Morning all,

Ive just had the pre-lim report back from a building survey on a 2 bed
semi from 1880 im buying. All in all its ok with the house being
structually sound, however, there is one thing of note and i would
appreciate some help in understanding what the following actually
means..

"Other points relate to the dampness and the floor. The property has
excessive moisture levels throughout. The ground floor is suspended
timber. It is also excessively 'springy'. These two factors together
are rather worrying and deserve further investigation. There is a
bridged dpc and inadequate sub-floor ventilation. All of this
together is unacceptable. Worst case scenerio is a severe hidden
timber decay such as dry rot. If nothing else, the floor needs
strengthening to take out the spring. The only way to answer this is
to have a few sections up and expose it. You should get this done.
The walls will require damp-proofing. You should obtain quotations
from one of the specialist timber treatment and damp-proofing
companies"

I understand that the survey report will be forthcoming and will
explain in more detail, but i just wanted to see if anybody could give
a real life slant on the above.


many thanks

druncula wrote:
Morning all,

Ive just had the pre-lim report back from a building survey on a 2 bed
semi from 1880 im buying. All in all its ok with the house being
structually sound, however, there is one thing of note and i would
appreciate some help in understanding what the following actually
means..

"Other points relate to the dampness and the floor. The property has
excessive moisture levels throughout. The ground floor is suspended
timber. It is also excessively 'springy'. These two factors together
are rather worrying and deserve further investigation. There is a
bridged dpc and inadequate sub-floor ventilation.

Both are usually pretty easy to correct. At worst you might need a
couple of extra air bricks


All of this
together is unacceptable. Worst case scenerio is a severe hidden
timber decay such as dry rot. If nothing else, the floor needs
strengthening to take out the spring. The only way to answer this is
to have a few sections up and expose it.

Not too difficult. You may need to replace some joists.

You should get this done.
The walls will require damp-proofing.


Almost certainly not if you deal with the bridged dpc and ventilation
issues.

You should obtain quotations
from one of the specialist timber treatment and damp-proofing
companies"

I understand that the survey report will be forthcoming and will
explain in more detail, but i just wanted to see if anybody could give
a real life slant on the above.

Surveyors have a "thing" about damp proofing, which is often an
expensive waste of time. Sort the basics out and it will probably be
unnecessary.
Still, if you can knock a few quid off the asking price, the surveyor
will consider he's done his job.

Many Thanks Stuart! helped put my mind at rest.


Cheers John

Stuart Noble wrote:


Surveyors have a "thing" about damp proofing, which is often an
expensive waste of time. Sort the basics out and it will probably be
unnecessary.
Still, if you can knock a few quid off the asking price, the surveyor
will consider he's done his job.

I think that is fair comment.

At the least ..you might decide to go further and go for a solid
insulated floor.

Thanks for the replies guys,

Owain in response to your questions ill try and answer as best i can.


Surveyor used a damp meter. They're useless. Is the property
unoccupied/unheated?

The property is occupied by an old boy - 83 who is off to a home, he
has old ali double glazing which i did notice condensation in the
frames, and he has had the heating on to the max every time i have
been in there


Unless there's a basement, there won't be too far to fall if the floor
does give way. Probably one of the dwarf walls the joists sit on has
lost a bit of mortar and needs packing up.

Thats true, didnt think of it like that!


There is a bridged dpc

Bridged with what, and can you remove it?

Not got a clue! will find out when the survey arrives "proper"


and inadequate sub-floor ventilation.

Airbricks.

There are already 2 out the front of the property, but going by the
fashion for pebbledash on the road i would guess they are not the most
effective airbricks.



Can you smell rot?

Nope, just an old boy!

Again, thanks for the replies, it has helped.

On 27 Mar, 04:42, "druncula" wrote:

Morning all,

Ive just had the pre-lim report back from a building survey on a 2 bed
semi from 1880 im buying. All in all its ok with the house being
structually sound, however, there is one thing of note and i would
appreciate some help in understanding what the following actually
means..

"Other points relate to the dampness and the floor. The property has
excessive moisture levels throughout. The ground floor is suspended
timber. It is also excessively 'springy'. These two factors together
are rather worrying and deserve further investigation. There is a
bridged dpc and inadequate sub-floor ventilation. All of this
together is unacceptable. Worst case scenerio is a severe hidden
timber decay such as dry rot. If nothing else, the floor needs
strengthening to take out the spring. The only way to answer this is
to have a few sections up and expose it. You should get this done.
The walls will require damp-proofing. You should obtain quotations
from one of the specialist timber treatment and damp-proofing
companies"

I understand that the survey report will be forthcoming and will
explain in more detail, but i just wanted to see if anybody could give
a real life slant on the above.

many thanks

There is some in there that is bad advice, damp is routinely false
positive diagnosed by surveyors, and in a property of that age they
dont normally have a dpc, nor need one.

So I would take it with a pinch of salt.

However, the problem described is one that is sometimes found in old
properties, and as correctly stated, if its as bad as it could be, a
whole new floor structure might be needed. IOW it would be nice to
know for real, instead of what is a questionable diagnosis and
questionable recommendations.

Re excessive moisture, this is not unusual for old builds and can be
corrected in many ways, all of which have nowt to do with dpcs and
self-proclaimed damp treatment specialists. For more info these are
the ones to ask:
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...18275ac5 cd5d


NT

On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:42:52 -0700, druncula wrote:

Morning all,

Ive just had the pre-lim report back from a building survey on a 2 bed
semi from 1880 im buying. All in all its ok with the house being
structually sound, however, there is one thing of note and i would
appreciate some help in understanding what the following actually means..

"Other points relate to the dampness and the floor. The property has
excessive moisture levels throughout. The ground floor is suspended
timber. It is also excessively 'springy'. These two factors together are
rather worrying and deserve further investigation. There is a bridged dpc
and inadequate sub-floor ventilation. All of this together is
unacceptable. Worst case scenerio is a severe hidden timber decay such
as dry rot. If nothing else, the floor needs strengthening to take out
the spring. The only way to answer this is to have a few sections up and
expose it. You should get this done. The walls will require
damp-proofing. You should obtain quotations from one of the specialist
timber treatment and damp-proofing companies"

I understand that the survey report will be forthcoming and will explain
in more detail, but i just wanted to see if anybody could give a real life
slant on the above.


many thanks

===============================
You might find that that missing window bay (your previous post) has
something to do with the damp. It's possible that airbricks were removed
when the bay was removed.

Cic.

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