Trades needed for a doer upper

hairyslug

We have found what I consider the perfect house (she needs a bit of persuasion).

Firstly, let me say I have never approached anything like this before and am a complete novice, will depending on a friendly engineer for advice. I don't want to use this engineer for a survey as I like to keep personal life away from anything that may cost me money, a bit of advice here and there I can live with.

The only thing is that while it is relatively cheap, it will need a bit of work done to one side of the house. To the untrained eye, there has been a leak in the bathroom which has come thru the sitting room ceiling, it looks like electrics are affected as well (this is the only room where all light fittings and sockets have been removed)
From what I can see (can't see floorboards between bathroom and sitting room) that's all the damage.
I don't as of yet know what condition the electrics or plumbing is in the house. Waste water goes into a septic tank (never had one of these before)
We have some where to stay rent free while the work gets done, bar anything major all else will be cosmetic.
Is it advisable to get all trades on site to see what problems they can see or will a structural engineer/company that specializes in house surveys be able to do the same job.

antoinolachtnai

Well you need professional advice, that's for sure.

If the problem is just what you describe, it should be handy enough to fix, more of a handyman job than anything else.

The problem is that you are dealing in a field in which you have limited expertise. The problem might be deeper or there might be another problem.

If you don't have any other resources apart from what you described, ask your ebgineer friend to help you identify a properly qualified person to help you by doing the survey. This will cost you a few hundred euros and will give you a better perspective.

hairyslug

Cheers, it's always been the plan to get an engineer in to have a look, better to spend a few 00s that a few hundred thousand.

Just wondering should I get a builder in as well to have a look over to give me a rough estimate or even a QS.

seamus

Get the engineer in first to tell you what you need. If he tells you that the floor joists are rotten because of the leak and need replacing, then you will definitely need to contract a builder in to get everything done. If it's just a matter replacing damaged plastering and wiring, then you can get plasterers and electricians in yourself.

Some jobs are relatively simple to do and can be done yourself, like hanging shelves or prebuilt wardrobes or adding lights and sockets. Other things are relatively simple, but a professional will do a much quicker and cleaner job - plumbing and plastering usually fall into this category. Other work absolutely has to be done by registered professionals, such as rewiring or anything which touches gas.

Remember also that when the house is in disarray is the best time to get stuff done. For example, the engineer might tell you that the room needs to be rewired but you "can live with" the rest of the house, but it might work out best to get the whole thing rewired at the same time. It's more cost upfront, but less hassle in the long run.

antoinolachtnai

Not if the problems are like you describe. Listen carefully to your expert and ask him/her all your questions. They might not have exact answers but they will have a fair idea.

If you just want to fix some plasterboard and replace some light fittings, you don't need a QS and you might not even need a fully-fledged builder. If you know a builder, it might be fair enough to bring him along, but if you don't, you are going to look pretty silly bringing all these people in to see what might just be a hole in a ceiling.

Ask the engineer for his/her views on what other professional help you might need.

What sometimes happens in these situations is that you happen upon a professional who is already familiar with the particular property or who knows someone who is. It is often worth having local help for this reason.

mfceiling

Please get a professional in. If you get a few tradesmen in and ask them what do they think needs done....guess what they'll tell you...everything.

As above advice, at least someone qualified can tell you exactly what needs done and what doesn't. No point tearing down an entire ceiling to have to re board it and plaster it again when it only needed a small bit of patching. Spend now and you'll save later.

hairyslug

Cheers, we have a viewing of it at the weekend, from there we will put a bid in pending an engineers report.
From what I've been told by the agents, it was a leak in an ensuite that caused the water damage but with the size of the house, we could easily go without using the affected room until all was fixed. What caused the leak, I don't know.

shugy

hairyslug wrote: »

We have found what I consider the perfect house (she needs a bit of persuasion).

Firstly, let me say I have never approached anything like this before and am a complete novice, will depending on a friendly engineer for advice. I don't want to use this engineer for a survey as I like to keep personal life away from anything that may cost me money, a bit of advice here and there I can live with.

The only thing is that while it is relatively cheap, it will need a bit of work done to one side of the house. To the untrained eye, there has been a leak in the bathroom which has come thru the sitting room ceiling, it looks like electrics are affected as well (this is the only room where all light fittings and sockets have been removed)
From what I can see (can't see floorboards between bathroom and sitting room) that's all the damage.
I don't as of yet know what condition the electrics or plumbing is in the house. Waste water goes into a septic tank (never had one of these before)
We have some where to stay rent free while the work gets done, bar anything major all else will be cosmetic.
Is it advisable to get all trades on site to see what problems they can see or will a structural engineer/company that specializes in house surveys be able to do the same job.

Where is it?

deandean

A pal of mine got an all-trades guy into his house for about 6 months to do a lot of fixing up. All work was very well done.
In your case I would start by making several openings where plasterboard, walls etc are obviously damaged. Keep going until you have exposed all affected areas. If there has been water getting in....remember THAT balcony!