Chalet bungalow floor is bulging says surveyor.

[fabulousathome]

We have had an offer accepted on a chalet bungalow. The bungalow was built in the 1930s but was significantly extended to make two bedroom and two bathrooms in the roof less than five years ago.

The people who extended are not the current sellers of the house.

Thank goodness we had a full structural survey (because we are lucky enough not to need a mortgage) and the surveyor called me (before sending his report which is yet to arrive) to say that there was something "bad."

The floors in the two rooms above the ground floor are "bulging". He said the furniture placed on the floors in those rooms is not straight.

He thought it might cost at least £5k to fix? To check it out we would need a structural engineer's report and the floors in both rooms would need to be lifted.

£5k is a small amount compared with the price of the bungalow and it is, in most other ways, exactly what we want. We have a good offer on our house so we can afford £5k.

I don't think the sellers know about it but I can't be sure.

I am in two minds. DH is keen to have this investigated. I am fairly keen to walk away, partly because it makes me worry what else the converters have done that I can't see.

I just don't want to buy a heap of trouble!

The surveyor suspects that building regulations were not signed off. The work was done under "permitted development".

Does anyone have any advice or had a similar problem that was easily resolved or not resolved? Thank you.

I have to ask - what does he mean by 'bulging'? Perhaps just uneven?
I can't help wondering what would cause a bulging floor other than warped boards or badly fitted joists.

Surveyors have a tendency to pick on things to cover themselves. However, this might help www.woodandbeyond.com/blog/common-solid-wood-floor-problem-bulging-and-lifting/

Where are you? We live near the sea and, apparently, a lot of seaside properties have floors that are slightly higher in the middle of the house than at the outside as the weight of the outer walls on the sand settles more than the inner parts. Could that be relevant?

I'm not sure what the floor is made of as there is carpet on it. I guess it could be solid wood which this article talks about?

No it's nowhere near the sea unfortunately, on the outskirts of East London.

I need to (patiently) wait for his report I guess.

He sounded pretty serious on the phone. He used the word "bad" several times.

Don't take chances with property, if it's right for you have the extra survey done. If the work involved is costly then you may be able to negotiate a price reduction to compensate not only for the costs of the work but also your inconvenience. You are in a strong position as cash buyers, almost everyone else with a mortgage involved wouldn't be able to proceed so that gives you a better chance to negotiate a substantial deduction. If they refuse then walk away.

What do you know about how the loft extension was built? If the original house was built in the 1930s it wouldn't have sufficient foundations for another floor, and there should have been underpinning done. If that didn't happen, then it is possible (not sure how likely exactly) that the walls have sunk a bit and that's why the upper floors are 'bulging'.

Def. get a more detailed inspection/report, or even consider walking away from this property. You know how 'perfect' this is for you, and whether you want to live there no matter what.

In certain areas, materials used as hardcore are unsuitable. For example around steelworks and coalmines there was lots of waste going cheap.

It may swell when damp, or it may be sulphurous which damages concrete, making it weak, swell and break up.

Your local surveyor will know what was used and have seen the effects.

Sometimes you have to break up the concrete floors, dig out the waste, and build back up with clean material, plastic barriers, or sulphuric-acid-resistant cement. I don't know what you'd do if it was in a slab foundation.

It can be expensive and troublesome. Perhaps someone will demolish it and build new.

sorry, I see now it is the upstairs rooms so it will not be that

They went into the roof without reinforcing the beams which now create the new floor level which is bowing under the weight. It is rectifiable and but your offer should take cost into consideration. So offer 5k less if still interested. Yes have a structural engineer visit to confirm things. Your financial situation is irrelevant.

I can understand that it feels like a big job. I would worry about the quality of the conversion generally if they hadn't reinforced the supporting beams somehow. A structural engineer would be able to give a good indication of the structure/work needed but you might also want to check the electrics upstairs. They won't confirm to 2017 standards because they were done x many years ago but you will find out if they are safe or worrisome

Sounds like this could be a bodge job. It may not have needed planning permission, but it should still have been inspected.

At least 5k to investigate and repair? I think the worst case scenario could be a lot more than that. As well as structural problems, which will cause a shed load of disruption to put right, I'm guessing the electrics for the extension weren't certificated either. You'll have issues when you come to sell.

I would walk away now and look for somewhere else, even go into rented if need be.

Also, there were a fair few "gerry built" bungalows built in the 30s'. So if this house is one of these, with a dodgy extension....

Although it might have been 'Permitted Development' I would have thought that it would still need building regs approval and subsequent completion certificate.

Thank you. I don't seem to be able to find out anything about the building regs online. But I'm inclined to agree with Thesingingtoad. I am scared of what we might be getting into.

We can wait a year or two to move. It's not vital.

I really fancy buying a much cheaper bungalow and extending it (sticking to it being all on one floor) to our own preferences. Then I can be (more) confident that it is done properly.

IT definitely would have needed Building Regs. If it was done before t'internet days I think you can view the application at the local council offices and see what the specs were and when p/whether it was signed off.
I live in a chalet bungalow and wanted to change the upstairs configuration last year. I had to get Building Regs who specified adding double joisting in a couple of places and inspected twice to ensure compliance.

It was done after Sept 2013 which is when they found out they didn't need planning permission. I can see that bit online. What I can't see is anything about Building Regs. I guess I can go to the planning office and see if I can find out more. They don't answer the phone and the one time they did they said that we should ring back in an hour. I've never been able to get through again!

Check building regs, then structual surveyor, then building quotes, then reduced offer to vendor.

Or

Withdraw and give reason.

I would also check that the staircase meets building regs. This is a fire hazard if it does not meet regulations. If it was me, I would buy a non extended bungalow. This sounds like a lot of trouble.

So apparently anything to do with Building Regs was done through a private company and not the council. Apparently the private company are allowed to do this. We are checking this out as it doesn't sound true.

Do you have the name of the company? They should have it.

You don't have to use the council for building control approval. Lots of builders will have their preferred private building control company (who they know won't give them too much trouble...)

I don't know why your surveyor is giving prices to fix something when he doesn't know the cause.

Turns out that it was a private building inspection company who supervised the work done under the building regulations. We have now pulled out though having read our surveyor's report and will look for something later on in the year. It probably would have been fixable but there were other issues arising in the report that made me nervous.