Damp smell as soon you walk in?

[GeeGaw42]

I went to view a house yesterday and as soon as I walked in there was a strong smell of damp. Its a solid floor victorian terrace. On the shared wall there was a cupboard next to the chimney breast (that has working open fire) that reeked of damp and full of mould. It was away from any other exterior wall except for chimney.

Im a single mum working full time. Is a damp problem like this difficult to get rid of in other peoples experiences? Other than this the house is ok but needs every room doing and some windows replacing. All ok to do one at a time as you go and liveable.

Is damp a definite no no? Havemt rrally got any experienced friends or family to come and take a look or offer advice - im totally on my own really!!

After this hot summer I would avoid it I think.

Ah yes! I didnt even think about how its been so dry lately!!

In my experience damp coming from around chimneys in Victorian houses is hard to eliminate. I had this problem and I have lost count of the number of builders that swear they knew exactly what was wrong (flashings, mortar, water coming down the chimney pot), they "fix" it, but it still leaks. Then they say it's coming from your neighbours...They "fix" it and it's still damp. I would avoid it if you can.

Sorry to hear you have this problem! I am ok with doing a house up and fixing things once but if its a persistent problem I dont really have the resources to keep going at it. I think I will keep on looking. It was the location of the house that was the main draw not the actual place itself. Thanks for the responses!

dry weather, wet downstairs = water leak

You say solid floors? Unusual IME in a Victorian house if they are original. Sometimes if the old wooden floors have rotted from damp concrete is poured as a replacement.

At that age, the incoming watemain under the floor is probably leaking, so are the clay gullies and bends where the drains underground turn horizontal.

It might also be a bathroom or radiator pipe, sometimes the old pipes for a back boiler have not been isolated or removed and might be in the fireplace.

There is a faint chance it was built on a spring or millpond, but highly unlikely.

A wrinkly local builder will probably have seen hundreds if not thousands of similar house in the last 50 years.

BTW chemical injections and special plasters don't cure leaks.

Don't touch it with a barge pole!! Endless problems, mouldy furnitures, horrible and expensive to try and resolve. Honestly not worth it.

Walk away x

Thanks for replies! I hadnt considered an old back boiler - might even be next doors. The agent said the floors were solid but I didnt pull the carpet back to check. I could do a second viewing easily enough but dont want to waste the agents time if damp is going to be a nightmare which it sounds like it could be.

If leaking water is the problem and it turnec out to be leaking from next door that's a rented house so not sure how good the landlord would be.

I think I will pass on this one! 😁

in a house with a water meter, it is easier to detect a leak. Not by watching the numbers, but by looking for a small bubble in the window. All the time any water is flowing, it will turn or spin. You can detect quite a small leak that way.