Help calm me. House buying and selling stress

oh yes daily shower cleaner spray is wonderful, I use the one by method.

I was watching youtube, saw a video by ecobubl, about the installation of air source instead of combi. Oh my goodness, what a faff and impossible for most. She was doing a survey for a customer. The unit is large, it needs a tank and other devices indoors, it needs bigger radiators and lots more piping under floors. It also needs wiring underfloors from one room to another. The pump outside uses lots of water and needs drainage. No way on earth will most people be able to have one and nor will they want one with the disruption that goes with it.

karmalady, agree about those heat source thingies. Only really suitable for putting in new builds. Wonder how many are at present. Absolutely not suitable (at present) in flats, small houses, etc. etc. Of course, we can expect the technology on these to improve over time.

It is all very well for government to state that no new gas combi boilers will be permitted to installed within very few years. They have not provided any realistic alternatives. So, I really do expect that combi boilers will continue for quite sometime yet.

Any such changes should start with strict rules on 'new-builds'. ALL should have solar panels in them, ALL should have heat pump heating, etc. ALL should have good insulation. None should be built on flood plains!! It needs to be a slow, careful change over to more green energy usage in our homes, not the knee-jerk reaction that this government is doing.

My daughter's friend moved into a comparatively new house which had a heat pump installed as part of the build. Probably the house is about 6 years old now so was built with all the required insulation. It is a town house with 3 floors and she fails to get warm in any room. The girl is in her thirties and is in good health.
We live on the coast in South West Wales which is quite a lot warmer in the winter than other parts of the U.K.
I could not live in such a property, I feel the cold as I have a under active thyroid and am on blood thinners. If I am still around, I intend to buy a new combi boiler just before they stop being installed. I live in a house which is 7 years old and is well insulated,

I looked at 2 houses with heat pumps, one was an almost-finished new build and the heat pump was below the main bedroom window. Imagine hearing that noise and clunks, like a fridge, all night long through an open window. The other was over-priced and the heat pump was an ugly big rust-marked unit visible from the front gate

The heat exchange is very poor, so how are people supposed to top up their heat to a comfortable level? By using electricity which is also required to stop the water in the units freezing in winter. Electricity bills will be high

Trouble is that soon future new builds will have to have heat pumps, my builder is building his next (expensive) houses with heat pumps instead of combis

I'm still battling with my rotten floor investigations.

Look at the difference in the clearance behind the airbricks. I used a 12" barbecue skewer and poked it in, couldn't lie flat on my stomach to 'look' as it's teeing down.

Sorry, should have said scored areas are concrete. I don't think the builder has vented through, unfortunately, where I've put 6" I am hitting something that feels like concrete

your builder shandy or previous work? Cowboy work to give the impression of a vent to the unsuspecting. Seems as though the soft side could be cleared and a low retainer used to keep soft back from the floor. Can you scrape away after on the other side of a 6" hard, to explore.

The extension was built in 2002, and retrospective planning approved in 2007. I think you are right, the airbricks are just for show.

Not sure how to get to the 'inside' of the concrete floor airbricks? Should I take the skirting board off?

Just back in from digging the gravel away from underneath one of the airbricks, about six inches deep, really wet with worms as well, and there is a black weed proof liner at the base.

Wish I was going on a cruise and someone would sort this whilst I'm aboard!

on the positive side, that is one airbrick sorted

Re the concrete, the airbrick might well be a a cover, rather than a proper brick. If it is, see if you can take the cover off, then look inside with a torch. If it is an actual brick you will need a strong light to see through the holes. Only 6" so I think you would see the grey concrete. I think it may be lower than the skirting as it is meant to ventilate the flooring.

