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Probably only a real concern if there is evidence that the sub floor - presumably timber - is starting to rot due to the lack of circulation. And then your real problem is replacing the floor. Any super squeaky floorboards downstairs?
Adding airbricks won’t be a biggy if access is straight forward. Whether it will solve the problem if there is a problem is another question.
If the extension has been there some time and there is no evidence of sub floor damage then I’d put low on the list of concerns.
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Howard's reply covers it well. A kitchen extension has probably blocked off the original airbricks, especially if it's a concrete floor butting up against the original footprint's timber floor.
We've just had the same thing, basically no air bricks, as a single front one was blocked, and the rears had been covered by a kitchen extension before our time, and the sub-floor was indeed rotten, and we now wish we'd pushed for a proper floor survey - vendor said no to an invasive survey, which is kind of understandable but perhaps should have raised more alarms.
If possible I'd try and find out more about the state of the floor, either with a full floor/damp survey (although you could argue that damp specialists will always find damp...not always the case but...) or at least a visit to the house with someone experienced in timber floors.
Message me if you want more details.
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Ok we had exactly the same thing when we bought our house. The flooring level was wonky on the main house ground level so we were concerned that the joists were rotten. There was some evidence of damp so we assumed the worst but the owner said no to opening up the flooring and checking the joists. We knew that we were renovating soon after we moved in so just budgeted for it.
Turns out that the kitchen area (which seemed fine) was built up with no ventilation at all so the timber frame it was constructed on was totally rotten and could have collapsed at any time.
The previous builders who had renovated the house 15 years ago basically just cut corners and did it on the cheap.
It's hard to know how bad it is until you pull up the floor but clearly ventilation is very important. The rotted flooring smell apparently was awful when they opened it all up, but as I said it seemed fine from the surface.
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Howard
si_mon628
Bainbridge
@tc
Survey has just come back saying there is no sub floor ventilation at the back of the house (where there is a kitchen extension). There are a number at the front but for some reason none at the back. I am a FTB so this is all new to me. How important is this to have at the back? Is it just a case of adding a few airbricks? Does anyone know how expensive/ difficult it might be?
Thank you!