Money Pit or Gold Mine? How to survey old houses for renovation. Part 1.

The easy way to tell whether an old house is hiding a multitude of expensive problems is to commission a chartered surveyor to undertake a building report, but at £300-600 a go for a survey you could soon run up a hefty bill if you get a survey on every property you view. By learning to spot the common problems yourself, you can weed out the no-hopers before bringing in the professionals.

HOW TO ASSESS POTENTIAL

Discovering that a property has subsidence, rising damp, dry rot and needs rewiring and replumbing would be pretty scary, but bear in mind that all structural problems can be overcome at a price, so even a total wreck could potentially be a bargain at the right price. Whether a property is a good buy or not, depends on what you have to pay for it, its condition and its potential end value.

Knowing the cost of repairs helps in working out whether you can afford to take on a project, because in some instances the cost of works can be higher than the purchase price.

You can calculate costs by looking at other people’s projects at www.homebuilding.co.uk, by talking to builders, or by consulting a surveyor. You can estimate the end value by talking to local estate agents, by looking at the asking price for similar properties currently on the market, and by noting the actual sales prices achieved in the same postcode area via the Land Registry service (available at www.hmlr.gov.uk).

HOW TO ASSESS A BUILDING’S CONDITION

Start by looking at the property from the outside. Walk around all sides that you can safely access without trespassing. Remember to take a powerful torch, a digital camera, tape measure and a notebook and pencil for drawing and writing notes, plus a dictaphone if you have one to record your comments. Many mobile phones now have a camera, video and digital recording facilities. If possible, take along a ladder to enable closer inspection.

Cracks — When to Worry

Check for an indication of active or dormant structural movement by examining the walls for cracks. You can also look out for signs of movement inside the building, like new cracks in the plasterwork, doorways and walls that are out of square, gaps between the floorboards, doors that stick, and uneven floors.

Individual cracked bricks or stones are unlikely to be a symptom of a larger structural problem. More extensive cracks that are continuous, usually diagonal, are likely to indicate that there is a more serious problem.

The solution to ground movement is often stabilisation, followed by repair. Stabilisation is usually achieved by digging beneath the walls down to stable ground and pouring in concrete foundations, a process known as underpinning. In very poor ground it may be necessary to dig or bore piles into the ground and to cast a reinforced foundation in concrete, called a ring beam, beneath the house. Both solutions are extremely expensive. Quotes for underpinning work will range from £400-600 per linear meter and more for piled systems, however, the cost will depend on the ground conditions.

If the vendor has Buildings Insurance then they may be able to claim for the cost of underpinning work. If you decide to proceed, make sure that this work is done first or get a guarantee from the insurer that they will undertake the work and continue to offer insurance to future owners.

For bowed or leaning walls the structure can be restrained by repairing the roof or introducing steel restraint wires or rods, but if the wall is leaning too much it will need to be rebuilt, and this is a major expense.

If the cracking is localised above a window or door opening, it may be less serious, resulting from a failed lintel or arch rather than ground movement — usually the crack will start directly above the weak point and extend up and outwards at roughly 45° and there should be no cracking below the lintel.

A collapsed drain can lead to settlement and this can result in cracks in walls and collapsed floors (see COLLAPSED DRAINS, below). This can be mistaken for the more serious problem of general subsidence but is a far less serious localised problem. Render is usually applied as a protective or cosmetic finish, or both, and so cracks or general failure are not necessarily indicative of any major structural problem, however, it is worth taking a closer look. Is the wall beneath the structure also cracked, and are there corresponding signs within the building that are consistent with some form of movement?

A hard cement render finish can also present a problem on traditional solid walled buildings (most buildings constructed before 1920) possibly leading to damp. This is because tiny cracks in cement render can draw in water through capillary action, yet the walls cannot dry out naturally because of the hard and impermeable render coat. In this instance the only solution is likely to be to remove all of the cement render, and either to replace it with a ‘breathable’ and more flexible lime based render, or to waterproof the walls on the inside and upgrade ventilation. This is a major job likely to cost £3-4,000.

Fine plaster cracks are commonplace and usually cosmetic, but larger cracks may be indicative of structural movement. Look for corresponding cracks on the other side of the wall. If the whole wall has cracked, the building is suffering from movement. Isolated cracks above window and door frames that do not correspond to cracks elsewhere in the building may simply be a sign of a failed lintel, window or door frame or poorly undertaken improvements. Where plaster cracks appear in walls at either side of a large opening created by knocking two rooms into one, it may be that there is inadequate bearing for the new steel or concrete lintel inserted to bridge the opening. This will require piers to be built to take the load, with the load transferred either onto structural walls or steelwork and eventually down to the ground. If new piers are necessary they will have to sit on new concrete footings. The cost will be £1-2,000.

Cracks in walls above fireplace openings are often caused by the removal of the original fireplace and the lintel or arch that supported the opening. This can be repaired for £4-500.

A more serious problem is where the lower section of a chimney breast has been removed but the upper sections are still in place and not suitably supported. The chimney will have to be removed or supported by gallows brackets.

The Chimney: Look to see if the chimney is straight and stable. If the stack is unstable, it will have to be dismantled and rebuilt. This will cost £400-600 for a standard chimney of around 0.5m-1m including replacement of lead flashings and scaffold.

