Damp survey

[Mirrorxx]

We’ve just got back the survey on the house we are buying and it says there is mould under the stairs, damp readings in that area and the hall, and that the ground floor suspended floor flexed under foot which could indicate decaying joists from damp. I am going to speak to the estate agent on Monday but the damp surveyor needs access to the subfloor and the entire ground floor has laminate floor. Can we insist this floor be taken up or is there another way to check if there is A major problem? Thank you

If it was my house and someone wanted to rip the floor up to look underneath, then maybe not buy it , I’d say no sorry. 🙂

@Chumleymouse@ Even though we are unlikely to buy it unless we can look at the joists?

All you can do is ask.

We had this with a place we wanted to buy last year. We asked, they said no, we walked away. I was really down about it but I understand why they didn't want to.

Sometimes there is a hatch in the cupboard under the stairs but likely they’ve floored over it.

Sounds like a walk away job. Goodness knows how bad it is.

Yes , no way I’d let anybody start pulling a floor up to look underneath , it’s sold as seen, ( or not seen 😀).

If it’s a old house and has suspended floors , it could just be the sleeper wall has moved / bricks fell off, or like you suspect it could be rotten joists. Replacing ground floor joists is not a big job and you can insulate it properly while your down there . 👍

All you can do is ask.

Our damp surveyor managed to get under the floor via a small gap in the under stair cupboard.