My surveyor missed very rotten floor joists. A rant on surveys.

lifeofbrian2015

I had a level 3 building survey done on the property I now own. When it was surveyed it had bare floors throughout. After purchasing the house I noticed in the living room the floor was sinking when standing on it in one corner so I took a screwed floorboard up in that corner to find I could crumble the joists in my hand. Of course now I can't put any flooring down until I can afford to have the joists replaced. The dipping and springing was mentioned in the survey, but why did the surveyor not take a screwdriver and lift a floorboard?

The only place in the survey the joists were mentioned was this part:

"The timber floors and stairs have uneven surfaces and minor dipping is noted. The floor boards are uneven and there is springing noted to the joists. The structural timbers and the floorboards should be inspected and where required – serviced, to include packing of the joists."

"The structural timbers and the floorboards should be inspected" So I needed a survey after the survey? Again, why did he not take a screwdriver instead of expecting me to pay someone else? This was the case so many times in the survey, advising me to get various things inspected. What the hell did I pay him for, I could have just got tradesmen in for free quotes and save the survey money.

EDIT: I changed the title from "surveyors" to "surveys".

Doozergirl

That is exactly what a survey is. 

A surveyor is like a GP.   They will
be able to say that they think something is wrong and refer you to the relevant specialist.  It's your choice what you do with that information when you read their report.  

Ideally you would read, highlight, take a look at the highlighted areas yourself, make a decision on whether to consult relevant specialist, obtain quotes and negotiate with the vendor.  

A surveyor is never going to take a screwdriver and lift a floorboard.  Your survey and any description of a survey will state that categorically, just like they cannot check your electrics or your gas installations and will advise you to get those checked separately too.  

I think your question would have been better answered after you read the survey and before you bought the house, sadly, but you are ranting about exactly what you paid for, a working document, not something for the filing cabinet.  

andy444

A surveyor is not going to remove floorboards or test things like Artex to determine the presence of asbestos.

If you were selling a house with timber joists, would you be happy with a surveyor lifting up the carpet and removing floorboards at several locations in your house?

pinkshoes

lifeofbrian2015 said:

I had a level 3 building survey done on the property I now own. When it was surveyed it had bare floors throughout. After purchasing the house I noticed in the living room the floor was sinking when standing on it in one corner so I took a screwed floorboard up in that corner to find I could crumble the joists in my hand. Of course now I can't put any flooring down until I can afford to have the joists replaced. The dipping and springing was mentioned in the survey, but why did the surveyor not take a screwdriver and lift a floorboard?

The only place in the survey the joists were mentioned was this part:

"The timber floors and stairs have uneven surfaces and minor dipping is noted. The floor boards are uneven and there is springing noted to the joists. The structural timbers and the floorboards should be inspected and where required – serviced, to include packing of the joists."

"The structural timbers and the floorboards should be inspected" So I needed a survey after the survey? Again, why did he not take a screwdriver instead of expecting me to pay someone else? This was the case so many times in the survey, advising me to get various things inspected. What the hell did I pay him for, I could have just got tradesmen in for free quotes and save the survey money.

That's whole point of a survey. They advise you of anything that needs further investigation by a professional in that area.

We did our own survey as we knew what to look for but most people wouldn't know where to start hence use a survey.

If your survey had said no issues with the floors then you would have a claim against them. But they advised you to get them looked at...

lookstraightahead

Why didn't you follow the surveyor's advice? 

What has the surveyor done wrong? They've indicated a problem and you didn't act on it. 

Why didn't you get tradespeople in after you were told there was a potential problem?

diystarter7

OP

lookstraightahead said:

Why didn't you follow the surveyor's advice? 

What has the surveyor done wrong? They've indicated a problem and you didn't act on it. 

Why didn't you get tradespeople in after you were told there was a potential problem?

I agree with the above but I would have worded slightly more sympathetically. 

Sorry to hear about your problems OP but a lesson learned IMO.  

A survey is a pointer and not a fixer or 100% spot-on. However, by all accounts, the survey did warn you. However, as most of us do not have the property surveyed regularly, most of us can get caught out.  As you know we can't turn back the clock but what we can do is to properly address those problems 100% so you don't have to pull up flooring/carpets at a later date and the damp/rot is much worse

Trust me, you'll get it sorted and soon be happy in your new home and I will you and your loved ones an enjoyable time at your new place.

