Survey report: possible subsidence, damp, no party wall in loft: help please!

Porkins

Hi there,

We've had an offer accepted on a three bed Victorian (1890) mid-terraced house for which we received our survey report over the weekend. We saw 12 properties in the area during our hunt and this one seemed like a good bet. In good condition overall, but survey report has given us serious pause as it's revealed several worrying-sounding problems.

We understand survey reports are by their nature pessimistic, but could do with some opinions about how serious these issues are, how urgent they are to address and how much they'll cost to fix.

We're not afraid of spending a bit of money on repairs, seems inevitable with a Victorian house. But we're keen to avoid a money pit or to commit to a place which seemed like it didn't need much work which in fact needs loads! 

Here are the big issues from the survey, with surveyor's words in quotes and our thoughts alongside.

Any opinions, expertise or tales of dealing with similar would be hugely appreciated, thank you!

Possible subsidence

There are cracks on either side of the front bay and the small section of render in this area has lifted away from the wall. Attempts to repair this area have been carried out previously however the cracks would appear to be ongoing and there would appear to be possible subsidence in this area.
A spirit level was used on the elevations of the bay however there did not appear to be significant discrepancy as the bubble remained within the marks.
The left hand front bedroom concrete window sill is cracked. This crack is above the front bay. There is evidence of repointing of the mortar below the sill. This could be connected to the issue of the front bay.

Cracks looks quite minor at the moment but subsidence an obvious worry, which would presumably be expensive to address?

Damp
High moisture reading in one bedroom, loft void / removed chimney breast thought to be the culprit. Obvious moisture marks on kitchen ceiling (see below). More high readings in hallway:

High moisture levels were recorded in the hall on the adjoining wall with the neighbouring property. The recorded readings were highest by the front door area and the paintwork in this area has lifted. It is suspected that the damp is rising up from the ground.

Not hugely concerned about this. Seems very common to find damp in a house of this age, and thanks to reading several previous threads on here it seems like it's just a case of finding a good independent damp investigator to come and identify the problems. Also know talk of "rising damp" is often misleading, but doesn't sound like a great situation!

Bathroom
We were planning to re-do this within a year of moving in, but survey suggests it's leaking into kitchen below at the moment, which turns it into a job we'd do ASAP after moving in. Not the end of the world, but this sounds alarming:

The grout in many areas is missing and cracked. This may be the cause of the water ingress resulting in staining on the ceiling in the kitchen, however the issue may be worse and it could be a leaking pipe and the floor joists may be decayed or they could be wet rot and it is recommended that further investigation is carried out to prevent damage to the fabric of the building. 

We spotted a small mark on kitchen ceiling on our viewings (about a month ago), which surveyor thinks is evidence of leak from bathroom. Survey report (inspection last week) includes a photo of that area, which now has a new larger new stain next to one we spotted. So definitely an urgent fix needed?

Loft
Has damp, and lacks a party wall on one side:

There is a lack of ventilation and the original timbers are very wet and there is the presence of fungi on the timbers. Ventilation must be introduced to stop further decay. The underside of the roof is covered with felt which did not permit inspection of the underside of the tiles.
There has been the addition of wooden struts to support the extra weight of the replacement concrete tiles.
There is a lack of a party wall between the neighbouring property. This is a serious Health and Safety issue as it would not prevent fire spread as well as not securing the property from possible illegal entry from the neighbouring property. Most mortgage lenders will not loan monies on a property that does not have a division between neighbouring properties in the loft void.

Are we right in thinking lack of party wall is a fairly common problem which wouldn't cost lots to sort?

Roof
We spotted a slight bowing on one bit of the roof on second viewing. It's quite subtle, but surveyor took a dim view:

There was no loft access to this part of the roof and it would appear that when the concrete tiles were replaced that either no additional bracing was incorporated in the roof structure or the structural timbers have failed. It appears the extra weight of the concrete tiles has distorted the pitch of the roof. The overloaded timbers could collapse if there was any additional loading (heavy snow fall).

Further investigation is required and remedial work to be carried out as applicable.

Writing it all out makes it seem like a bit of a disaster. Please either tell us it's actually par for the course, or we should run away from this at speed!

Thank you.

Porkins

Shameless self-bump for this, any help appreciated! Thank you.

greatcrested

Porkins said:

My comments in italic/bold.

Possible subsidence

There are cracks on either side of the front bay and the small section of render in this area has lifted away from the wall. Attempts to repair this area have been carried out previously however the cracks would appear to be ongoing and there would appear to be possible subsidence in this area.
A spirit level was used on the elevations of the bay however there did not appear to be significant discrepancy as the bubble remained within the marks.
The left hand front bedroom concrete window sill is cracked. This crack is above the front bay. There is evidence of repointing of the mortar below the sill. This could be connected to the issue of the front bay.

Cracks looks quite minor at the moment but subsidence an obvious worry, which would presumably be expensive to address?
very hard to comment on the subsidence. you may need a Structural Engineer to look. But if 'ongoing', and previous repairs (filling the cracks?) have not worked (ie cracks reappeared) then the root cause of the movement is needed. Nearby trees? Broken underground drain? Clay soil shrinking/expanding with the weather combined with shallow foundations? Is the property on a hill/slope?
Damp
High moisture reading in one bedroom, loft void / removed chimney breast thought to be the culprit. Obvious moisture marks on kitchen ceiling (see below).

