HELP - initial survey findings

harrieteve

Urgent help kindly requested. We’re in the process of buying a house and have just had a full building survey done. 

The initial findings are very worrisome and I would love some help interpreting them. We haven’t yet spoken in detail about any of the findings. 

It’s an end of terrace period property in London.

1. From my initial viewing of the external elevations it appears the subject house was originally terraced. The properties to the south were demolished and a workshop built. The demolished properties may have been the result of second world war bombings.

2. The original brick built elevations have been treated with cement /sand rendering possible to cover up the defective brickwork.

3. Internally there is evidence of structural movement and settlement beneath the foundations of the end external walls.

4. The repairs to the external flank wall has not been carried in a sound manner which has resulted in water penetration in the chimney stacks /breasts.

5. The original damp proof course was probably slates. these have become porous and resulted in rising damp along the ground floor external flank wall and in the ground floor shower room

6. the roof light above the kitchen is past its sell by date and has undergone badly executed weathering 

Does anyone know the costs of this kind of repair work or whether it’s a complete no go regardless?

Thanks in advance,
Harriet

FreeBear

1. Quite likely the wall separating the existing house and the ones since demolished is a single brick width - Will be cold and difficult to heat.

2. Sand/cement render on a (presumably) Victorian era property is never good. Aside from covering up damaged brickwork, it could trap damp within the wall and lead to expensive problems at a later date.

3. If adjacent properties had suffered from bomb damage, it is no surprise that this one also shows signs. In addition, much of London is built on clay - This is subject to swelling and shrinking which might account for more recent signs of movement.

4. No surprise there.

5. Not heard of slate becoming porous - I'd take that with a pinch of salt. Far more likely is elevated ground levels bridging the DPC or sloppy detailing of the external render (is there bell casts just above the DPC ?). Don't go wasting money on chemical DPC injections and/or waterproof render/plaster.

6. Get a roofer to strip & recover the affected area - Put it down to regular maintenance.

Personally, I'd be looking for another property without render or historic bomb damage.

harrieteve

Thanks so much for your reply - very helpful. 

Getting further detail and then can get a better idea of costs but sounds substantial. 

Regarding your question on point 5 - not sure. The render goes down to the floor! 

deeboy12

6 is a small, cheaply fixable issue, as probably is 4. Remember you can ask your surveyor for a ballpark estimated cost (and that it will likely be conservatively higher than the actual).

1 and 3 would worry me, so if I wanted to proceed on this house I'd investigate these further with a structural engineer first.

5 shows that, sadly, your surveyor has no understanding of damp. Rising damp really doesn't exist and DPCs don't fail! You'll need to commission a (paid for, independent) damp survey to look at this.

At the same time the damp surveyor can investigate 2 - this is bad news for an old house, BUT if it's not causing any damp issues currently you could monitor and, only if necessary, fix later (remove render and re-render in lime). It will be expensive if you do but you can ask the surveyor to cost it.

FreeBear

harrieteve said: Regarding your question on point 5 - not sure. The render goes down to the floor! 

Oh dear. Looks like the render bridges the DPC - In which case, how on earth can the surveyor comment on the condition of the DPC if it is not visible.

harrieteve

This is the full commentary from the survey on the walls. Sounds like a structural engineer would be good to understand next steps:

” I am advised by my consultants Ashmere Soils Laboratories that the Geological Survey Map of Great Britain shows the sub-soils in this area to be on theTaplow gravel. This overlies the London clay. The soils should therefore be granular. There is a possible problem if the footings are shallow and they may be placed on infill. Old workings can be present as the gravels could be used for building purposes. If this were to be the case then there should be signs of differential movement in the building structure. This would have occurred early in the life of the building.

 

One should also be aware that a number of bombs fell in the area during World War Two. This could have caused vibrations in the ground and also possible damage to the fabric.

 

The party wall, front and the original rear elevations are constructed with solid 225mm thickness walls. A slate damp proof course would have been incorporated within the structure at ground floor level. The front elevation brickwork incorporates decorative arches above the entrance door and windows. Decorative brick corbelling has been incorporated along the top of the gable roof. The original exposed brickwork has been treated with cement /sand rendering and painted. From experience, the only reasons for treating the external walls of a property such as this are to hide the cracking caused by settlement or differential movement in the fabric. The recent rendering has been carried out poorly with the original cracking /defects within the original structure not carried out in an acceptable workmanship manner.

 

The property will have shallow foundations. Foundation requirements under The Building Regulations require foundations to be a minimum of one metre in depth or deeper if there are trees nearby and to suit conditions agreed with the council’s building Inspector.

 

From my observations there are signs of movement within the external walls which has resulted in damage /cracking in the render. The movement will require monitoring in the future and will require the any future cracks being cut out to receive steel reinforcing bars inserted into the brick joints. The bars require bedding in epoxy resin and the cracks made good and decorated. You must be aware that due to the nature of the soil conditions, the foundations will be subjected to movement which will result in hairline cracking and movement in the main structure. From experience buildings of this age and location are only treated with rendering to hide old cracks in the original fabric.

 

Historical settlement beneath the foundations is visible as the suspended timber floor joists have settled in the majority of the habitable rooms and entrance hallway.

 

The original internal load bearing walls are a mixture of brick and timber stud construction. The timber studwork is faced with timber lathing and finished with a lime based plaster. Newer partitions are constructed with timber studwork and clad with plasterboard and finished with a plaster skim coat. Historical and ongoing movement in the load bearing walls is still ongoing and will require repairing and decorating on a regular basis.”

These were the final remarks and recommendations although there aren’t any costs attached to the repairs. “ The property is an ideal family unit offering spacious accommodation. It has been extended and is ideally located in central position with excellent transport, shops and leisure facilities nearby. Unfortunately it has been poorly maintained.

 

At the time of my survey, I found signs of historical minor and current structural movement and settlement beneath the foundations within the property. This has resulted in the floors to slope and areas of defective wall plaster. These are not serious but ongoing. This will result in future cracks appearing in the internal plaster ceiling and wall areas. The cracks can easily be cut out, filled and decorated. Unfortunately this will be necessary on a regular basis.

 

There are some items which need attention in the foreseeable future.  For ease of reference, I attach a brief list of recommendations, principal items only.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS (Principal Items Only)

 

1. Employ a registered Electrician to undertake an inspection of the existing electrical installation and advise on any upgrading /renewal that may be required to comply with current IEE Regulations.

 

2. Employ a Gas Safe Registered Engineer to inspect, service the gas fired boiler, sluice out the central heating pipework and examine the gas fire in the sitting room to confirm that they are compliant with current regulations. 

 

3. Employ a local roofing contractor to inspect the roof coverings, parapet walls and copings, weathering around soil pipe and roof light above the kitchen and undertake the necessary repairs.

 

4. Consider replacing the original single glazed timber sash windows and the French casement doors serving the kitchen with modern double glazed types.

 

5. Employ a specialist to undertake an inspection of the rising and penetrating damp and provide an estimate for carrying the necessary repairs to the walls etc...

 

6. Carryout remedial works and decorations to internal wall, ceiling plaster and internal joinery”