We are amidst buying a 90 year old house and have just received the builders report. Second report as he couldnt access all the home the first time around and we had to send him back with some concerns we had. Second time around he actually addresses most of these concerns.
Could someone read this for me and I would appreciate any advice we can get. The structural report needs to be passed by us prior to the finance proceeding.
Our concerns were a dodgy kitchen window done by current owners ( denyiong all knowledge of it but they did do it )......where they stacked some bricks onto the original sill and lathered it with cement, removed original sash windows, propped an aluminium window on top of their brick cr*p and cemented everything all over and up to the woodwork. Inside there is no double skin of bricks but a thin piece of ply which has some kitchen tiles stuck to it. You can push this back and forth with one finger. Chances are high the weather will get in here if it hasnt already. Other concerns were some floor movement and apparent dropped stumps.
Anyone who knows about thias kind of thing......I would be happy to hear from.
We do want the house, but is this a bargaining tool for some reduction of agreed price ?
Does this report constitute a pass or failure from the aspect of a structural report ?

Report........

1. External walls:
The face brick external walls appeared sound and in good order for the age of. There are settlement cracks to the garage external wall with a degree of weathering mortar. In my opinion these issues are minor and would not be considered a serious structural defect.      

2. Internal walls:
The brick plastered internal walls appeared structurally sound with no visible serious defect.     

3. Ceiling & or wall lining:
The lathe and plaster ceilings appeared in good order overall for the age of. The plaster is mostly still keyed to the lathes. The plaster board sections appeared adequate with out serious defect.      

4. Roof structure:
The timber framed roof structure appeared sound and in good order. The small courtyard roof structure has been built as a temporary cover although reasonable sound.

5. Roof:
The original section showed the need to replace the roof sheets that haven’t already been replaced. Work has been done to replace about a third of the roof. The roof to the additions albeit quite old now, appeared adequate with normal maintenance.     

6. Wet areas:
These appeared functional with maintenance required.      

7. Subfloor:
The access to the sub floor is limited due to the inspection holes being nailed shut. Under the front veranda it is possible to see into one section which showed the floor structure to be sitting on brick piers. With this in mind and the floor levels good and firm it would logical to conclude that the floor structure is sound.     

8. Other:
1.The veranda floor requires repairs to the rotten floor boards. Suggest replace these boards as required. May be able to replace just the rotted sections.
2.The front lean to carport is poorly built and in need of replacement/repair.
3.No insulation fitted.
4.The kitchen window has been installed quite poorly. The window is the wrong height and brick work has been installed on the old timber window sill to fill the gap. I suggest a new window should be fitted here.     



General comments:
The home appeared in good order overall. There are maintenance issues but I would consider these as general maintenance rather than significant structural defects.     


0312

Amendment to the original report to take into account better access to the sub floor. It should be read in conjunction with the original report.     


The access hole under the veranda led to a view of most of the home, the only section that is to low and the access hole to small is the bedroom area behind the kitchen.
Sub Floor:
The home sits on brick piers which for the most part appeared sound. However there is one dislodged pier under the floor near the front left bedroom coming in from XXXXX Street. Also as you more along the same side there is bearer that has inadequate seating on a section of brick wall; it has dropped with the result being that a joist is floating here. Both these issues are quite easy to see for future repair. The rear left bedroom; I removed the flooring access to the rear left corner. The ground level here is as high as the floor plate and even touched the joists. It becomes less of an issue as it went towards the centre of the home. However the plate has rot to the area nearest the access hole; also the joists have been damaged to a degree here in this area. I can’t see beyond the access point with any great confidence. I recommend that a section of floor be lifted here to fix the small section of plate and make good the joists and repair finally the flooring. The small pantry in this area appears to have some rot to the floor boards not unlike there may have been a leak here for some time. The only way to be sure here is to lift the floor boards here to see if the joists are sound. Overall though the sub floor to the main area appeared dry and in good order for the age of; no doubt there will still be chocking of bearers and joists to take out any excessive movement.
The veranda area showed 1 stump under the corner beam that should be replaced. It is on the lesser end of important as the actual beam can span from the house to the veranda edge without added support. However it is there and has rotted at ground level so replacement is required. The veranda bearers run from the house to the outer brick wall of the veranda and as such have no stumps. As mentioned previously the floor of the veranda needs attention to the rotting and weathering timber; when this is done it would be the best time to secure the end asbestos clad wall to the wall and floor joists. Technically this wall will need structural repair but should be done in conjunction with the flooring repairs. It is logical that any loose veranda posts and railings will be attached as part of the flooring repairs as several do need attachment at the base. The front joist will often have a degree of rot.

Other:
1.The left corner of the house on the XXXX St, side does show settlement more than the rest of the home. The cracks above the window externally suggest this as well as repaired cracks internally. The cracks do not run to base. There did not appear to be any cracks of a serious nature to the left boundary side so it could be a combination of settlement and movement away from the home. The down pipe discharge here would not help as this will soften the clay type soil. I did not think it is to the point that underpinning is required. But I would suggest that this corner and in fact this side be kept dry as possible with down pipe discharge taken away from the homes foundations.
2.The front left corner of the veranda here as well shows similar settlement with the front beam of the veranda showing down ward deflection. This drop to the veranda beam could be raised off the brick wall when or if the veranda floor is fixed.




0312


3. The kitchen window will need to be fixed. It’s not just a matter of repair as the kitchen bench height will limit the height of the new window. I suggest that the widow sill be cut off and reinserted at the correct height with brick work coming up from the outside and inside as if the wall is continuing up. There is no problem with raising damp and mortar it’s just that the outside brick and the internal brick need to separated and the new sill be flashed when installed. Doing this will give something solid for the internal tiles to sit on. Once this is done then a new window can be fitted. If this method is chosen then a carpenter cuts the sill etc and the brick layer only has to lay a couple of courses, this means the external brick sill will be made higher. Of course a hole new window and frame could be fitted to the right height but the brick work will still need to be done properly with the old frame being totally removed.
4. Rising damp: the home does have a layer of damp course. I did not see any raising damp associated with ground moisture with the exception of the bathroom area. The pantry did show some rot to the floor but no evidence of rising damp to the walls here or in the bedroom that would be of concern. Just need to make sure that the ground level is well below the timber structure.
5. The bathroom does show a rising damp issue but appears more associated with an external source other than typical rising damp. May need investigate plumbing, the widows above incase water is coming down a cavity, the shower may have caused a section or could be simply related to how much water is used for cleaning , hosing down etc; no serious damage appears to have been caused.


Structural comments:
Most of the section of the sub floor would relate to structural issues to varying degrees. The section other items 1,2&3 should be considered structural issues.


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