Home buyer survey reported multiple issues, need some advice

sahilsaid

I received the report of home buyer survey today for 1930 semi detached house and noticed following issues in it which I believe are major. I want to use experience of members here to guide me on what is the best approach now and how much would be the possible cost to address these issues if they are worth it.

• Damp meter readings were taken at intervals throughout the ground floor and evidence of damp was noted in the external wall
  "Loose paper was noted in the rear bedroom as well as the box room and front bedroom. It is also noticeable at ground floor to the front bay"
• The chimney breast within the roof space of this property has been removed and the remaining structure is not properly supported. (Not sure if this was removed by the current owner or not)
  
• The soil and vent pipe serving the bathroom terminates into the rainwater downpipes. This design is not ideal or recommended. This will require some repairs
  
• Downpipe not Connected to mains drains
  "The front guttering is shared with the adjoining property. The downpipe serving the guttering to the front terminates onto the ground"
  
• Evidence of water leak in loft
  "Evidence of some historic or current leak was noted and as such, a number of roof members, particularly along valley guttering to the front, showed evidence of damp or water staining. As such, the valley guttering to the front will require overhaul and repair following an investigation into any leaks"
  
• The valley guttering to the front roof pitch was defective with evidence of internal water ingress to the front bedroom. This required repairing urgent repair.
• Bulging rendering 
  "Evidence of cracks and bulging rendering was noted to the front, side and rear elevation. We could not confirm the condition of the brickwork beneath the rendering. To remedy this defect, the existing rendering will require hacking off, repair to brickwork and re-rendering, as necessary"
• The kitchen window showed evidence of defective decaying window frame and sill. This window require replacement. 
  
• Garage - The pvc roof showed evidence of water leaks and will require major repairs.

There are some other issues but I believe they are minor and can be fixed easily.

Is the above list bit too much or is this something expected of an old property? I am mainly concerned about the damp, downpipe not connecting to drains, chimney breast not supported and evidence of water leak in loft.

coachman12

Home buyer surveys can be a bit of a nuisance. The surveyor will ALWAYS find more than one fault, usually quite a few.
The thing is that most houses all have "faults". Unless they are red-flagged as dangerously out of the ordinary or involving costly mandatory repairs, I would ignore most of the report's findings or deal with them yourself later, anytime, as you see fit.
For a 1930s house, it sounds OK to me. Enjoy and a happy 2021.

FreeBear

sahilsaid said:

• Damp meter readings were taken at intervals throughout the ground floor and evidence of damp was noted in the external wall
  "Loose paper was noted in the rear bedroom as well as the box room and front bedroom. It is also noticeable at ground floor to the front bay"
• The chimney breast within the roof space of this property has been removed and the remaining structure is not properly supported. (Not sure if this was removed by the current owner or not)
  
• Downpipe not Connected to mains drains
  "The front guttering is shared with the adjoining property. The downpipe serving the guttering to the front terminates onto the ground"
  

Those pointy damp meters that many surveyors use will only give reliable readings on untreated timber. On plaster, the readings are unreliable at best. Salt content, paints, and even the type of plaster can throw the readings out.

Pealing wall paper could be indicative of high levels of condensation - If the property has been unoccupied and unheated in recent months, that would explain the "evidence of damp" and loose wallpaper. A bit of heat and a dehumidifier will sort out most of the problems... But do check ground levels outside - They should be at least 150mm below the DPC, although this might not be practical on a 1030s property. The guttering will need fixing, and that will cure the damp issues in the bedrooms.

Chimney breast - Ask the vendors for building control sign off on the removal. If it is not available, consider getting a structural engineer to have a look, and certainly plan for inserting a suitable steel. You'll need a structural engineer to provide calculations, and once installed, getting building regs sign off should be straightforward.

Downpipe - I also (or rather, did) have a shared gutter & downpipe. This also disappears in to the ground and is not connected to the main foul water drain. Instead, it goes to a soakaway located half way along the boundary. Quite a sizeable brick chamber just below the surface. Depending on soil conditions, you may well have something similar.

sahilsaid

Downpipe - I also (or rather, did) have a shared gutter & downpipe. This also disappears in to the ground and is not connected to the main foul water drain. Instead, it goes to a soakaway located half way along the boundary. Quite a sizeable brick chamber just below the surface. Depending on soil conditions, you may well have something similar.

Thanks for your details answer.
Looking at the other property on the street, they all seems to be connected to mains drains. Also I had a look at the google street view pictures of 2008 and 2012 for this house and historically the downpipe was on the other side of the house (looks connected to sewer). Does this rule out the soakaway since no work has taken place on the driveway since then so they can't have just made a soakaway leaving driveway intact?

Yes you are right, the property has been left unoccupied for some time so may just need some heating and so on but again there is a leakage in the roof that may have been the result of damp?

FreeBear

sahilsaid said:  I had a look at the google street view pictures of 2008 and 2012 for this house and historically the downpipe was on the other side of the house (looks connected to sewer). Does this rule out the soakaway since no work has taken place on the driveway since then so they can't have just made a soakaway leaving driveway intact?

The vendors might be able to provide details on this. If not, I'm afraid you'll either need to pay for a drain survey or get a spade out and start digging to find where the pipes go.

Ideally, downpipes should all go to one or more soakaways - You get to save a few quid on water rates, and it reduces the pressure on the sewer system.