Survey “at risk” of damp

[zippyswife]

We’ve had a survey on a 1930s house we’ve buying. The moisture metre readings on the lower walls are at risk-high. Surveyor recommended damp survey as could be rising damp. Damp people confirm all walls down stairs need damp proof course at cost of 7k… this excludes the garage 😫😫

There is no visible sign (neither to surveyor nor us) or damp. Surveyor says DPC goes around building at correct height.

I don’t know what to think. Just looking for advice/experience of this really.

We’ve been on the property buying merry go round for nearly a year. I never knew it would be so stressful- the time money and stress I have wasted is incredible- I wish I’d never started.

I guess it depends how much you want it and if you can afford to do the damp proofing. My DD and her DP bought a Victorian townhouse this year and knew it needed damp proofing through the survey even though there were no visible signs of damp. They factored it into their buying costs and have just had it done at a cost of about £10k.

If the supposed damp causes no discernible issues, why would you spend thousands "fixing" the "problem"? Why not just factor it in as a possible future cost, but live in the house for a while before deciding whether to do anything?

I would suggest you read all the 'damp' threads on here. Damp proofing unnecessarily is a gold mine for many companies. If you’re really worried pay for an independent damp survey from a specialist surveyor not linked to any damp proofing company.

If it was me, I would be the house and as PP said live in it and see if there was any problem. I would also paint the walls on the outside of the house with a bit of ronseal wall sealant one weekend and have it retested after a year. The rain lately has increased and is literally driving the rain through the old brickwork, we are roofers and have been called out more and more to find the roofs sound but the brickwork letting in water with people needing cavity trays and rendering instead.

You can renegotiate for sellers to pay half. I’ve done that, bought house, and found there was already a damp course and it just needed some heat on and airing.

We're the damp people independent? Or were they the ones who were going to get £7k of business to solve a damp problem that doesn't seem to be impacting the property?

Those damp meter readings are meaningless. The surveyor is covering his arse: all old properties could be described as being at risk of damp. Rising damp is a myth - I would refuse to pay for the survey on the basis that the surveyor is evidently incompetent - or at least report him to the RICS. And it’s hardly surprising that a company that sells damp solutions has concluded that you indeed need the damp solutions...

Basically - you are being played by a combination of an ignorant surveyor and an opportunistic damp proofing company. Suggest doing some reading on the causes of damp and what solves it (hint: injecting chemicals every 6” does nothing): it might give you the confidence to go ahead with the purchase.

www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html

[quote MyAnacondaMight]Those damp meter readings are meaningless. The surveyor is covering his arse: all old properties could be described as being at risk of damp. Rising damp is a myth - I would refuse to pay for the survey on the basis that the surveyor is evidently incompetent - or at least report him to the RICS. And it’s hardly surprising that a company that sells damp solutions has concluded that you indeed need the damp solutions...

Basically - you are being played by a combination of an ignorant surveyor and an opportunistic damp proofing company. Suggest doing some reading on the causes of damp and what solves it (hint: injecting chemicals every 6” does nothing): it might give you the confidence to go ahead with the purchase.

www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html[/quote]
Agree with this.

My survey came back with some issues about risk of damp, but none is actually present nor any signs of it. Very much arse covering like this.

The survey reads like the whole house is about to fall down!

Thanks all. I’ve read the articles on the linked heritage house website and feel a lot more confident.

Now all I need is for confirmation that it is connected to foul water drainage (see other thread ) and I can get on with the move

I wouldn’t worry too much, we have just sold our house and had exactly the same “possible damp” phrase leading to a survey which led to work needing to be done (on the house we owned at the time). We actually covered the cost of the work ourselves rather than the buyer, but we were able to negotiate the cost down from £5k to £2.5k because we hired them initially. The “damp” wasn’t visible and I’m sure if we hadn’t moved it would never have been a problem, so as long as the mortgage company are happy to proceed I’d just budget that you may have to pay for it, but it might never become an issue. If it needs to be resolved before completion then negotiate with the sellers to have them pay for some of the work.

It's important to find out where the damp is coming from and how much it cost to repair.
We bought one with high damp meter reading on the walls but the walls "looked" ok. I thought I only needed to do small fix work on the roof to solve the issue. After stripping off 4 layers of wallpaper and paint. the walls have big damp patches and cracked badly. It turns out I need to replace the gutters, fix the roof and replace the windows immediately in order to solve the damp issue.