House Surveyer

Hey Owen, congratulations on your new home. Few teething problems I see.

The smell might have seeped right into the cement screed under the sink area. If it doesn't go away you might be as well off to break out that piece and re lay it.

Get the area dried out completely and work out if you have a damp problem. Are you sure the smell is not coming in from a drain outside? I think I see the sink overflow externally is going right down to the drain outside. Get on your knees and stick your nose down to that drain.

Hi lads, thanks for the replies.

Well. I've had a busy morning. I sent a stinker of an email to the surveyor and he immediately got back and refunded his fee. An admission of guilt of sorts. When things settle down I'll consider taking him to court but at the end of the day we still would have wanted the house and would have tried to bring the price down but some other mug would have bought it instead.

Had the plumber / boiler guy round. He's about 30 and a proper gem. His uncle used to swap football cards with my dad is school in the 1950's. Anyway, long story short, providing his quote is not daft, we are ripping out the old boiler and hot water tank (yep both are in the tiny kitchen) and putting a new combi boiler in upstairs. As soon as possible we are ripping out the kitchen from top to toe. I'm going to strip the tiles and bring it all back to it's shell and figure out what is the issue.

Good point about damp and the drains. The whole setup is an insult to plumbers everywhere. The suspicion is that there are a number of things at play at the same time. Once everything is cleaned and sealed etc things might be better. Gonna have to check the damp proof course and get a builder to do work in the front of that wall and put proper connectors through the wall.

I hope it does not come to removing the concrete floor. I really don't want that.

I was onto my uncle who did pest extermination for 20 years. He's says rentokill are lazy and cynical. Anyway, he gave me a great tip to tell if you have rats or mice and whetehrer you have a rat or a mouse.

Get small little brand new small zip lock bags. The sort you'd get screws in etc. put a marble or pebble with a good dollop of peanut butter in the bag and seal it. Put a smear of peanut butter on the out side. Make up 10 or more bags and hide them whereever a mouse might be hanging out. In the attic, behind the kitchen sink, under the bath, in the hot press. etc. etc. Leave for 48 hours. Check bags. If any nicks or tears, you have a mouse. If the bag is gone you have a rat. The logic being a mouse will not be able to move it far but the rat will take it and eat it elsewhere. Said it never let him down! Genius! If those bags are in perfect condition and undisturbed, there are no rodents. Peanut butter does not go off in a bad way either so you can leave them down for a week if you choose!

ANyway the fun is only starting but as was said to me, any damp getting in will be reactivating the mouse urine smell. So that seems as good a place to start as any. The joys of home ownership.

Busy day. Electrican came over. We are going to have to change the fuse box. He said on a scale of 1-10 on the danger scale it's an 8. Whole list of other stuff. Immersion so corroded it has to be replaced. Cooker wire was obviously borked for years. The cooker had tripped the switch so often that it has worn our the breaker. a broken breaker says it all really. Light switches screwed in with wood screws and the rest that is too boring to type.

So, my take is the surveryor was negligent. The estate agent who also was the rental property manager let the tenants live in dangerous conditions and the owner was a tight bastard who wouldn't pay to do simple stuff but paid a fortune to stage the house for sale with full repaint and fancy soap. SOB over and out.

Having a house is the craic. Leaving aside the expense, I get to remove all manner of old stuff with violence. It’s quite therapeutic.


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I think they call the a 'do'er upper'

Sounds like there was always going to be a lot of work required, I guess the ££'s is the difference between what you imagined needed doing and what you have found need going.

Once finished it will be the way you want it, and not a blend of inherited compromise.

Location location etc.

I’ll be past retirement by the stage it’s paid off. She however, is much younger

I think the neighbor caught me giving myself a good area scratch yesterday. Blinds have been put up.

Lads, big job happening in the kitchen soon. Ceiling will need to come down. It's an Artex ceiling and fingers crossed it's asbestos free but I've no way of knowing. The internet suggests that after 1984 builders and trades stopped using the asbestos version but with all the building regulation sidestepping that has gone on in this country, I can't trust it and just hope for the best.

Anyone used any of the labs here in ireland? Any idea of costs and turn around time? Thanks.

This crowd are in Dublin and I'll call them in the morning but interested in your personal advice/experience.

https://www.cacl.ie/

I know i could pay someone to rip it out no questions asked but i don’t want asbestos floating around the gaff.

I’ll let you know what that crowd suggest.

