Timber framed construction for 1855 house

anyon

Hello,

I am FTB with an accepted offer on 1855 circa timber framed constructed house. I got to know that it's a non standard construction. I am unsure on whether I should walk away or not?

BarelySentientAI

By itself that is not sufficient information to help you.

What is making you debate walking away?

BikingBud

Seemed to work historically:

tudor-houses-timber-frame-construction.html

FreeBear

anyon said:

Hello,

I am FTB with an accepted offer on 1855 circa timber framed constructed house. I got to know that it's a non standard construction. I am unsure on whether I should walk away or not?

When yo have a survey done, you need an expert with experience of old & historic properties. Old timber framed buildings do not respond well to the use of modern materials. Slapping cement renders on will trap moisture within the fabric of the building, leading to rot in the timbers. Same for modern paints - These also trap moisture and promote rot.

A decent surveyor should pick up on these types of faults and alert you to any problems.

dunstonh

anyon said:

Hello,

I am FTB with an accepted offer on 1855 circa timber framed constructed house. I got to know that it's a non standard construction. I am unsure on whether I should walk away or not?

Context is needed.   1855 is late for a timber framed house.  Most had moved to brick by then.  Indeed, the Victorians were heavily rebuilding timber framed farmhouses etc with brick at that time.   So, was it a late hanger on to old building techniques or a budget build (i.e. is a grand old building or a low cost building)

Has it been looked after?   What are the problems?

The building will clearly need a full survey (not a valuation or homebuyers report).   It may need a structural engineers report and you may need to avoid comparison sites for home insurance (using the likes of NFU etc).

Repairs and refurb will need someone skilled with working with older buildings that were designed to breathe, expand and contract.  That will likely cost more. 

So, without any context or knowledge of the building, we cannot say.   Getting a full survey is a no brainer though.