Dry Rot

imfml

Looking at a house for sale with some dry rot evident on one level. Not sure how extensive it is, and reluctant to pay for a surveyor if I'll just be outbid again the next day.

Every room in the house needs renovation, so every penny counts. Has anyone had experience trying to rid a house of dry rot, and what advice would you give to someone purchasing a house with it? Cost of treatment per room? And best & worst case scenario? Any other advise?

Thanks

The_Conductor

The one experience of dry rot I've meant we had to gut the house and pretty much redo all the floors and the roof.

You are crazy to even consider bidding without getting a proper survey done- yes, its money- but its a damn sight less money than to proceed without expert advice.

Duckjob

If your serious about the house, then from your questions it sounds like a good surveyor is exactly the person your questions should be directed to.

Personally, if I were in your shoes, and I knew the problem was there, I'd sooner pay €500-€1000 to a surveyor to get the detailed lowdown on the extent of the problem, rather than try to punt it and have it cost me 10s of €€€€ later on when the sale had gone thru.

imfml

Thanks for your replies. I suppose another way of asking what I'm getting at is.., if I was to go sale agreed before then having the house surveyed, (so survey after sale agreed but before completing the purchase), how likely would you be to find dry rot in rooms where it isn't evident yet, but where you test for it as it is already in another part of the house? What would the cost be to treat each medium sized room?

If I was to have spent €500-€1000 on a survey for each house I've bid on in the last 12 months but eventually been outbid on, I'd quickly be loosing my deposit. Surely it is common for people to go sale agreed before a full survey anyway.

The_Conductor

imfml wrote: »

Surely it is common for people to go sale agreed before a full survey anyway.

No- it isn't.

If there is any doubt at all- you get a survey done.
Unfortunately we don't have the same laws as in the UK- where the seller has to furnish a survey to all prospective purchasers.

You would be insane to go sale agreed on this property without a professional survey.

Also- if its only costing you 50-100, you are most certainly not getting a proper survey done.

tara73

question: why would you consider buying a house infected with dry rot?

dry rot is a serious issue when found in a building and often spreads out through the whole structural wood construction. it almost always takes a lot of effort (and costs!) to get rid of the whole mycelia.
read up about it.
plenty of other choices on properties these days, so no need to buy a house with dry rot, or what is the advantage of the house that you consider buying it including this damage?

imfml

tara73 wrote: »

question: why would you consider buying a house infected with dry rot?

I am looking to buy a large house in an area without too many houses on the market at the moment. This house is in a good location, and is very affordable due to the dry rot problem and work it needs. I am happy to do the work over many years, but not to leave the dry rot. Everyone fears dry rot - this makes the house a risk, but good value. I suppose the surveyor is the only one who can show you where the lines meet!

Trust me, I have done my research on the issue, but now looking to hear peoples experiences with treating it.

pwurple

Unless you have the ability to tackle it yourself, then you must resort to professional advice.

Get a dry rot specialist to take a look and quote for it, or say what survey is needed. Multipy that quote by two.

It's a piece of string situation... It depends on the structure of the house, and the extent of the problem. You might end up replacing some structural joists, or it might just be cosmetic. None of us can tell over the magic of the internet.

If you are happy with the location, size and price of the house, and you really would love to buy it, except for that pesky rot... then get a survey done as everyone here has advised, or at least arrange a viewing and bring a dry rot person to take a look. It may be good news.

If you are only interested because it's a potential quick buck, and you are trying to pull a fast one, then I'd say stay away. My parents house had bad dry rot and the job kept getting bigger. They ended up reroofing the whole house, we were living under drippy tarp ceilings for a while.