Pre-purchase survey - damp

dambarude

Hi there.

I recently went sale agreed on a house that is roughly 100 years old.

The pre-purchase survey from an engineer states:

The rot noted at the bottom of the skirting board in the hall was relatively minor but is an indication of possible rising damp in this area. No
evidence of rising damp was noted in any other areas of the property however the walls were generally dry-lined which could be concealing
similar issues behind. We would recommend an inspection by a damp specialist to access any underlying problems and to recommend remedial repairs if required.

There are also some other issues noted with moisture ingress from chimney flashing and roof lights that need to be changed.

Any advice on whether there would be actual value on getting a 'damp specialist'? Impossible to know, but could there be all sorts of damp-related horrors hidden behind the dry-lining?!

The overall conclusion from the report is:

Taking all the above into account and based on our preliminary inspection we are of the opinion that house at xxxx appears to be in good structural condition.
Some relatively minor defects were noted during our inspection and these could be resolved during upgrading of the premises, as outlined in section 5 above.

Thoughts very welcome from a unskilled/unknowledgeable first time buyer!

antoinolachtnai

As the guy says he doesn’t have access behind the dry lining. The damp specialist won’t have access either so won’t tell you much more.

You can take heart that the ground is generally very damp indeed and there has been so much rain. This is a time when any minor leak or damp problem would surface.

The conclusion sounds good to me. The challenge is getting tradespeople particularly for the small jobs outlined if you aren’t doing a bigger project. A bigger project has its own problems.

spaceHopper

Get a damp expert, its to big a purchase to penny pinch on the best advice.

The Continental Op

But aren't most damp "experts" just con merchants.

I thought rising damp had been proven not to exist?

https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

ballyharpat

I'd rather take the money I would save from not hiring a damp specialist, and use that money to fix the problem, if you ran a dehumidifier there for a week it would solve a lot of problems, also turn on the heating, then the ingress/saturation on the chimney and other areas where the lead and other flashings could be repaired/replaced, you'd solve most of your problems, as has been said also, this has been an extremely wet 18 months, if the house has been vacant for any period it would exacerbate even a minor damp problem.

That would be my 2 cents.

dambarude

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dampness really seems to split opinion!

I wonder would I be better getting a quote from a tradesperson for repair rather than a specific damp specialist? Is this something that would be possible?

If I go with a damp specialist, I presume that anyone that I find online would do the job?

The Continental Op

Last thing you need is a damp specialist. All they are going to do is say you have damp and recommend an expensive fix. What else are they going to do?

Most damp is related to ventilation and condensation and not damp coming in from below.

Ms2011

I can only speak to my experience.

We bought a 200 year old granite build 7 years ago. Our surveyor found alot of damp all through the house. Now our house had been empty for 5 years & had a broken window so was open somewhat to the elements. The house also had carpets which had held all the damp & all the plasterboard was soaked too.

Long & the short we got new doors & windows, ripped out all carpets & plasterboard & replaced them, we also had the heating running as much as possible & windows open as much as possible.

The first year our bedding would sometimes feels damp so it took awhile but the house did eventually dry out & has been dry ever since.

ballyharpat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122031199#Comment_122031199

I had a similar experience, bought a house that had 'rising damp' , the seller knocked off 12%, it was an overflowing gutter that was causing the problem. Just speak to a good tradesman, ask him for recommendations, there are a dozen things to do that can help, or many things may help a little, or it may just be something really minor.

mickdw

Damp specialists are ONLY interested in selling products and services.

They will not come out and say - I see an overflowing gully - That could well be your issue.

They will confirm rising damp and sell you about 25k worth of services.

Your surveyors hands are tied to an extent. He cannot open up anything to inspect. He needs to recommend further inspection but he too knowns that those damp companies are dodgy.

If sales were slow, you could insist on vendor opening up a section for further inspection - I've suggested similar in the past but with current market, you will be told take it or leave it.

27cyrix

There is a good book called IRISH PERIOD HOUSES

It explains why you shouldn't worry and when you should worry about raising dampness.

I am in the same situation as you. My house is 200 years old, and the survey report came back saying there is a lot of rising dampness.

dambarude

Thanks for the opinions all.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122035209#Comment_122035209

What did you do with this report in the survey? Negotiate the price? Suck it up?

In my case, the actual evidence points to it being a low-level issue, but I’m concerned about taking the risk. The engineer has recommended a particular damp specialist to hire for a survey…I have requested permission from the agent to conduct this survey. Though I’m not sure if anything useful will come of it given some of the comments in this thread!

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122029251#Comment_122029251

Fine of you like mushrooms and mold but my sister's dry rot and damp would beg to differ.

27cyrix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122036187#Comment_122036187

I asked the agent to fix the issue related to external water ingress(roof and front basement level). The agent said the house is sold as it is…

SharkMX

What you have described to me shouldnt cost much to put right. I wouldnt let it stop me from buying a house I really liked tbh.

FledNanders

A 100 year old house is gonna have bit of damp reading here and there. As long as it's not obvious with plaster peeling off etc I wouldn't be too worried.

We bought and sold our old house (also 100 years old) with similar comments to what you've got in your report there.

Agree that damp 'specialists' are only focused on getting a job out of it. Even if you could live perfectly fine in the house for another 100 years with no issues.

dambarude

Hi all. An update.

I employed a damp specialist from one of the known damp solution companies to conduct a survey. He declared rising damp is present in all of the older walls of the house and quoted circa 11,000 to resolve it. I used this to get a corresponding reduction in the price/offer on the house.

The older part of the house likely has no DPC. There are no obvious signs of damp as noted above, but it's impossible to know how bad the issue is behind the drylining.

However, I'm still unsure as to whether I should proceed. It seems impossible to get to the bottom of the issue prior to purchase. I'm weighing my concern on this front with the fact that I'm not sure I'll succeed in getting a similar house in a similar area any time soon (as prices continue to rise).

The Continental Op

DON@T DO ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN PETER WARDS VIDEOS ON DAMP

https://www.youtube.com/%40WarmDryHome

Start on this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuoKhF31hL8