Damp Survey was incorrect - can i claim or get any money back for the costs of fixing the issue?

AnneMariePWR

I had a home buyers survey completed on my house which said there was damp in various rooms of the house, so I then followed up with a specialist damp survey and they said that there isn't any damp and that the home buyers survey was just covering themselves basically. Based on this I went ahead and bought what I thought was my dream house...

I moved in on the 14th Dec 2021 and 1 week ago (30th Jan 2022) i noticed something that looked like mold growing on some of the walls. I quickly got another damp specialist out who over the phone said it sounds like condensation and nothing to stress about (but to put me at ease offered to come over anyway) but when he arrived and did the damp tests he confirmed the house is riddled with damp, both ground floor, 1st floor and both chimney breasts. There is even a damp patch that has appeared on one of the walls that is literally wet - how on earth did the 1st damp guy not spot this and can i do anything to try and cover the costs? I would have negotiated on the house price or possibly even backed out of the purchase completely had i known.  (it will cost me around £10k to fix as most walls basically need to be dug out and it's a 3 bed house) and to make it even worse, the house has just been completely renovated (by the Vendors)!! - so i paid full price on this basis, not expecting to find out it has serious issues. 

I really don't know what to do, any advice will be much appreciated thank you!

lincroft1710

It would be very, very unusual for a damp surveyor to say there was no damp, when there was damp. It is often the other way round.

ProDave

Was the house empty before sale?  Cold house, just moved in, the building has not warmed up yet and you get condensation.

What sort of house? how old? are you heating and ventilating it properly?

If it is still damp in the summer then it IS damp, but more likely condensation.

lookstraightahead

Is it an old house? 

canaldumidi

lincroft1710 said:

It would be very, very unusual for a damp surveyor to say there was no damp, when there was damp. It is often the other way round.

Indeed. Who/what was the damp surveyor?

How was the damp identified: "did the damp tests he confirmed the house is riddled with damp,"?

What did your 2nd damp surveyor say was the cause of the damp?

Can you explain "most walls basically need to be dug out " as this makes no sense to me? Unless you mean reducing the ground level externally (often a cause of penetrating damp), but that's not a major undertaking.

AnneMariePWR

lincroft1710 said:

It would be very, very unusual for a damp surveyor to say there was no damp, when there was damp. It is often the other way round.

That’s what I thought and which is why I trusted him completely for being ‘honest’ it even crossed my mind if the vendors either knew him or chucked him some cash just to stop the sale falling through 

AnneMariePWR

ProDave said:

Was the house empty before sale?  Cold house, just moved in, the building has not warmed up yet and you get condensation.

What sort of house? how old? are you heating and ventilating it properly?

If it is still damp in the summer then it IS damp, but more likely condensation.

No they lived in it while renovating it, 4 people in total (2 adults and 2 kids) it’s a detached 1930s solid brick construction with no cavity insulation 

The heating is on during the day and evening in 2 hour intervals roughly and I try to keep 1 bedroom window and bathroom window slightly open at all times but it’s just so cold atm! 

I might wait until summer before getting any major work done then 

AnneMariePWR

lookstraightahead said:

Is it an old house? 

1930s detached solid brick construction no cavity wall installation 

AnneMariePWR

canaldumidi said:

lincroft1710 said:

It would be very, very unusual for a damp surveyor to say there was no damp, when there was damp. It is often the other way round.

Indeed. Who/what was the damp surveyor?

How was the damp identified: "did the damp tests he confirmed the house is riddled with damp,"?

What did your 2nd damp surveyor say was the cause of the damp?

Can you explain "most walls basically need to be dug out " as this makes no sense to me? Unless you mean reducing the ground level externally (often a cause of penetrating damp), but that's not a major undertaking.

So the 3rd survey (the most recent who informed me it was in fact damp used the probe thing (I walked around the house with him as it tested each wall) and it was red and beeping constantly apart from on the living room wall. The wall is also damp to touch in places. He thinks it could be from the roof or the render (it’s so hard to tell though as the vendors ‘did the house up to sell’ and filled render cracks and painted everything fresh in and out 

Windofchange

I would imagine you are onto a bit of a loser in terms of pursuing any legal remedy. The first damp guy can turn around and say well there wasn't any damp there when I looked at it, and something must have then happened over the however many weeks it was between that and the second guy. They could also then get into a bit of a back and forth about their professional opinion. You would also need to prove that you had suffered a loss which you haven't really - it is all speculation about what might have happened, could you have negotiated a lower price, would you have really pulled out of the sale etc etc. Your word against theirs and nothing that is going to stick to anything in a court of law. One of those suck it up buttercup kind of experiences unfortunately I would suggest.

In terms of fixing it, 10 grand seems a bit steep unless they are literally tearing down every wall to the foundations. What sort of damp is it? The fact you mention the chimney breast and a wet wall makes me think penetrating rather than rising damp which would suggest that the issue is localised to a specific point rather than rising damp which is coming up from the floor. Could well be an issue with the flashing on your chimney breast, a few broken tiles, blocked guttering / drains, poor ventilation etc etc. I'm not a damp expert and haven't seen your property, but if something along these lines it won't need to you tear out your walls. 

As an aside to all this, we moved into a victorian terrace a couple of years back, and as I have been working my way around the rooms renovating stuff, I came across a damp wall next to the chimney breast. Plasterer and damp bloke both came round and shrugged their shoulders and advised to just damp proof paint over it. I think it isn't too uncommon in old houses to have a bit of damp around, and ours I am pretty sure is coming from the loft extension that wasn't done quite as well as it could have been - our neighbour had to have his side of it repaired last winter as he had damp walls and that was the source. I suspect that our bit of damp is coming from the other side of the roof by the chimney that was bodged somewhat / hasn't lasted. 

davilown

1930s houses were designed to be constantly ventilated, regardless of whether you think it was cold or not. Buy a decent dehumidifier for £200 and move it around the rooms for a few weeks.
you said it had been recently renovated? Was it replastered?
check the gutters, flashing and chimney, as well as on the outside of the house to ensure that the damp course hasn’t been breached by paving/concrete.