If there is a gas fire in that room, it might be a room air brick. Have a look at any gas safe papers that you have

As it concerns the extension, building control will have needed to inspect the works, again dig out any paperwork, including submitted plans. Your solicitor will have asked for plans etc the airbricks will be on the drawings

The black fabric might be a damproof course. Is it on a firm layer, such as bricks, with more bricks on top of the fabric? No earth, soil or gravel should touch the house wall above the damp proof membrane

I was only in here two days and know about builders being careless. First thing I did was to clear every single hole in every airbrick and my front border slopes down a bit towards the house, I always check that nothing obstructs the airbricks in that area

What I meant about building control, is that everything should have been built according to regulations current at that time and it would have been signed off if control was satisfied

oh no, I just read it again. It was built without building control. So scrutinise the planning application drawings.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2360323/few-survey-questions

Have a look at David Aldreds post, it is very comprehensive about airbricks. It will add to your personal knowledge. The ones by the concrete could well be periscope shaped and you would hit the side at about 6",

There is a picture of a periscope vent on this link
job-prices.co.uk/air-bricks/

Thank you karmalady, perhaps they are periscopes. I'm finding it a bit overwhelming.

The back of the extension doesn't have a damp proof course. It is completely surrounded by a thick layer of gravel. There is a 'grey brick' at ground level, then a brick with an airbrick above it. I think it is earth underneath the black membrane but I was using my stew ladle, I couldn't find my trowel.

Tomorrow I'll cut the carpet, clean the mould off the chipboard, and hopefully my surveyor will contact me and come and cut big enough hatches to look right under the floor. I don't understand why the damp/timber man didn't do this, he only cut a very small hole, with great difficulty.

shandy, its overwhelming. That video on the last link is very informative and interesting, so much so that I have sent it to my 3. It is so easy not to appreciate that air vents can be a conduit for water and muck to run under the floor, to cause horrendous issues with damp and rot. Just the top half of a vent showing means that there could well be water etc getting in. So many paths etc built around houses, half covering air vents. I would have thought a surveyor would have picked this airvent problem up

I like that man in the video, I wish he could come here!

I've just looked at the 'approved' planning permission. Unfortunately now I've looked at the plan again, I realise it was the plan sent out for tender, not the actual work that was completed. The builder isn't mentioned at all, just the address.

I've hit a brick wall! Having a break from it now, thanks for all your help

So as far as I can work out: the concrete subfloor under the extension does not need air vents. The rest of the property subfloor needs a flow through of air ventilation to prevent rotting and mould. Ducts are normally put under the concrete so that air can freely flow through from the initial subfloor front and out on the back concrete side. I think the 6" airbricks may well be the outlets for those ducts and should have worked if there had been due care of the initial timber subfloor vents wrt maintenance

The flowthrough in the original timber subfloor was completely obstructed through lack of care and maintenance of the original airbricks. I feel that this may be the root cause of the problem. Just people not knowing that they needed to be kept clear. I have to be honest, I think I would consider getting a concrete subfloor rather than timber, you could do without all that worry about timber and airflow in the future

I am pretty sure that I have air vents in a concrete suspended subfloor because I am in a radon (low) area, to prevent build up of the gas. I have the bit between my teeth now and am going to research my own property tomorrow

Just about to go to bed and realise how ridiculous this is, I've become embroiled in it because the professional didn't cut a big enough hatch to have a look under the floor. He could have told me then if the concrete floor was ducted. What am I doing poking sticks through airbricks! If the concrete floor isn't ducted to the airbricks, then I don't have an airflow front to back. Simples!

yes shandy I feel that the professionals have let you down. I believe you will not need ducts if you get a concrete subfloor. You need to be able to draw a line under this in the future and a timber subfloor will always be a niggling `what if`.

I think you are a step closer to clarification and remedy. It has been another stressful day and evening for you but the end is in sight and your mind is making sense of the root cause of it all. I take that as a good step in the right direction

Thanks karmalady. I could hardly sleep and then we had a torrential window bashing hail storm, I could also hear it on the roof. Looking out the window it's coming again, ominous grey clouds. Large hailstones still on roofs and the ground in places this morning.

I have asked the original bungalow surveyor, who helped me as a 'friend' with the roof and wouldn't accept payment from me, to oversee the floor replacement.

