Buying a house with damp and mould

mkdon

Hi all,

in a situaion where potentially buying house that survey stated to have damp and mould.

It has been sitting empty for at least 6 months so this is possibly the reason...

Is this a dealbreaker/ crazy expensive to resolve?

i am sure many whom bought second hand houses have similar issue- any advice appreciated.....

Samuel T. Cogley

It'll depend on the reason. Is something blocking the damp course? For example have they paved up to it and above it.

mkdon

how would i find out such details? i just got a survey done....

Samuel T. Cogley

It should be covered in the survey. If not have a word with the surveyor and see if he can shed any light on why there is damp.

mkdon

thanks - in terms of resolving dampness / mould though generally what are typical costs or should i abort?

Samuel T. Cogley

mkdon wrote: »

thanks - in terms of resolving dampness / mould though generally what are typical costs or should i abort?

It would depend on whats causing it but regardless I'm afraid I've not a clue. Some of the denizens of this forum are in the industry I'm sure someone will be able to throw some ball park figures in.

Get Real

This would be a deal breaker for me, depending on the survey. If survey indicates mould, but explains type and that it can be rectified with simple measures (eg, mould on single pane window frames)

If it's a deeper problem/visible, no way would I touch it.

I viewed a house that had been touched up for viewing. But open the wardrobes, mould at the back of them, paint chipping away, mould behind it etc.

If it's so affected that the mould is deep in the walls and so on, don't touch it. Not only from a financial viewpoint of fixing it (you never will if it's deep deep) but also health wise.

mkdon

thanks guys - has anyone ever treated a house for mould...

Who2

You don’t treat a house for mound, it can be there for a multitude of reasons, if it’s inside around window reveals it’s usually caused by cold bridging due to inadequate insulation or a proper thermal break or it may be that they are old type aluminum, if it’s on the bathroom ceiling it’s probably just a lack of extraction. If it’s rising up from ground level it’s the worst in my mind. Could be no damp course or footpaths higher outside than inside floor level. They are usually the expensive ones to fix.

Where is the mould?

(and for the love of god, don't say "in the house") :P

denismc

It would be very hard for anyone here to determine how bad the mould situation is without seeing the house.
Ask whoever did the survey for more details
Do you have any pictures of the house?

Rachiee

I bought a house with mould and damp, the surveyor told me it was due to a need for a bit more felting on the roof at the back of the house and a lack of ventilation in the bathroom.
He said that it was easy to fix and wouldn't be too expensive as I would be able to get a grant.

Boy was he wrong I have had the roof repaired three times and totally removed and replaced once in the last 8 years the issue does not seem resolvable.
Buyer beware and qualifying statements in the survey mean I have no recourse.
my floors, walls, ceiling all seriously damaged what was apparent on the viewing and to the surveyor was just the tip of the iceberg...my advice don't do it, it could be something small but it could be an utter nightmare,

enricoh

What does the surveyor say? Whats the point in paying a surveyor if he cant tell you if its a cheap fix or not.?

MicktheMan

mkdon wrote: »

Hi all,

in a situaion where potentially buying house that survey stated to have damp and mould.

It has been sitting empty for at least 6 months so this is possibly the reason...

Is this a dealbreaker/ crazy expensive to resolve?

i am sure many whom bought second hand houses have similar issue- any advice appreciated.....

OP, any house, and I mean any house no matter how well built, can get mould if the right conditions are allowed to persist. One such condition is where a house is left empty with no heating.

As others have said, go back and talk to your surveyor to understand the nature or probable cause of the problem. Any surveyor worth their salt should be well able to advise. Do you have a pic?

Get Real

I know I posted already, but pics below show how mould can be covered up, and you won't know the full extent of the problem until renovation.

I believe that visible mould anywhere bar windows (as this is quite common and easily solved) is a symptom of a much bigger issue.

Particularly if it's on hollow walls. Whole wall inside could be riddled.

These are just Google images but are a classic example of how bad it can be when you scratch the surface.

beauf

There is superficial mould and there is damp from some construction issue. We have no way of knowing which without some detailed investigation.

Personally I wouldn't touch a house that has damp it will break your heart and bank.

afkasurfjunkie

Remember the episode of room to improve where there was some type of mould or fungus behind the dry lining the the house they were renovating? It was like something out of Stranger Things.

MicktheMan

Get Real wrote: »

I know I posted already, but pics below show how mould can be covered up, and you won't know the full extent of the problem until renovation.

I believe that visible mould anywhere bar windows (as this is quite common and easily solved) is a symptom of a much bigger issue.

