealed...

I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about the generally rubbish state of housing in the UK. and you are right a lot of new build by some of the mass developers is still pretty rubbish.

I speak as a self builder nearing completion of a house built to passive house standards (but not certified as a passive house) super insulated, super air tight, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, under floor heating from an Air Source heat pump, EPC A, no condensation anywhere, no need to open windows, the MVHR eficciently ventilates the house 24/7, annual fuel bill <£250

You won't find anything like that from a mass developer, but this is what we should be building now.

Doozergirl

AdrianC said:

Except new houses DO get condensation... unless you leave windows open to ventilate, because they're so well sealed...

'course, the difference between D and E might just be one EPC point - and we all know how irrelevantly useless EPCs are at the best of times.

But the difference between a 1990 property and a new one, in terms of insulation, will be marked.

That's not exactly true about condensation in newer houses.  There is a requirement for ventilation and there has been for a long time.  

The OPs house would have needed trickle vents in windows, extractor fans in wet rooms and probably has a fireplace and chimney.  It also probably has a letterbox and umpteen holes drilled in it for service cables etc. 

It's possible that there is no cavity wall insulation, in which case it might be an idea to get some when this new grant comes out - with the caveat that someone reputable thoroughly films and checks the cavity for any breaches of the cavity.  

Houses built now as specifically airtight have to have mechanical ventilation.  

OP, I agree that the mould was a a result of the boxes being there and preventing air movement, not to hide the mould. 

As said, please don't expect perfection. You won't find it.