The damp/timber surveyor that came said they don't do concrete, but I'd be better off with it, and he went into some technical detail.

I asked my surveyor to ring him and discuss it and said I would accept his recommendation. He has come back recommending timber with a drain and said concrete will be triple the price and very disruptive/messy. I was hoping the builder that did the roof would be able to do the concrete.

I think I will ask him to get a quote for concrete. I then have to weigh up spending £11K v a possible £36K. In addition to the floor price I have to add the cost of having the fitted wardrobe/cupboard/shower cubicle removed, a storage unit for all my furniture and possessions, hotel/airbnb accommodation and possibly kennel/cattery costs. Neighbours have told me the previous owner moved out when she had the floors done.

Definitely the 'what if' situation, and I am wondering what my husband would have done.

I am thinking of the future and my children selling it when I've gone, or because I have had to go into a home.

Have a good day everyone

Many professionals have no clue about being a widow, getting older and future proofing for oneself to make life easier into old age Why would they know. If you can scrape the money together, get whatever your gut feeling is telling you. Get it over with once and for all.

I am understanding now why so many new builds have concrete subfloors and why my dd`s 70s house, built as a one-off for a businesswoman, has a concrete floor

it is incredibly hard dealing with all this on your own

I know you think the best of people shandy but in my heart of hearts, your surveyor should not have missed all this, at the very least, he should have checked the airbricks and gone right around with a damp meter. He owes you, he is not helping out of the goodness of his heart but, I think, because he has been negligent

karmalady

I know you think the best of people shandy but in my heart of hearts, your surveyor should not have missed all this, at the very least, he should have checked the airbricks and gone right around with a damp meter. He owes you, he is not helping out of the goodness of his heart but, I think, because he has been negligent

I totally agree with Karma lady shandy… really feel for you going through all this, it’s really not right…???????

Shandy as you know my bungalow has concrete floors throughout. I love them. No creaking floor boards no worry about any sort of rot. I told you my friend had a choice of floor boards or concrete for her extension she choose concrete and as the extension would join the kitchen had the floors removed and the whole lot concrete. She was out of her home for 5 days and had to put the cats in the cattery. But she said it was well worth the money for peace of mind. One less thing to worry about as she gets older.

Concrete flooring isn't cold infact I think it is warmer than timber. Have a thick underlay under my carpets. And best quality carpet I could afford which has 15 year guarantee. Tiles on my shower room floor and Karndean in the kitchen and hall .

Like Karma has said your surveyor should not have missed the air bricks and gone round with damp meter. I know how comprehensive my surveyors report was so I knew exactly what needed doing from the start.

I know you want to travel but think you should put that money into having concrete flooring. You are only a year or two older than me and hopefully we both have another 20 years on this earth. So you have plenty of time to travel in the future.

I know I have spent a awful lot on my bungalow but I have it exactly as I want it. I haven't had a holiday since 2005 and only had one then because I promised my husband. Get my state pension in just over 2 years and had my forecast yesterday and was happy to see it was more than I thought but in 2017 did pay an extra 10 years NI. Only then will I think about going on holiday. As it is my only pension.

You have some hard thinking to do. Might help writing a list of pros and cons . ?

Thank you for all your comments, so kind of you to bother.

You are so lucky to already have concrete Whiff. I googled for people in my area that do it and found nada/zero/zilch! It's one of the things that frustrates me about living here after London, our facilities are lacking because of the county's low population.

I hope you don't have too much snow wherever you are, it's baltic here and keeps hailing/sleety raining.

I've just popped in to say my surveyor is going to come round tomorrow afternoon when he returns from a site. I've just finished cutting the carpets up, and attempted to clean the mould off the underlay/chipboard - it's like a job the devil would invent. More on me than the kitchen towel, and my hand hurts from continuously squeezing the white vinegar bottle. Also my dog barks every squeeze I've done half and given up, a fruitless task, and found two pairs of rubber gloves instead.

So excited my Anne Tyler book has come, 'French Braid'. I'm just going to relax until the next dog walk now.