Leaking chimney flues are quickly and easily checked with a smoke pellet — but do get the vendor’s permission before potentially smoking out the whole of the house. It also makes sense to check that chimneys have not been deliberately blocked or capped as a draft proofing measure. Relining a flue is expensive, at £800-1,000. A less expensive alternative can be to install a woodburning stove with an independent metal flue that can be inserted into the old failed flue.

Roof Problems

Typical roof problems include broken or slipped roof tiles, missing or damaged lead flashing, and underfelt and worn pointing on verges. Take a look at the roof from outside – binoculars can help – and you should be able to spot any missing or broken tiles or slates. If this is the only problem, then replacing and repairing a few tiles or slates is unlikely to cost more than £200-300. However, if there is extensive damage then this cost will escalate. Having an entire roof recovered is an expensive job and there may be damage to the structure.

Take a torch up into the attic with you and inspect the roof structure. If there are signs of damage to the roof timbers, either through fungal or insect attack due to prolonged exposure to damp, structural movement, or inappropriate alterations, it can be a serious and expensive problem to put right.

Look out for gaps between major timbers such as tie beams, rafters, ceiling/floor joists, or bowing walls, all signs that the roof might be spreading. If the spread is not too extensive, an engineer may be able to specify steel ties at eaves level which will prevent further movement. Alternatively it may be possible to stabilise the roof by inserting new tie beams between rafters, or to bolt the rafter feet to new ceiling/floor joists. Depending on the position of the timbers, this may involve stripping the roof covering to remove weight, adding to the cost.

If the damage was due to insect or fungal attack, the damp problem will have to be solved (see TIMBER INFESTATION, below).

Any holes in the roof will be obvious, as daylight will pour through. Check to see if there is under-felt beneath the tiles. If not, then it is not necessarily a problem in a renovation providing the roof covering can be made weather-tight and the loft space insulated at ceiling level, but for a conversion, you will be required to strip the roof, lay under-felt and retile. The alternative is to use a spray-on urethane foam that both adds a waterproof layer and insulates. However, it also sticks the tiles down, making them difficult to replace. Re-roofing costs depend on the roof covering but vary from around £20-30/m2 for concrete tiles up to £80- 100/m2 for stone, assuming 80-90% of the existing roof covering can be salvaged.

Collapsed Drains

If the drains connecting the house to the mains sewer or septic tank have collapsed, it can be expensive. Lifting the inspection covers and monitoring the flow should reveal whether or not the drains are damaged. Drains can be tested by pouring food die into each WC and checking that the die appears at the inspection chamber outside. Using more than one colour can help you identify which soil pipes connect to which drain.

If a drain has been damaged beneath the building for some reason, it will be a more complicated and expensive job. The fault can be identified using cameras fed into the drains.

Timber and Fungal Decay

Damage from Dry Rot: Dry rot destroys timber extremely quickly. Dry rot loves moist, poorly ventilated conditions and is usually found in the roofspace or under floorboards.

Dry rot is easy to identify — the spores send out fungal strands along the timber and along any wall. These strands can become quite dense and form a mass-like cotton wool, penetrating and destroying the timber. The first sign of dry rot is often its musty mushroomy smell. Dry rot requires chemical treatment by a specialist contractor, costing around £1,000. Repair costs for replacing any damage are in addition to this. Solving damp, improving ventilation and installing central heating will eventually kill off dry rot and prevent recurrence.

Damage from Wet Rot: Less of a problem than dry rot, wet rot can still hollow out giant beams. It is basically the timber decaying naturally in the presence of high levels of moisture. Wet rot will attack both softwoods and hardwoods causing a darkening of the timber (brown rot) or bleaching (white rot). Timber suffering from wet rot will feel spongy and look darker than the surrounding timber. When dry, the timber will easily crack and crumble into fine particles.

Conducting strands of wet rot fungi do not extend far from their nutrient wood; hence they cannot travel through masonry and brickwork. The cost of solving wet rot depends on the damage it has caused. Timber surrounding repairs should be treated. The problem will not return if damp problems in the house are resolved and ventilation improved.

Timber Infestation

Woodworm holes found in timber are caused by various species of beetle that feed on wood, especially in damp conditions. The problem can be serious depending on the type of beetle, the extent of the infestation and structural damage.

Chemical treatment costs from £600- £1,000, but many now favour environmental control. Wood boring insects like damp conditions and timber with high moisture content, so eliminating damp, improving ventilation and installing central heating will help. Some lenders may, however, insist on chemical treatment as a condition of mortgage finance. Before opting for chemical treatments, ensure the infestation is still active — look for fresh dust around the boreholes.

Ivy and Climbing Plants

Climbing plants look very attractive but they can also conceal problems beneath. Look to see if growth has got between and underneath roof tiles where it can allow in damp and its associated problems. On stone buildings, or buildings built with soft brick, the tendrils and suckers of the ivy plant can cause damage by letting in moisture which expands in frost conditions causing spalling, so take a look at the conditions of the walls behind the ivy.

The seriousness and cost of repairing the damage will vary, but is likely to involve repointing and replacing cracked or damaged masonry. Prolonged damp may also cause damage to timber throughout the building. Removing the climbing plants should allow any associated damp problem to dry out.

IN PART 2: Investigating damp, how to deal with asbestos, rewiring, installing new central heating, damaged cladding and renovation costs.

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