monkfish79 wrote:

Hi,
I've just had a specialist survey done on a flat (built circa 1890)
that my Fiancee and I are trying to buy. He came back to me with;

1) An "active" infestation of woodworm in the roof and floorboards
2) Damp behind a sealed up chimney
3) Damp in a window frame
4) Wet Rot in the bathroom, which they'll need to take the bath out to
fix.

He quoted me £2800 to fix all of this in a 1er, but how much of this
could I deal with myself (I'm o.k. at D.I.Y., but more tenacious than
skilled....), and which points are likely to stop the mortgage going
through? I would imagine that if there are woodworm, the mortgage
company won't be too happy, so he quoted me a grand for that.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated,
cheers,
Jon

the damp issues are quite doable, assuming theyre genuine.

Woodworm, I'm just aware that most 1890 properties wll have some
woodworm damage, and its rarely active worm. However treatment
companies like to do business regardless, so I'd take a look at that
myself to check if the visual evidence really does say its active.

Most diagnoses of damp in old buildings are false, so again I'd seek to
confirm before doing work. I would also be wary of proposed damp repair
works in that a high percentage are inappropriate.


NT