Late 1800's house - help?

[Ginnotgym]

Looking to relocate back to the town we grew up in due to new jobs and taking the opportunity to be nearer to family.

We have second viewing on Saturday of a property with massive potential: three floors plus basement, six bedrooms, tons of original features, good outside space, close to station, plenty of parking, v close to the school my DD will start in September etc.

We are viewing with a builder as it needs a LOT of work. So far he has quoted for full rewire, plumbing, boiler, various doors being moved, install of new bathrooms and kitchen, flooring, lighting etc. Fairly comprehensive.

My question is, when we view on Saturday, what else should we be looking for in terms of possible work needed? Damp? Roofing? We can comfortably (ish) afford everything we already know we want to do, but wondered if there's any way to mitigate any further surprises? Obviously we'll have a survey too, but would be good to look for any of this while we have a builder with us on Saturday.

We'll also be viewing with an agent, and the owners will also be present.

Any watch outs or advice from similar projects much appreciated!

is it listed?
do you need any extra permissions to do the work?

Assuming from that list that it's been fairly neglected. I'd say you'll also be looking at insulation, window frames, exterior paintwork, guttering, roof (structure as well as tiles), chimneys, damp, gas piping and fittings, water pipes and fittings.

Have you not had a survey?

Sorry, didn't read your post properly. I would have a full survey

Certainly damp...penetrating from cracked sills guttering and also original tiled floors...

Although pretty original floors generally do not have a solid foundation under them and can let in a lot of damp....also woodworm in floors joists and any other old woodwork..

Our experience of doing work in a similar aged house was that as soon as you’d start ripping things out, problems became expensive. For example, we hadn’t factored in plasterboard as the walls were beyond skimming etc. So I would grill your builder carefully and make sure he is clear on costs.

Also having just done building work, we went over budget because we decided to go for big extras which made sense once we got started. Eg installing a stove and sound proofing.

You've already mentioned the roof which is an important one, but just because it's old, doesn't necessarily meant it'll need replacing. (Out 1890's house still has it's original roof).
Pay attention to the state of the chimney stacks. Do they need repointing? If so, they'll probably need re-flaunching too. What is access to them like? (Will it need scaffolding?)
Pointing in general if worth checking. If the house isn't rendered, and the pointing needs doing, it may need re-pointing in lime.
Check the state of the ground floor air-bricks. Are they blocked? If so, you can bet there'll be something wrong with the ground floor timbers. Similarly, have ground levels been raised above the Damp Proof Course anywhere (if there is a damp proof course)?

Oh... and make sure your surveyor is familiar with old houses and not a generic 'mortgage-company' style surveyor. A good surveyor is worth the extra spend, or put another way, a surveyor's report not familiar with old houses potentially won't be worth the paper it's written on.

Yes, you'll need to have the whole place replastered and redecorated. Also, make it clear that you want period features to be kept, e.g. doors restored rather than replaced with new ones and be prepared that painting will be fiddly and cost extortionate amounts of money especially with all the woodwork or original windows to repair and paint. (I'd say it'll be more than rewire and boiler).

Having lived in a big period house, I'd say you could consider some for, of insulation as it can be freezing especially you keep the original windows. And have you lived over all these levels before? Running up and down the stairs drove me insane.

Does it actually need all that doing if it is currently lived in, or is the builder chancing his arm? If a house was rewired every time the regulations change, none of us would be able to live in our houses!!

How old is the boiler...is it a good make that will keep on going? What's the issue with the plumbing?

Thanks so much - really appreciate all these responses. Great points and we'll consider them all.

It's not as neglected as I may have made it sound.... it's been lived in by the same couple for around the past 40 years.

We may well be being over-cautious with the extent of the work we have planned so will defo bear that in mind.

Thanks again!

Maybe go round the property with the builder but take what he recommends with a pinch of salt until you’ve had the survey. Once the survey has been done that will give you a better idea of what work is essential/immediate and what work isn’t really necessary. If you ask the surveyor nicely the might give you a ball park figure of how much you could reasonably expect to pay for the repairs, that way you might be able to renegotiate with the vendors if you want to go down that route.

Thank you. That's a great shout.

I second getting a surveyor who deals with older properties.

Replastering should be done in lime plaster to avoid damp- can be more costly. Same with repointing. Damp- what can you see/smell? Again don't just get a firm in that sell chemical dpcs.

I have lived in a very similar property. It was our family home when I was younger.

Definitely get a full structural survey. The one big expense for our house was that the cellar was very damp and unusable. Damp from the cellar crept up the walls. They were single brick thickness and insulation was negligible. The sash windows were not double glazed. They needed to be replaced.

All the radiators were undersized. Too small for the volume of the rooms. The boiler had an undersized capacity. Even when the heating was on, it was cold. The vendors might be living in it, but are they doing so in a way that you would?

Look out for dry rot, caused by wet and damp. It smells musty and looks like fern fronds. Also woodworm. They’ve both been in every Victorian house we’ve owned.
Easy to put right, but added cost.