8 year old apartments with serious damp issue
Discussion
DeanR32 said:
We have the property managing agents on it for us. We are losing faith in them to be honest. They don't seem to be moving things on quick enough for us, and certain noises they've made have made me question how much he can fight our corner for us
Do you know if they have the buildings insurance company involved? Have they got solicitors involved? There should be some sort of legal cover with the buildings insurance. Are they claiming through the NHBC warranty? How many flats are directly affected by the damp? Maybe you should get together and push for legal representation.
megaphone said:
Do you know if they have the buildings insurance company involved? Have they got solicitors involved? There should be some sort of legal cover with the buildings insurance.
Thanks for your reply mateI'll get the missus to look into what's included in the policy, as she's a director of the estate, along with another resident.
DeanR32 said:
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Is there a tried and tested Method of drying out between the two walls once they get in there? I can't see how they can dry everywhere thoroughly without taking down the whole exterior wall.
Take one step at a time. Once the cavity is opened up you can look for yourself and see how wet it is, see what type of insulation it is and get advice from there. It may be bone dry...Is there a tried and tested Method of drying out between the two walls once they get in there? I can't see how they can dry everywhere thoroughly without taking down the whole exterior wall.
DeanR32 said:
megaphone said:
Do you know if they have the buildings insurance company involved? Have they got solicitors involved? There should be some sort of legal cover with the buildings insurance.
Thanks for your reply mateI'll get the missus to look into what's included in the policy, as she's a director of the estate, along with another resident.
There's 10 out of 24 affected, but some flats have tenants in, and some the assessor couldn't get access to a few of them. This was as of Saturday just gone. The worst affected are mine and the flat below me (ground floor), and the opposite end flats (identical blocks, like a mirror image).
I thought I'd stick an update up about our ongoing problems with our flat
We had a loss assessor over today working on our behalf, to look at the problems again and go through them so we can pass it on to a loss adjuster who is coming on Thursday.
The assessor does think we will have to move out for our health and for the builders to do what they need to do un-interrupted.
We've had a good amount of rain over the last few days, and the damp area in the front room ceiling looks to be taking a pounding. Lots of bubbling appearing, but it doesn't look to be spreading beyond the previously affected area. The water hasn't made it's way through just yet though.
The kids now sleep in the living room, as their room just stinks of damp and they always seem to be coughing and chesty/wheezy. Me and the missus can cope with it, and there isn't the room to move out of both bedrooms anyway.
Looking for somewhere to live now in anticipation of being told to do so on Thursday. My missus doesn't drive so we need to find somewhere close to our sons school, and this seems impossible at the moment. Pretty much nothing for rent close by!
Hopefully we can find somewhere soon so we can start planning for Christmas!
Cheers
We had a loss assessor over today working on our behalf, to look at the problems again and go through them so we can pass it on to a loss adjuster who is coming on Thursday.
The assessor does think we will have to move out for our health and for the builders to do what they need to do un-interrupted.
We've had a good amount of rain over the last few days, and the damp area in the front room ceiling looks to be taking a pounding. Lots of bubbling appearing, but it doesn't look to be spreading beyond the previously affected area. The water hasn't made it's way through just yet though.
The kids now sleep in the living room, as their room just stinks of damp and they always seem to be coughing and chesty/wheezy. Me and the missus can cope with it, and there isn't the room to move out of both bedrooms anyway.
Looking for somewhere to live now in anticipation of being told to do so on Thursday. My missus doesn't drive so we need to find somewhere close to our sons school, and this seems impossible at the moment. Pretty much nothing for rent close by!
Hopefully we can find somewhere soon so we can start planning for Christmas!
Cheers
DeanR32 said:
They did attempt to fix something up there last year. God knows if it worked. They never let us know.
Is there a tried and tested Method of drying out between the two walls once they get in there? I can't see how they can dry everywhere thoroughly without taking down the whole exterior wall.
When you take time to stand back and take in what's wrong with the building, it's a massive amount or work which looks to affect so much more you can't see
You need the advice of a buildings expert initially. A chartered building surveyor comes to mind. Building can be successfully dried out from damp penetration once the damp source has been identfied and eradicated and dehumidifiers run for some weeks in a warm atmosphere with reguar emptying thereof. I have done this many times in the past when running consultancies offering services to homeowners with similar problems. Redecoration could well be required as could replacement of all affected surfaces and furnishings.Is there a tried and tested Method of drying out between the two walls once they get in there? I can't see how they can dry everywhere thoroughly without taking down the whole exterior wall.
