Level 2 survey showing

cens2008

We're in the process of purchasing a house that was built in the late 50s. We had a level 2 survey carried out that has said there were significantly high readings in two areas. One a room to the front of the house that was an extension around 20 years ago, for whatever reason there was no heating out into this room other than a plug in heater.

The house has been empty since May, could the reading be high because there has been no air movement for the last 7 months and whilst the heating in other rooms comes on at set times etc it won't in this room because it's just a plug in heater, so there has been no heating in here either. Or should I look into it more?

The other area was under the stairs where it's exposed brick, the gutters do need to be unblocked but not sure if that could affect the under the stairs cupboard as it's in the middle of the house

Newbie_John

High readings of? Humidity?

you can have plug in heater set to go on at preset times.

Bigphil1474

Probably damp? Damp meters aren't designed for detecting damp in brick walls or even plaster walls, they are designed for reading damp levels in wood. The damp readings in the extension could just be as you describe, or it could be something more. I'd suspect it is lack of ventilation and possibly condensation - but that's still a guess. Our old house had damp issues, but most of it was just about ventilation in the cellar, and condensation at the front, which we fixed before we sold. If the rest of the house is fine, and the extension looks in reasonable condition (and comes with all the relevant paperwork), then I'd probably be confident it's not a big issue.

Albermarle

It seems that surveys of older houses, pretty much always find high damp meter readings somewhere.

Be very careful about inviting in damp specialists, as most of them are really just salespeople and will recommend expensive and unnecessary solutions.

stuart45

Surveyors normally mean readings taken from a damp meter. They used to say evidence of rising damp, but this advice has now been changed.

The normal recommendation is for a further specialist damp survey. This covers the surveyor, without him having to commit himself to an accurate diagnosis.

A 50's house is likely to be of cavity wall construction with a DPC, so the damp is most probably caused by condensation. You will probably find it clears up once the house is properly heated.