Particularly if it's on hollow walls. Whole wall inside could be riddled.

These are just Google images but are a classic example of how bad it can be when you scratch the surface.

beauf wrote: »

There is superficial mould and there is damp from some construction issue. We have no way of knowing which without some detailed investigation.

Personally I wouldn't touch a house that has damp it will break your heart and bank.

afkasurfjunkie wrote: »

Remember the episode of room to improve where there was some type of mould or fungus behind the dry lining the the house they were renovating? It was like something out of Stranger Things.

These posts confirm what I often find when investigating the vast majority of mould issues in houses. That is a general level of ignorance (lack of knowledge and understanding) about the physics at play in most homes. Quite often I am eventually consulted sometimes after decades of trying to fix the problem and wasting money (and often just exasperating the mould problem). I have yet to come across a case of mould where the root cause cannot be identified and sorted resulting in elimination of the problem. And a lot of the solutions are rather simple and inexpensive. However, knowledge is key.
OP, don't let the scare mongering dissuade you - get proper advice.

the_syco

mkdon wrote: »

in a situaion where potentially buying house that survey stated to have damp and mould.

Did you see the mould? If you didn't see the mould, and the surveyor did, ask the surveyor if they think the sellers tried to hide said mould.

beauf

MicktheMan wrote: »

... I have yet to come across a case of mould where the root cause cannot be identified and sorted resulting in elimination of the problem. And a lot of the solutions are rather simple and inexpensive. However, knowledge is key.
OP, don't let the scare mongering dissuade you - get proper advice.

He's been told to get a proper survey and that it may be a simple problem or an expensive one. You're not saying anything different.

Who2

MicktheMan wrote: »

These posts confirm what I often find when investigating the vast majority of mould issues in houses. That is a general level of ignorance (lack of knowledge and understanding) about the physics at play in most homes. Quite often I am eventually consulted sometimes after decades of trying to fix the problem and wasting money (and often just exasperating the mould problem). I have yet to come across a case of mould where the root cause cannot be identified and sorted resulting in elimination of the problem. And a lot of the solutions are rather simple and inexpensive. However, knowledge is key.
OP, don't let the scare mongering dissuade you - get proper advice.

Could you tell me how to fix rising damp in walls with no dpc or how to replace a section of roof inexpensively.

beauf

In our estate there's a known issue with the pitch of the roof being too shallow causing lots of issues.

Cuddlesworth

Who2 wrote: »

Could you tell me how to fix rising damp in walls with no dpc or how to replace a section of roof inexpensively.

Walls can be injected with solutions that give them a DPC.

Most roof repairs are pretty easy. If its 3 repairs and replacement, while still having a issue, then it wasn't the roof.

Damp is simply about finding the source of water ingress, or lack of water egress and stopping it.

beauf

The problem with leaks and damp is they don't always run where you expect. You can have a problem in one corner and it be caused by something in the opposite corner.

It may not even be one problem. It may be a confluence things, that on their own don't cause a problem but together they do.

Wind and rain from an unusual direction, might find a weakness not previously exploited.

mkdon

beauf wrote: »

The problem with leaks and damp is they don't always run where you expect. You can have a problem in one corner and it be caused by something in the opposite corner.

It may not even be one problem. It may be a confluence things, that on their own don't cause a problem but together they do.

Wind and rain from an unusual direction, might find a weakness not previously exploited.

anyone know of any companies that treat mould in houses?
when I get full survey report details I will he looking for quotes.

surely someone has prior experience of treating og various amounts of mould growth?

beauf

With mould my experience has been that it's always been superficial from people's poor ventilation habits. Once cleaned and repainted it never came back after that person left. A handyman or decorator have done it for me.

The only exception where is not superficial is one house where poor ventilation of a shower with no windows it has kept reappearing. That will require a re-thinking of that room. Likely to be done when the whole house is renovated.

That's mould but not damp which is an entirely different issue.

Who2

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Walls can be injected with solutions that give them a DPC.

Most roof repairs are pretty easy. If its 3 repairs and replacement, while still having a issue, then it wasn't the roof.

Damp is simply about finding the source of water ingress, or lack of water egress and stopping it.

Have you any price on getting a standard 3 bed semi injected? Or even opening up a roof? It’s not cheap With damp it can be a multitude of problems that collectively cause it, if they are spending good money why take the chance on buying something that’s not working right, if it’s as a fixer upper then that’s a different story, and even still most will walk away if they have any sense. By the way injecting the walls is a half arsed option as I’ve yet to see it work properly.