When you take time to stand back and take in what's wrong with the building, it's a massive amount or work which looks to affect so much more you can't see
I think your problems really do need expert resolution by a specialist solicitor in conjunction with a chartered building surveyor. Your property has faults that need professional diagnosis and repair. If you had a car playing up you would seek expert guidance. Whilst an Internet forum may offer suggestions you are dealing with probably the most serious potential problems you have faced. Your home is worth a lot of money. I strongly recommend getting qualified impartial advice. I have no doubt that this can be resolved but useful though PH is I would respectfully suggest your problems require professional resolution. Best of luck as ever.
Thanks for the reply Steffan
Tomorrow morning we have the insurance companies acting loss adjuster coming along with the managing agents. The contracted builder is coming too. We will get the ok to move or stay tomorrow. My missus wants out ASAP now, as the kids have been chesty for ages now, and the stuff stored underneath their bunk beds, and underneath the lower mattress has mould and stinks. Clothes, first outfits, all that type of memory stuff has bits of mould and stinks.
Do you think I should inform the NHBC aswell as a solicitor? Zurich are Weston homes insurers
Tomorrow morning we have the insurance companies acting loss adjuster coming along with the managing agents. The contracted builder is coming too. We will get the ok to move or stay tomorrow. My missus wants out ASAP now, as the kids have been chesty for ages now, and the stuff stored underneath their bunk beds, and underneath the lower mattress has mould and stinks. Clothes, first outfits, all that type of memory stuff has bits of mould and stinks.
Do you think I should inform the NHBC aswell as a solicitor? Zurich are Weston homes insurers
DeanR32 said:
Thanks for the reply Steffan
Tomorrow morning we have the insurance companies acting loss adjuster coming along with the managing agents. The contracted builder is coming too. We will get the ok to move or stay tomorrow. My missus wants out ASAP now, as the kids have been chesty for ages now, and the stuff stored underneath their bunk beds, and underneath the lower mattress has mould and stinks. Clothes, first outfits, all that type of memory stuff has bits of mould and stinks.
Do you think I should inform the NHBC aswell as a solicitor? Zurich are Weston homes insurers
Firstly am very sorry to hear of your plight: you must both be very concerned about the health of your children.Tomorrow morning we have the insurance companies acting loss adjuster coming along with the managing agents. The contracted builder is coming too. We will get the ok to move or stay tomorrow. My missus wants out ASAP now, as the kids have been chesty for ages now, and the stuff stored underneath their bunk beds, and underneath the lower mattress has mould and stinks. Clothes, first outfits, all that type of memory stuff has bits of mould and stinks.
Do you think I should inform the NHBC aswell as a solicitor? Zurich are Weston homes insurers
Secondly you should most certainly inform the NHBC. My recommendation is to get a solicitor who is a specialist in this area of the law, explain eveything to him and follow hs advice. Such matters require knowledge and experience to manage effectively and I cannot see how you can better protect you and your family. Best of luck to you.
I know it won't treat the source of the problem, but to improve your health in the short term have you considered getting a de-humidifier? They can really knock a chunk off the humidity in the air.
I'm discovering with my flat that they don't make a dent in the damp walls or stop mould growing where the damp comes through (obviously), but they do make the air much more pleasant and it's preventing my clothes and furniture from getting all nasty...
I'm discovering with my flat that they don't make a dent in the damp walls or stop mould growing where the damp comes through (obviously), but they do make the air much more pleasant and it's preventing my clothes and furniture from getting all nasty...
Thanks for the suggestion mate.
The builder did say they'd supply us all with one, but it's a big possibility we'll be moving out very soon, so nothing has been said about it since.
If we don't hear what we want to today, then we'll be kicking off big time! The missus (as beautiful as she is) just looks drained from it all. It's depressing her a fair bit.
I'll update when we know what's going on today
The builder did say they'd supply us all with one, but it's a big possibility we'll be moving out very soon, so nothing has been said about it since.
If we don't hear what we want to today, then we'll be kicking off big time! The missus (as beautiful as she is) just looks drained from it all. It's depressing her a fair bit.
I'll update when we know what's going on today
Hi all
I thought I'd update how far we've got with this.
We've been dealing with insurance up until today. We've sorted most of the contents out. Clothing and duvets will be professionally cleaned, mattresses, beds, curtains, picture frames etc have been condemned. The carpets are a problem. The underlay is pretty damp, but there's no sign of damp spores in the carpet itself, so they want to get it all cleaned. We'd prefer to get all of it changed (as I'm sure we all would), but that's something we might have to argue about a bit more.