Not sure why removing chimney breast on is own would cause damp (freebear comment?) but is the chimney capped? Can it 'breathe'? Any other comments about condition of roof, tiles, flashing etc? Is kitchen beneath the damp in the bedroom?

Might kitchen damp be an old pipe leak (fixed)? Is a bathroom above the kitchen.......?

Plus of course 'moisture readings' are often misleading - is there any smell or signs of mould in the atic/bedroom?

More high readings in hallway:

High moisture levels were recorded in the hall on the adjoining wall with the neighbouring property. The recorded readings were highest by the front door area and the paintwork in this area has lifted. It is suspected that the damp is rising up from the ground.

Not hugely concerned about this. Seems very common to find damp in a house of this age, and thanks to reading several previous threads on here it seems like it's just a case of finding a good independent damp investigator to come and identify the problems. Also know talk of "rising damp" is often misleading, but doesn't sound like a great situation!
Given the lifted painwork (is it low down?) this actually does sound like rising/penetrating damp. What is outside at that point? Gutter downpipe? High ground level? A (blocked) drain?
Bathroom
We were planning to re-do this within a year of moving in, but survey suggests it's leaking into kitchen below at the moment, which turns it into a job we'd do ASAP after moving in. Not the end of the world, but this sounds alarming:

The grout in many areas is missing and cracked. This may be the cause of the water ingress resulting in staining on the ceiling in the kitchen, however the issue may be worse and it could be a leaking pipe and the floor joists may be decayed or they could be wet rot and it is recommended that further investigation is carried out to prevent damage to the fabric of the building. 

Ah! So ignore my comment above! There's your kitchen problem diagnosed. Rip out/replace with a nice new bathroom and check all pipework. 

We spotted a small mark on kitchen ceiling on our viewings (about a month ago), which surveyor thinks is evidence of leak from bathroom. Survey report (inspection last week) includes a photo of that area, which now has a new larger new stain next to one we spotted. So definitely an urgent fix needed?

Loft
Has damp, and lacks a party wall on one side:

There is a lack of ventilation and the original timbers are very wet and there is the presence of fungi on the timbers. Ventilation must be introduced to stop further decay. The underside of the roof is covered with felt which did not permit inspection of the underside of the tiles.
There has been the addition of wooden struts to support the extra weight of the replacement concrete tiles.
There is a lack of a party wall between the neighbouring property. This is a serious Health and Safety issue as it would not prevent fire spread as well as not securing the property from possible illegal entry from the neighbouring property. Most mortgage lenders will not loan monies on a property that does not have a division between neighbouring properties in the loft void.

Are we right in thinking lack of party wall is a fairly common problem which wouldn't cost lots to sort?
Haven't we discussed this already above? Ventilation is important but very easy/cheap to add. ASAP.  But the damp is more serious and needs diagnosing. I'm dubious the chimney breast removal is responsible, get chimney, tiles, flashings etc checked.

Yes very common to lack a PW in old properties. Eay to install a simple fireproof barrier.

Roof
We spotted a slight bowing on one bit of the roof on second viewing. It's quite subtle, but surveyor took a dim view:

There was no loft access to this part of the roof and it would appear that when the concrete tiles were replaced that either no additional bracing was incorporated in the roof structure or the structural timbers have failed. It appears the extra weight of the concrete tiles has distorted the pitch of the roof. The overloaded timbers could collapse if there was any additional loading (heavy snow fall).

Further investigation is required and remedial work to be carried out as applicable.

So they replaced the tiles, added support in the attic where there was access, but not in this area? Seems strange. But without an inspection it's hard to comment
Writing it all out makes it seem like a bit of a disaster. Please either tell us it's actually par for the course, or we should run away from this at speed!

Depends if you are happy to spend some time and money over the next 1 months getting it into top class condiion.

It's not catastrophic, but you will need some work done and some money spent, so depends on your attitude and finances.

Porkins

That's brilliant greatcrested, thank you for your help.

Rambosmum

I'd be looking at getting someone independent to look at the potential subsidence - it could be a big issue, could be nothing. 

Factor in needing a new bathroom immediately and also repairs to the roof. As for no party wall, it could invalidate your house insurance (both building and contents) because it doesn't adhere to fire regulations, you are aware of it and it is a point of potential access for robbery.

Damp - can you smell, see or feel the damp when in the house?

Porkins

Thanks Rambosmum, we will indeed be getting the potential subsidence assessed. 
No real visual or smell evidence of damp. Don't doubt it's there but doesn't seem hugely advanced.

khanji17

We have received a worrying survey back on a property we are looking to buy. The property we are looking at is 90+ years old and has issues of rotten roof, damp, movement etc. It all boils down to the fact that if you love the house enough to keep going with the coming repair bills which might be minor or major considering the age of the property. We are not willing to put all our dimes down the house so will do another inspection, if its too much work, we'll half heartedly walk away.
All the best for whatever you decide.

Porkins

Thanks Khanji, all the best to you too!