Surveyors report don’t know what to do now

[Elasticatedwaist]

In the process of buying a 1930s stone built semi. Perfect house and location. Not many come for sale there. Was over the moon as I never thought I’d afford to leave my terraced that I’ve been in 28 years and despite looking haven’t been able (until now ), find a house that ticks the boxes for the budget we have.
The house belongs to an old lady who went into a care home 10 months ago and has stood empty since.
Her son put it on the market recently and accepted our offer a few weeks ago.
At the viewing the house had damp patches and a bit of mould. The estate agent reckoned it was just because it had been empty and unventilated so long . It also needs new kitchen, bathroom, everything really .we can just about afford to get it right and realise it will be quite a bit of work.

But, Now that we’ve had the level 2 survey done they say it has condensation damp AND also most likely penetrating damp aswell. They recommend getting someone in to source the origin of the damp and also get a damp proof course.
We have been advised that the kitchen and the entire downstairs will need to be gutted for the DPC and then we’d have to wait ages for the plaster to dry before we could install a new kitchen etc making it pretty much unliveable for weeks.
We don’t have to option of living somewhere else while we do it up.
I’m really Worried that it’s going to turn out to be a horror story of a damp house with hidden costs and I’m worried that moving into somewhere damp will also be a health hazard as well.
Dh thinks I might be being a bit OTT but I really don’t know what to think.
We’re a bit green when it comes to moving and property and would appreciate advice.
I’m gutted, it was all going so well !

I’d get a specialist damp surveyor (independent- not one that does injectable dpc’s) to try to trace the source of damp first. Has your surveyor said there is no dpc at all?

It could just be that the dpc is bridged somewhere by ground being higher than the dpc causing some damp issues, and could be an easy fix. Could be poorly maintained gutters or some minor repairs to mortar - also easy fixes.

Dpc injections are a bit of a last resort but we did live in a house where it was done and didn’t move out. Smelled like mud for a couple weeks and we ate at a local pub while it dried out but it wasn’t a huge ordeal in hindsight. I think we stayed in a hotel the first night it was done only.

There might not be a dpc. Some houses in the 1930s were not necessarily well built!

I agree to a specialist survey. Is it damp because of leaking pipes/drainage? I would get a pit dug to expose the construction around the damp. Is the dpc covered by soil? What are the foundations like and the areas of hard landscaping/garden around the house? Are they damp too? Is the stone wall showing damage? Is water getting in?

What is the heating like? Could it be minor issues are made worse due to it not being lived in? Definitely get better information.

The report says failed damp proof course. I have another report that the vendor had done before we offered on it. It’s a damp specialist who inspected and said there were high damp readings but can’t ascertain if there is any penetrating damp until the condensation damp has been rectified by heating/ ventilating the place .
Not helpful really as the vendor isn’t interested in doing that and we’d already have had to have bought it and moved on to do it .

Personally I'd be deeply suspicious of any reports of damp/proposed remedies. The industry is stuffed with charatans.
What I'd do is go look at some houses nearby/next door that are similar age/construction (ideally identical) and see if they've had DPC work done, or ask them if they've had any damp issues.

Also, ask them what 'condensation damp' is exactly, in the context of an old unoccupied house, because it sounds like a non-thing.

*in

Remember that surveys give the worst case scenario because they don't want it to come back to them if they miss or underestimate something.

As PP said, get an independent damp survey (not from a company who will benefit from telling you you need to spend thousands to fix it)

We managed to live in a building site for weeks. We moved the telly to a bedroom and spent most of our time upstairs, put the furniture from downstairs into storage and set up a camp kitchen with microwave and gas stove. It is doable but I would have struggled for more than a couple of months!

I’ve only ever lived in old houses and take these damp reports with a heavy pinch of salt. As pp have said the industry is full of charlatans! The house we had injected never had a dpc due to its age. It was totally fine and no mould or signs of damp internally despite higher readings but as we knew we were selling it we had the injections done just to calm down any inexperienced buyers who wanted a bit of paper to say it had been ‘fixed’. We had the entire downstairs done and replastered and lived in it but I guess it’s up to you what you deem liveable

Neither condensation damp nor penetrating damp is usually due to failed damp proof course.

Penetrating damp is caused by usually rotted window frames, broken down pipes etc rather than a failed DPC. If you commissioned a Level 2 or Level 3 survey then the surveyor definitely won’t be a damp specialist.

It’s generally fairly straight forward to see the difference between penetrating and condensation damp, if you know what you’re looking for. You don’t need to wait for it to dry out.

If you do get someone in to investigate, don’t take a “free” survey from a damp proofing company, find someone independent.

Thankyou. I’ve just looked up this damp specialist.
www.dalepointon.co.uk/ ok do you think ?
Hopefully he can help. Will call him tomorrow.

Possibly ok. The PCA is a Trade Association. It’s not RICS. This a the qualification of Chartered Surveyors. If he’s not RICS qualified he’s not a surveyor. However he could know what he’s talking about!

It’s an old house, lived in by an old lady and unoccupied for the best part of a year. It’s bound to have problems. But if it’s your dream home in your dream area and you can afford the repairs, go for it! I’ve lived in4 different houses, all needed new DPC etc when we moved in, lived with no kitchen for weeks, general upheaval, but it’s so worth it when it’s all done.

Please don't get a chemical DPC! Older houses handle moisture differently than modern ones do; the idea isn't to block it out completely, but to let the property breathe. My current 1930s house doesn't have a DPC either, and was highlighted as having multiple damp issues when I moved in. It's all been fixed with a gutter repair, replacing the pointing and taking simple steps like ventilating and heating appropriately. If you're concerned, get a specialist damp survey from someone who understands period properties, it won't be cheap but it'll be a lot cheaper than getting a DPC you don't need,

It’s a 1930s house. It’s not really what one would describe as a period property. It will depend on whether the damp is rising up from the ground or not. The damp can be in the walls for a number of reasons. It should be straightforward enough to find out if it’s rising up from the ground or is located in patches on the walls some way above ground level.

I agree leaking gutters, poor mortar, poor fitting windows and lots of other small issues can lead to damp. As I said earlier, covering up vents with soils and the dpc with soil or something else will lead to damp. So a decent qualified surveyor to look at this will pin point the problem. A 1930s house will be a fairly standard construction and relatively easy to fix and maintain.

THIS is worth a read, not a fan of the PCA.

They are a trade body. Very different to RICS! I would always go for RICS qualified.