FTB - Damp issue

dazedandconfused123

Hoping for some advice!

I bought a 2-bed Victorian house at the end of August. I paid for a Level 3 survey in May and the surveyor noted:

• No signs of damp
• Would prefer to see an Aco/French drain around the property due to the outside ground level being higher than the internal walls
• Evidence professional damp proofing has been done

The photographic schedule provided by the surveyor does not show that any damp meter readings were taken in the living room or dining room. The areas immediately around the chimney breast were accessible during the survey.

When I moved in, I noticed that there was a small patch in one of the bottom corners of the living room (on an external wall) where the paint was flaking. This has previously been covered by furniture, so neither I nor the surveyor would’ve seen it.

I contacted a specialist damp surveyor, who said that there is a localised damp issue and recommended that I get an Aco/French drain around the property. He also recommended getting the drainage work done first, seeing how this goes and then potentially getting the damp proofing redone. He took meter readings around the chimney breast and in the areas that were covered by the previous owner’s furniture. All readings were deemed to be high. He also stated that this was a longstanding issue.

Following this, I made a formal complaint to the original surveyor stating the following:

My concern is that your inspection identified and photographed:

• evidence of previous damp-proofing treatment;
• low-level external render damage;
• elevated external ground conditions;
• a concrete path immediately adjoining the side wall; and
• circumstances which led you yourselves to recommend the installation of an Aco channel or French drain

yet the report nevertheless presented the property to me as having no apparent

dampness and no characteristic indications of problems with the damp-proof course.

The MD of the survey company came to my house to carry out a reinspection and said that his readings in the living and dining room were not high. He then formally responded to my complaint and rejected it, stating:

With there being no evidence of any ongoing or significant problems with dampness, we feel that you can just redecorate the property as is. In our original report, we did recommend ACO drains or French drains be formed adjacent to the walls, but this could be left until you actually re-landscape. The lack of these is currently not causing any dampness internally.

Both the MD of the original surveyor and damp specialist surveyor discussed their respective findings before my complaint was rejected. I was not involved in this conversation, but the damp specialist surveyor did say that meter readings can vary day by day. He’s also declined to comment further on the MD/original surveyor’s report.

Now I’m stuck on what to do. I’m a FTB and have no experience with damp-proofing, drainage systems etc. I’m not sure if I should escalate my complaint with the original surveyor or just accept their response and get on with redecorating the living room. I do plan to get the Aco/French drain at some point next year.

I guess I’m asking whether I have a valid complaint against the original surveyor and if so, what would you suggest doing next? I’m happy to provide more details if needed!

RelievedSheff

Install the ACO / French Drain?

Both specialists have recommended doing this!

dazedandconfused123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168535#Comment_82168535

As I mentioned at the end of my original post, I do plan to do this. My question is: do I have a valid complaint against the original surveyor and if so, what would you suggest doing next?

RelievedSheff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168550#Comment_82168550

I personally don't think you do. (We have never bothered with surveys as they have so many get out clauses it makes them worthless)

Welcome to home ownership. This will no doubt be the first of many things you have to fix!

mark_cycling00

Usually the surveyor report will contain lots of small print relating to these sorts of situations that reduces their liability.

To have a case you'd need to prove it was "reasonable" to expect that the surveyor should ask the owner to move all furniture away from the walls, or that there was something obviously suspicious about that item of furniture that should have been highlighted to you.

I've had similar small patches of flaky paint, lowered the earth slightly and the problem has gone away.

The drain idea would be even better.

The skillbuilder YouTube channel has some videos on installing them yourself

stuart45

Do you know if the walls are solid or cavity?

lincroft1710

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168788#Comment_82168788

As it is a Victorian house, most likely to be solid

stuart45

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82168823#Comment_82168823

Definitely more likely, but some areas like Portsmouth have had a lot of houses built with cavity walls since the 1860's.

WIAWSNB

Exterior ground levels are higher than internal walls? (I presume that means floor level?)

Either way, that is clearly a concerning issue, one that will, in most cases, cause damp, and, well, you should have known this - and your surveyor did tell you.

Bottom line, I think, you were told of the situation pretty clearly, and given advice on how to deal with it. The fact that the surveyor did not find any signs of damp inside at the time of inspection could have been because there weren't any, the hot dry summer kept it at bay, or they were there and the guy didn't look in these places.

Can you prove which of these it was? And, did the surveyor's remit include to shift furniture around?

Bottom line - you knew what needed to be done, it always needed to be done, it still needs doing, and that situation isn't affected by anything.

What outcome from a complaint could you imagine getting?

HouseHuntingAmy

Oh I feel this - we offer on Victorian places half the time and the fear of exactly this is always in the back of my mind. The good news buried in your post is that both specialists independantly said the same thing, and it sounds localised rather than the whole house.

On the drainage work itself: get two or three quotes, and include a general groundworks builder as well as damp specialists. An Aco drain is fairly standard groundworks, and the firm that diagnoses a problem has a natural interest in being the one paid to fix it. Not saying the specialist is wrong - just that the same trench dug by someone else can price very differently.

And the order matters more than the products: drainage first, then live with it through a wet winter (photos of the patch with dates are your friend) before spending on redoing any damp proofing. Victorian walls managed for a hundred years before chemical injection existed - if the ground level is the cause, fixing that may be most of the cure.

Okey00001

The meter readings are crap! They only measure the plaster which would have some condensation within it depending on the room. If acco drains were recommended, are you able to show some images of the exterior walls where the ground is higher as mentioned?