Owen, my son bought a house recently and there was an asbestos flue going up to the attic from a gas boiler. The removers did it as a nixer I think. All suited up with respirators etc, pipes were removed very carefully and bagged and sealed. They then re entered his house checking for fibres in the air. They had some sort of gadget that reads levels in air. I think it cost around €800 to include proper disposal of the waste.
Having read your post for the Baldoyle guys I can say that they are "very efficient".

Far side of Atlantic - brother buys an old house - basement had an impressive array of heating pipes clad in an even more impressive amount of flaking asbestos lagging. He priced professional certified remediation - big big pile of $. I was about anyhow - he got the suits & masks - gently sprinkled water in the basement for days - double bagged the evil stuff & it is buried deep in the labelled bags. I got a few pints for the job. When do I start @ your place?.
P.S. he told me that the disease has a 40 year gestation & as a man >60 what is there to worry about.

luke scott said:

Owen, my son bought a house recently and there was an asbestos flue going up to the attic from a gas boiler. The removers did it as a nixer I think. All suited up with respirators etc, pipes were removed very carefully and bagged and sealed. They then re entered his house checking for fibres in the air. They had some sort of gadget that reads levels in air. I think it cost around €800 to include proper disposal of the waste.
Having read your post for the Baldoyle guys I can say that they are "very efficient".

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Well they did themselves no favours. I’ll not go into details because i may have misinterpreted our interaction (or lack of it). But i contacted someone else and he is testing a sample for me. Cost around €50. A sixth of what i was initially quoted.

Smelly Old Boots said:

Lads, big job happening in the kitchen soon. Ceiling will need to come down. It's an Artex ceiling and fingers crossed it's asbestos free but I've no way of knowing. The internet suggests that after 1984 builders and trades stopped using the asbestos version but with all the building regulation sidestepping that has gone on in this country, I can't trust it and just hope for the best.

Anyone used any of the labs here in ireland? Any idea of costs and turn around time? Thanks.

This crowd are in Dublin and I'll call them in the morning but interested in your personal advice/experience.

https://www.cacl.ie/

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The danger with asbestos is if it's disturbed. If not disturbed and fibres allowed to float about, there's no danger. It's artex, as opposed to large amounts of lagging on an old heating system to be removed, so simply paint over it or cover it up with a false ceiling in plasterboard and (if necessary) skim.

I'm pretty sure a surveyor or structural engineer would agree with that solution. The folk you link to may say different if they want the business. Maybe there's a biking surveyor or structural engineer over there who can advise?

Sent from my here.

GerryC said:

Far side of Atlantic - brother buys an old house - basement had an impressive array of heating pipes clad in an even more impressive amount of flaking asbestos lagging. He priced professional certified remediation - big big pile of $. I was about anyhow - he got the suits & masks - gently sprinkled water in the basement for days - double bagged the evil stuff & it is buried deep in the labelled bags. I got a few pints for the job. When do I start @ your place?.
P.S. he told me that the disease has a 40 year gestation & as a man >60 what is there to worry about.

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I shall seriously consider that if the results are bad.

You always have a bed here Gerry. Not that i have a spare bed at the moment and sleeping with my missis is not an option

The chap i was talking to was saying that the sort of asbestos in artex, it goes from a 2-4. On a 12 point scale in terms of danger. All to do with it being encapsulated in many layers of paint and it being hard to liberate fibers.

I am inclined to consider doing the job myself but that’s a serious chat.

Results next week

Posh Pete said:

The danger with asbestos is if it's disturbed. If not disturbed and fibres allowed to float about, there's no danger. It's artex, as opposed to large amounts of lagging on an old heating system to be removed, so simply paint over it or cover it up with a false ceiling in plasterboard and (if necessary) skim.

I'm pretty sure a surveyor or structural engineer would agree with that solution. The folk you link to may say different if they want the business. Maybe there's a biking surveyor or structural engineer over there who can advise?

Sent from my here.

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If its got asbestos it’ll be sensible staying put but the kitchen needs a FULL renovation and sparks snd plumbing want it down. Another nuisance.

NO ASBESTOS
Used these guys.

https://www.asbestossafe.ie/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Very efficient turnaround.

One less thing to worry about

Great news. That means your budget may stay on target.

Good stuff Owen, you will get a bit of momentum going after the holidays and plough through it!

any update on your rodent issue

john_aero said:

any update on your rodent issue

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Gone before we got keys. It’s the disgusting state of the place that’s the issue. Well was. I’ve ripped everything out and cleaned it all out. Plumber starting in three weeks.

Budget?!! What’s that?! We have a certain amount before we have to borrow more if that is what you mean

Plumber arriving soon. Sparks next week and plasterer the following week. This will all soon be a distant memory.