Just got our building survey report back and there are problems

[LukeSkywalkerBoots]

But I don’t know if these sorts of things are normal to come up on a survey on a Victorian house or not...

• high level inspection needed of the roof valleys and chimney as repairs expected
• reduce the external ground levels so that the re is a difference if at least two brick courses between the ground and the damp proof course (that sounds bad?!)
• install additional air bricks to the base of the external walls
• Replace hot water cylinder

Annoyingly the report just came thru but solicitors and surveyors shut til Monday so can’t ring til then. Help!

They sound like covering comments to me, the roof one may be because they didn't go up on the roof (although you need to ask) one surveyor I used had a really good pole system that he attached his camera too to take roof photos, so you need to ask for photos.

Reduce the ground level?? Is that even possible? Unless it's a garden around the house?

Air bricks not a big thing?

Replace hot water cylinder? Why? Don't think it's that expensive.

I wouldn't stress too much till you speak to the surveyor, if they all need to be done (rather than don't need to be, but would be possible issues in the future) you can get some rough quotes then go back and renegotiate with the seller, it often happens after survey.

Reduce the ground level sometimes can just mean digging a trench next to the wall and filling with gravel so the water can drain away from the wall easily, I’m sure we had to do that in our last house many years ago

Yes , these do not sound major. Apart from the roof which just says " I couldn't be arsed to look at the one bit of the house which may be an issue"

BTW a good surveyor would provide an estimate of the cost to rectify these points

Sounds very minor to me, if that's all that came up on a Victorian house I'd be very happy.

I work with Surveyors and it's all standard nothing major to be fair.

French drain and air bricks are not expensive. Tank replacement is less costly than a new boiler, although you might want to look at replacing it with a combi in the long run and then no need for tank and you'd likely gain storage once the old tank is gone.
The roof .. well different Surveyors do this differently but has he been in the loft space to check the timbers and purlins? Most issues would be apparent internally as well if they are causing a bigger problem. Some use cameras on poles outside of the top floor windows to see the roof with more clarity. Others look from the ground up only.

Nothing major this though!

Ah, French drain, that’s what it’s called, the trench with gravel

Yes he went in the loft and found the timber was a bit damp up there so said sorting the roof would alleviate that.

He also noted there was a bit of damp in the bathroom and near the back door/ utility area. So will probably have to get a damp person to take a look at that.

How much roughly would we be looking at to swap to a combi boiler?

www.which.co.uk/reviews/boilers/article/buying-a-new-boiler/boiler-prices-how-much-does-a-new-boiler-cost-aK2dh2j3Cabo

Almost all old houses have some damp. Ours is 400+ years old and one wall will always have it. It’s the price you pay for living in an older house.

Sorting the damp is definitely the priority, it's very destructive and you have no idea how long it's been leaking. Ask for the roof survey plus a costing then you can decide what to do regarding your offer.

You need to work out why it is getting damp. Is it water from outside because of issues like blocked gutters or leaks or water condensating from inside due to no extract fans etc. Your surveyor should be able to advise. Air bricks are relatively easy to add but french drains should not be right next to a house. A linear channel connecting to a drain or soak away is better

Just remember you are paying a surveyor to look for the potential problems

None of that would bother me other than potentially the roof. Surveyors like to err on the side of caution and will generally recommend further investigation as what they can see is limited. I take what they say with a huge grain of salt (had one completely miss that the wooden french doors were completely rotten in one house and another who told me one wall was seriously damp and needed urgent attention, plaster to come off etc, we just repaired the chimney flashing, repainted only and had no more issues for the five years I owned it.
Victorian houses are old and you should expect some things to be flagged up. I don't think I've ever bought one that doesn't have some damp or other issue.

@LukeSkywalkerBoots my combi was £2800 including supplying and installing a nest thermostat to control the hearing from phone. I'm in London.

The big thing there for me is that your surveyor has seen some damp in the attic and gone "roof problem". But presumably not gone on to actually investigate or offer any explanation of why he thought that damp in that place means a roof problem.

The mention of air bricks and requirement of a French drain sound to me like poor ventilation in a house. Old houses need to breathe (more so than modern, although most of those need more ventilation than they get too). As people increasingly want warmer houses, the draughts that give airflow in a house are blocked up and the humidity generated by people gets stuck in the house. Hot air rises and your roof is a nice large expanse of cool surface for the water in that hot air to condense out of onto. Therefore the attic space becomes damp. The warmer and less air flow through your house the worse the damp is.

You need to get more specific details from your surveyor about what he thinks causes the damp