Good luck .

FindMyWayBack

Surveyors are like GP's they are sign posters

youth_leader

I do feel for you, I also had a L3.  It is buyer beware.  The property here was fully carpeted and had a lot of furniture, surveyors can't lift carpets or move furniture.

I have just had to have all the floors in this bungalow replaced as they were rotten.  I had an independent damp/timber company inspect and I had wet/dry rot and woodworm in the front bedroom, mouldy chipboard in the other two bedrooms, hallway, and bathroom.  Kitchen/lounge floor is concrete.  I only found out months after purchase when the curtain rail fitter walked into the bay window area and refused to continue as the floor cracked.  This area had been covered by a gigantic wicker chair the seller 'gifted' me. I hadn't moved the chair since moving in as my little dog adopted it to see out the window.

The men that replaced the floors said a repair to the wooden floorboards had been attached to the existing woodwormed joists, and the new chipboard had been put onto non tannelised joists with a bit of plastic stapled onto the ends.  The seller had left me a 25 year guarantee which was worthless, the company went out of business in 2018. I did contact her and she said she had left me the floor surveys, I never received them.

I hope your problem is easily fixed and not too expensive.

diystarter7

youth_leader said:

I do feel for you, I also had a L3.  It is buyer beware.  The property here was fully carpeted and had a lot of furniture, surveyors can't lift carpets or move furniture.

I have just had to have all the floors in this bungalow replaced as they were rotten.  I had an independent damp/timber company inspect and I had wet/dry rot and woodworm in the front bedroom, mouldy chipboard in the other two bedrooms, hallway, and bathroom.  Kitchen/lounge floor is concrete.  I only found out months after purchase when the curtain rail fitter walked into the bay window area and refused to continue as the floor cracked.  This area had been covered by a gigantic wicker chair the seller 'gifted' me. I hadn't moved the chair since moving in as my little dog adopted it to see out the window.

The men that replaced the floors said a repair to the wooden floorboards had been attached to the existing woodwormed joists, and the new chipboard had been put onto non tannelised joists with a bit of plastic stapled onto the ends.  The seller had left me a 25 year guarantee which was worthless, the company went out of business in 2018. I did contact her and she said she had left me the floor surveys, I never received them.

I hope your problem is easily fixed and not too expensive.

Great post and buyers are aware as well as homeowners re so-called "guarantees" etc etc. As highlighted bit above companies like damp/woodworm/roofing/drives/windows/etc etc frequently go belly up for reasons most are aware of. Therefore, if the guarantee is not underwritten by an insurance company, its often worthless.

lifeofbrian2015

youth_leader said:

I do feel for you, I also had a L3.  It is buyer beware.  The property here was fully carpeted and had a lot of furniture, surveyors can't lift carpets or move furniture.

I have just had to have all the floors in this bungalow replaced as they were rotten.  I had an independent damp/timber company inspect and I had wet/dry rot and woodworm in the front bedroom, mouldy chipboard in the other two bedrooms, hallway, and bathroom.  Kitchen/lounge floor is concrete.  I only found out months after purchase when the curtain rail fitter walked into the bay window area and refused to continue as the floor cracked.  This area had been covered by a gigantic wicker chair the seller 'gifted' me. I hadn't moved the chair since moving in as my little dog adopted it to see out the window.

The men that replaced the floors said a repair to the wooden floorboards had been attached to the existing woodwormed joists, and the new chipboard had been put onto non tannelised joists with a bit of plastic stapled onto the ends.  The seller had left me a 25 year guarantee which was worthless, the company went out of business in 2018. I did contact her and she said she had left me the floor surveys, I never received them.

I hope your problem is easily fixed and not too expensive.

It sounds like you've just moved in to my house. I also have concreted floors in the kitchen/lounge. God only knows what they are hiding.

lifeofbrian2015

andy444 said:

A surveyor is not going to remove floorboards or test things like Artex to determine the presence of asbestos.

If you were selling a house with timber joists, would you be happy with a surveyor lifting up the carpet and removing floorboards at several locations in your house?

Like I said in my op, there were bare floors and screwed down floorboards.