High damp in loft space roof timbers + gallow bracket support for chimney stack

F37A

Hi 

I am looking at a flat that is share of freehold on top floor only 3 people in building. Surveyor noted above situation.

Concern is the combined impact. There is no damp on the flat itself or mould. 

I'm concerned about a.) healrh impact of damp and 2.) chimney stack not supported. Looks like they don't want to fix the damp. Obviously i would be impacted as flat close to roof.

How bad is this situation - would you walk away? Thoughts?

Section62

F37A said:

Hi 

I am looking at a flat that is share of freehold on top floor only 3 people in building. Surveyor noted above situation.

Concern is the combined impact. There is no damp on the flat itself or mould. 

I'm concerned about a.) healrh impact of damp and 2.) chimney stack not supported. Looks like they don't want to fix the damp. Obviously i would be impacted as flat close to roof.

How bad is this situation - would you walk away? Thoughts?

Are they saying the chimney has no support, or that there are gallows brackets but they aren't adequate?

Doozergirl

High humidity in a loft would usually be the result of poor ventilation.  What level of survey did you have?    Is there loft insulation?  It might just be blocking the eaves and needs pulling back slightly.

Living with 'damp' is more of a ground floor issue with people who rent and can't fix their own properties.  

Gallows brackets used to be acceptable under building regs, now they aren't.  It doesn't mean it isn't safe. 

Neither of these things sounds like a major issue.  If you own a property you need to learn how to maintain one.  There's no deal breaker there.  All houses will come up with something.  

F37A

Section62 said:

F37A said:

Hi 

I am looking at a flat that is share of freehold on top floor only 3 people in building. Surveyor noted above situation.

Concern is the combined impact. There is no damp on the flat itself or mould. 

I'm concerned about a.) healrh impact of damp and 2.) chimney stack not supported. Looks like they don't want to fix the damp. Obviously i would be impacted as flat close to roof.

How bad is this situation - would you walk away? Thoughts?

Are they saying the chimney has no support, or that there are gallows brackets but they aren't adequate?

there are gallow brackets on limestone mortar which is of concern. 

F37A

Doozergirl said:

High humidity in a loft would usually be the result of poor ventilation.  What level of survey did you have?    Is there loft insulation?  It might just be blocking the eaves and needs pulling back slightly.

Living with 'damp' is more of a ground floor issue with people who rent and can't fix their own properties.  

Gallows brackets used to be acceptable under building regs, now they aren't.  It doesn't mean it isn't safe. 

Neither of these things sounds like a major issue.  If you own a property you need to learn how to maintain one.  There's no deal breaker there.  All houses will come up with something.  

yeah there is loft insulation. it was a level 2. cause of damp is chimney. 

martindow

F37A said:

yeah there is loft insulation. it was a level 2. cause of damp is chimney. 

So is it the flashing around the chimney stack that is allowing water to get in and nothing to do with gallows brackets?  What is the wording on the survey you had? 

F37A

martindow said:

F37A said:

yeah there is loft insulation. it was a level 2. cause of damp is chimney. 

So is it the flashing around the chimney stack that is allowing water to get in and nothing to do with gallows brackets?  What is the wording on the survey you had? 

There are disused flues inside the building. The chimneys should be capped and the remaining chimney stacks ventilated internally and externally, in order to minimise the risk of damp penetration or condensation building up within the flues. We noted high levels of damp in the loft space, so it is recommended this is carried out as soon as possible. Condition Rating 3.

 

We noted that the front downpipe was disconnected from the gutters at eaves level. This requires fixing, to prevent overflow of water causing damp in the main walls. Condition Rating 3.

 

There is increasing evidence of high damp readings and condensation staining to a number of the roof timbers. This represents a significant risk to the roof timbers. In addition to repairing the chimneys to prevent damp ingress into the loft space, ventilation should be improved by fitting vents in the eaves and roof slopes to ensure long term damage is not caused to the roofing timber

or underfelt. Condition rating 3

Signs of penetrating damp were noted to the remaining chimney stacks in the loft . This could be

caused by internal condensation building up within the flue or damp penetration from the uncapped

chimney pots. Condition Rating 3.

RHemmings

Doozergirl said:

High humidity in a loft would usually be the result of poor ventilation.  What level of survey did you have?    Is there loft insulation?  It might just be blocking the eaves and needs pulling back slightly. 

I'm not the OP, but could you please give a little more detail about how close the insulation should be to the eaves, and how much of a gap there should be? 

LHW99

When we had a similar problem we pulled it back far enough that the end of the insulation wasn't touching the tiles / underfelt at the outer edge (leaving a small gap between).

RHemmings

I'm not the OP, but I checked the insulation in the roof of my new house. It's right up against the roof itself. All the way around. And, since I have an old roof with no roofing felt, large parts of the insulation (but not all) are significantly discoloured. While I'm not the OP, thanks to those of you who commented on this.