-
There's a lot of CYA stuff there. A dam survey might be an idea though.
Exterior Render fixes - £300
£3,000 - £8,000 : you can't fix that spray on acrylic shit. And if you could, next year you'd be fixing a different bit. And the next.
You need it stripped, the paint underneath chemically removed, and then re-render in lime or juts re-point.
My guess is that the mortar has turned to same behind the render, where water has pooled. And could be leading to some of the damp.
The loft needs that blown foam removed from the eaves behind that knee wall. Cold roofs need airflow and ventilation from the soffit.
DPC: £0 you're not going to replace a bitumen DPC with anything else. If you're considering an injection job, you may as well just set the house on fire to fix the damp.
You need to get under the floor to find out what is going on with the DPC. Otherwise it's just pointless guesswork.
Zero point replastering until the source of damp is identified, and the outside is fixed.
EICR - Why? Just get a spark in to look at your electrics on the promise of extra work.
Fire safety boards? Lol no.
Maybe budget to have the chimney removed entirely.
Your surveyor doesn't seem very clued up about damp being caused by the wrong building materials on solid walls.
-
It doesn't sound terrible. If you're buying a 100+ year old house there are going to be some problems but it's also been standing for 100+ years so there probably isn't that much you need to do instantly.
There's also a benefit of doing a few things at the same time. Your rewire is going to be cheaper if there's no making good because you're replastering and redecorating the place.
From my own experience, my main concern would be the damp because it's the most awkward thing to easily fix. You've got potential causes and you tend to have to chase those around and fix a few, see what happens, have another look, fix some more, etc. But there seem to be a fair few easy fixes that might clear up quite a bit.
You are reading a single comment by @HeyHey and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
NotThamesWater
aggi
@HeyHey
Okay, so the survey is back and I've captured the main bits below
Overall opinion of property
• condition of the property is considered to be consistent with age and type of construction, no significant defects were identified.
• prepared to accept the cost and inconvenience of dealing with the repair/improvement works reported.
• traditional construction comprising solid brick wall construction, pitched tiled roof and double glazed UPVC casement windows.
External
Chimney stacks
• We believe that the rear building chimney stack has been removed, potentially before the current owners. Due to high moisture readings on the rear building chimney breasts- both at first and ground floor, we advise a competent roofer closer inspect where the chimney breast was previously and ensure the stack has been removed satisfactorily.
Roof coverings
• shrewd to have them firmly re-embedded in mortar to ensure they remain firmly positioned.
• We observed signs of bowing to the roof slope although it is considered to be within reasonable tolerance it would be prudent to have a competent roofer closer inspect the roof and ensure timbers are in adequate condition.
Rainwater pipes and gutters
• Staining and minor moss growth was noted, most notably at the junctions, and this normally indicates leakage. We recommend that this is attended to by a guttering specialist in the immediate term to prevent potential moisture ingress. This is normally a fairly easy repair and entails taking off the junction piece and either cleaning out the seal or replacing the whole junction piece.
Main walls
• Due to the application of render we are unable to comment on the condition of the brickwork underneath and it can conceal potential defects, the risks of this must be accepted.
• Sections of hairline cracks and blown render was noted externally, we advise infilling and resurfacing where necessary so as to prevent more severe defects arising over time.
Other
• A property of this age is likely to contain a damp-proof course DPC (bitumen membrane running in-between courses of brickwork approx. 150mm above ground level) I was unable to verify this due to the rendered elevations- although evidence of injected DPC was noted in parts, mainly at the flank elevation. The moisture meter test provided significant high readings to parts of internal surfaces indicating that the damp proof course is not currently operating effectively in these areas.
Internal
Roof structure
• It would be shrewd to have a timber report conducted so as to ensure there is no ongoing infestation.
• We also noted within the lean-to roof space area an obsolete water tank as well as fibre quilt insulation. Discoloured timbers were noted assumed to be due to condensation due to inadequate ventilation within the area, advise affixing roof ventilators.
Ceilings
• A textured coating has been applied to some of the ceilings within the property. This material may contain small quantities of asbestos fibre.
Walls and partitions
• High moisture readings were noted at various locations, mainly within the rear building chimney breast, both at the ground and first floor.
• internal repairs should follow namely hacking off areas of contaminated plaster and allowing underlying masonry to dry followed by re-plastering and redecorating.
• Failure to apply a salt retardant plaster after treatment is the most common cause of continuing damp problems (the migration of hygroscopic salts) after a remedial damp issues.
• Evidence of bubbling wallpaper was noted in parts indicative of blown plaster underneath, if removing the wallpaper some areas may come away and require re-plastering which will increase costs.
• Heat recovery fans were noted in areas, mainly within the kitchen dining area, indicative of historic high moisture ingress in the area. Due to the presence of damp and moisture within the property we advise having a damp survey prior to legal commitment of the purchase. It would also be shrewd to budget for potential re-plastering of various rooms, quotes should be ascertained prior to exchange of contracts.
Floors
• unable to confirm whether the flooring in the original solid ground floors contains a damp-proof membrane or insulation.
Woodwork
• The underside of any staircase should not have any exposed detailing, such as timber. In such circumstances we recommend that 12.5mm plasterboard should be installed to comply with Fire Compartmentation Regulations and The Building Regulations 14th Edition. This will give a minimum of 30 minutes’ fire protection to the underside of the stairs in the immediate term, as your main form of escape from the first floor.
Electricity
• Due to the apparent age of the fuseboard and wiring we would recommend to budget for rewiring of the property.
Water
• Where visible the water supply pipework is run in copper, no leaks were noted. Older properties may have lead pipework within the fabric of the building or underground which can be hazardous to health.
Drainage
• A separate drainage system connected to the main sewer comprising above ground: soil and plastic grey water pipes and below ground: manhole inspection chamber not located.
• We can confirm however that no evidence of blockages were noted currently when taps and toilet were tested.
-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-
So from my rough calculations
DPC - £2,500
EICR - £300
Exterior Render fixes - £300
Guttering fixes - £100
Removing asbestos - ? probably not necessary
Replastering - unsure on scope but online suggest about £2k per room
Fire Safety understairs - £200
Fixing ridge tiles - £300
Then the big hitters if necessary, still working out what the next steps for these are.
EICR - £300
Rewire - £12,000
If anyone has thoughts, can improve my pricing accuracy or genuine advice I'd be super grateful