Help interpreting my home survey (including blocked sub-floor ventilation)

nervous_nelee

coffeehound said:

Is there an electric shower upstairs?  That's one cable that could be affected by insulation

Yes, there is.

coffeehound

As per earlier post nervous_nelee, nothing to affect your decision, but should be checked and should be fairly easy to sort out if required

BarelySentientAI

nervous_nelee said:

coffeehound said:

Is there an electric shower upstairs?  That's one cable that could be affected by insulation

Yes, there is.

What coffeehound is meaning is that out of all the electric cables in the house, the ones for the shower and the cooker are usually the ones being used closest to their overheating limits.

Putting a cable through/under insulation makes the limit for overheating lower (because the heat can't get out), so they are the usually the first ones to reach the limit and start overheating.

If you got an electrical inspection (often called an EICR, but that's actually the name of the document you get afterwards), the electrician should check exactly these things.

Often a good idea to get one of those done when you buy an older property, it gives you a good idea of the condition of the electrical system.  It will also, just like your survey, have a whole load of warnings that things aren't up to modern standards or could be improved - but that's alright, they don't have to be, and we can help you understand which bits are important and which bits are not.

stuart45

nervous_nelee said:

First main issue that got flagged up was to do with insufficient ventilation of the sub-floor. Now, I know that's a fairly common problem in itself, but in this instance it was pointed out that it is blocked by a solid floor extension to the rear and porch to the front. How much of a problem is this, and is there any way to simply remediate it without major works such as replacing the floor of the extension?

This is probably the most serious issue. Lack of cross flow ventilation can cause the floor timbers to rot. Seems to be quite a common mistake made by some of the less knowledgeable builders.

Bigphil1474

OP, if they are saying the ceiling coating/texture may contain asbestos, that probably means it's artexed. We're buying a 60's property with a couple of artex ceilings that were done in the early 90's. Survey said they may contain asbestos, owner has no idea. We could get it tested but we're likely to just get them skimmed and paint over as the pattern is quite shallow. It would cost a lot to have it removed if it is asbestos, but skimming and painting, and not drilling or otherwise messing with, should mean it's fine for us. 

nervous_nelee

Admin can lock this post now, if that's a thing. I have enough information to be going forward with.

pieroabcd

Does the report say anything about structural works that may need signoff? Typical cases  are central walls (generally between the sitting room and the lounge) and chimney breasts removed and no signed off paperwork from BC.
These are all things that you should consider overall, because the less paperwork you have the more future buyers may ask from you in the future if you decide to sell (and maybe pull out).

As a last thing if you decide to go on, maybe an inspection from a gas safe engineer is worth doing too. It should cost around 90-100 pounds. An unsafe boiler isn't to be neglected. EICR for electricity too.