To put offer or not? Damp problem

[VegBurrito]

Hi everyone,

I never posted on this forum before, but I've been a reader for quite some time and find mumsnet soo helpful!

My husband and I are house-hunting at the moment, so we would really appreciate you advice!
There is a flat that we consider buying but there is one thing that really worries us as FTBs - damp in the removed chimney breast.
I will try to attach a few pictures here. On the inside there is black mould (?) in the corners and from the outside you can see that the top of the ex-chimney is all black (mould again?) with white discoloration, which is probably a build-up of salt.

My question is - how serious is this problem? Has anyone had something similar? Is it expensive to treat? Before we noticed the external condition, we were thinking that only damp proofing inside might be necessary, but then this outside part looks really bad to me. Inside the rest of the wall seems to be fine, but that particular part that used to be a chimney definitely suffers from damp problem.

Would it put you off from the house?

i.ibb.co/tsHnmX2/Chimney-Exterior.jpg
i.ibb.co/sJh760w/Chimney-Interior-1.jpg
i.ibb.co/LRtdrNT/Chimney-Interior-2.jpg

We would do a survey of course, just trying to understand how significant it is.

You cant get proper opinions here. You need to arrange a damp survey from a reputable company with an estimate for the work required to rectify. Then you can decide whether to procede or not. If its do able you may make a reduced offer to cover the cost

Often a chimney needs ventilating

Yep, as already said, you need to get a reputable company to assess the problem and provide costs for repairs needed. Then decide if you still want to proceed/reduce your offer, or walk.

By the look of that exterior photo, the gutters need clearing too.

Don't invite anyone into your house who sells chemical treatments, even if he calls himself a damp specialist. He will tell you to buy chemical treatment.

The one thing you can be certain of is that chemicals don't repair leaking roofs, bridged dampcourses, broken gutters, pipes, drains, or flashing on chimneys. Nor do they add ventilation.

looks like blocked gutters overspilling to me. The gutters don't look quite right. Are they modern plastic?

The roof has new-ish concrete tiles, have a look in the loft and see if the roof timbers are sturdy enough to take the extra weight without bending.

The wet patches on the inside photos are at the foot of the walls, but the chimney looks wet at the top. Perhaps water is collecting inside it. Apart from capping it properly and preventing the water spillage, it should be ventilated top and bottom. Work for a competent builder.

By the look of that exterior photo, the gutters need clearing too.

@wowfudge, yeah, that's what we thought too. Too much moss in them.

@PigletJohn

looks like blocked gutters overspilling to me. The gutters don't look quite right. Are they modern plastic?

Not sure what they are made of. Does the material not look right?

The roof has new-ish concrete tiles, have a look in the loft and see if the roof timbers are sturdy enough to take the extra weight without bending.

The owners have done the extension into the loft. We could see the insulation, not the timbers, but didn't notice any bending.

The wet patches on the inside photos are at the foot of the walls, but the chimney looks wet at the top. Perhaps water is collecting inside it. Apart from capping it properly and preventing the water spillage, it should be ventilated top and bottom. Work for a competent builder.

Here is the thing actually, there is no chimney itself as it's been removed, so there nothing to ventilate. It's the same wall on the pictures - it's hard to see from this angle but the blackened outward part is on the same floor where the damp manifests itself inside of the building. I guess the bricks have been long exposed to the water accumulating all that moisture due to the blocked gutters. I wonder though why there is no display of the damp around the ceiling but it might just mean that it's spreading mostly downward.

the gutters look to me as if they are not ideally positioned to take the water rushing off the roof. It might be that they were the old ones remaining from the original tile or slate. They look to me like they should be slightly more spaced off the wall.

Although you can't see a chimneypot, the chimney itself is still on the wall. You can see the brickwork protruding. Inside there are probably two flues, typically one for an upstairs rom and one for the downstairs. This is quite normal, although the capping, and especially the gutter, round yours looks unsatisfactory.

Disused flues need to be ventilated top and bottom, or they get damp. Competent builders know that. Perhaps the roofers had a go at it; though roofers usually know how to do guttering properly. When the scaffold is already up, fitting new guttering to suit is a minor job. Your house will originally have been built with cast-iron gutters, but I think grey plastic has replaced it at some time.