Down valuation due to single skin on 18month old extension.

Didge333

I'm in the process of trying to buy a house, the lender (nationwide) sent a surveyor round and down valued the property by £50k due to a single skin wall at the rear of an extension.
The vendors say the extension was completed 18 months ago and sent the completion certificate that has the works signed off and up to build regulations 2010.
Forgive me knowing nothing about building regs but is it possible such a new construction can be single skin built and signed off as up to regulations?
Thanks

Sarah1Mitty2

That would be a 13 year old specification, easily out of date now? The lender can more or less say what they like I suppose as they are giving you the money. I suspect this is more about a falling property market though than a rear wall, how many other offers does the seller have on the table?

FreeBear

Didge333 said: Forgive me knowing nothing about building regs but is it possible such a new construction can be single skin built and signed off as up to regulations?

A single skin (~100mm thick) brick wall will not meet thermal requirements of the Building Regulations. Even a double thickness solid (~220mm) wall would fail. If the extension has been built using Structural Insulated Panels and faced with a single skin of brick, then it would meet Building Regs requirements. A surveyor should be able to recognise the construction method and realise that it is an accepted method of construction that may well perform better than the rest of the property.

As a buyer, the survey puts you in a position to negotiate a lower price. As a vendor, I'd be questioning the competence of the surveyor and want to apply a wet kipper to the back of his/her head.

ThisIsWeird

Didge333 said:

...is it possible such a new construction can be single skin built and signed off as up to regulations?
Thanks

Yes, of course. It just needs an adequate layer of insulation on the inner surface - whatever that reg required. 

The vendors claim they have a BR Cert for it, so ask to see it. Or, just go on to the Planning Portal on your LA's website, and have a look - it should be there.

I wonder why it's such an old Reg date - has this extension taken many years to complete?! 

I wonder if the Regs at the time the work began is all that it needs to comply with? Very possibly.

It obviously won't be to current Building Regs, but it won't be bad. And no doubt a lot better than the vast majority of housing stock in this country.

I'm assuming, of course, that the only issue here is 'insulation', but it may be that it also doesn't meet current wind-load standards and stuff like that - we had to have a steel post bolted to our founds to conform. But, let's be sensible - if the work has met 2010 standards, then it ain't going to fall down, and it's not going to be cold.

From your pov, is this completely nutty down-valuation a problem? I suspect - like others - that this surveyor got it wrong.

Herzlos

What does the extension look like in the planning application? That should detail how it was to be constructed.

Or is it too small to require one?