We've been told to move out by the claim handler the building insurers (Zurich) use. They estimate we'd need somewhere to live for 6 months, but finding somewhere for 6 months is proving very difficult, close to my sons school (as my missus doesn't drive, and they don't subsidise travel). They've put aside a budget of 10k each for flats that need to move out, but we have to pay the deposit and admin charges (which we don't really have at the moment). We did find a place suitable, but they want us to commit to 12 months, which we obviously can't do. They did offer us two rooms at a hotel (premier inn or such), but that's out of the question for us with two kids at Christmas.
We might just be in the flat till after Christmas now. The kids are sleeping in the front room, and their bedroom is out of bounds. We need to find somewhere quick, or stay put so we can give the kids a Christmas.
The builder has picked holes in so many building flaws that it'd be best to pull the lot down and start again! Our concrete floors (1st floor) are wet, and the flat below us has the same problem. Their insurance company won't replace her carpets as the floor is too bad. They will change it once the problem has been rectified and tests prove their floors are dry.
I have been thinking. With all the work needing doing to this property after only 8 years, will this go on record against the property? And will I be sitting on a flat with no value because of it? Why buy a property that's had problems when there's others out there that haven't had any at all?
Cheers in advance
Dean
I thought I'd update how far we've got with this.
We've been dealing with insurance up until today. We've sorted most of the contents out. Clothing and duvets will be professionally cleaned, mattresses, beds, curtains, picture frames etc have been condemned. The carpets are a problem. The underlay is pretty damp, but there's no sign of damp spores in the carpet itself, so they want to get it all cleaned. We'd prefer to get all of it changed (as I'm sure we all would), but that's something we might have to argue about a bit more.
We've been told to move out by the claim handler the building insurers (Zurich) use. They estimate we'd need somewhere to live for 6 months, but finding somewhere for 6 months is proving very difficult, close to my sons school (as my missus doesn't drive, and they don't subsidise travel). They've put aside a budget of 10k each for flats that need to move out, but we have to pay the deposit and admin charges (which we don't really have at the moment). We did find a place suitable, but they want us to commit to 12 months, which we obviously can't do. They did offer us two rooms at a hotel (premier inn or such), but that's out of the question for us with two kids at Christmas.
We might just be in the flat till after Christmas now. The kids are sleeping in the front room, and their bedroom is out of bounds. We need to find somewhere quick, or stay put so we can give the kids a Christmas.
The builder has picked holes in so many building flaws that it'd be best to pull the lot down and start again! Our concrete floors (1st floor) are wet, and the flat below us has the same problem. Their insurance company won't replace her carpets as the floor is too bad. They will change it once the problem has been rectified and tests prove their floors are dry.
I have been thinking. With all the work needing doing to this property after only 8 years, will this go on record against the property? And will I be sitting on a flat with no value because of it? Why buy a property that's had problems when there's others out there that haven't had any at all?
Cheers in advance
Dean
DeanR32 said:
Hi all
I thought I'd update how far we've got with this.
We've been dealing with insurance up until today. We've sorted most of the contents out. Clothing and duvets will be professionally cleaned, mattresses, beds, curtains, picture frames etc have been condemned. The carpets are a problem. The underlay is pretty damp, but there's no sign of damp spores in the carpet itself, so they want to get it all cleaned. We'd prefer to get all of it changed (as I'm sure we all would), but that's something we might have to argue about a bit more.
We've been told to move out by the claim handler the building insurers (Zurich) use. They estimate we'd need somewhere to live for 6 months, but finding somewhere for 6 months is proving very difficult, close to my sons school (as my missus doesn't drive, and they don't subsidise travel). They've put aside a budget of 10k each for flats that need to move out, but we have to pay the deposit and admin charges (which we don't really have at the moment). We did find a place suitable, but they want us to commit to 12 months, which we obviously can't do. They did offer us two rooms at a hotel (premier inn or such), but that's out of the question for us with two kids at Christmas.
We might just be in the flat till after Christmas now. The kids are sleeping in the front room, and their bedroom is out of bounds. We need to find somewhere quick, or stay put so we can give the kids a Christmas.
The builder has picked holes in so many building flaws that it'd be best to pull the lot down and start again! Our concrete floors (1st floor) are wet, and the flat below us has the same problem. Their insurance company won't replace her carpets as the floor is too bad. They will change it once the problem has been rectified and tests prove their floors are dry.
I have been thinking. With all the work needing doing to this property after only 8 years, will this go on record against the property? And will I be sitting on a flat with no value because of it? Why buy a property that's had problems when there's others out there that haven't had any at all?
Cheers in advance
Dean
Dean, you're letting this wind you up. Clearly it is a terrible time but you're insured, they're onto the problem and it's being resolved but don't keep fretting. It will be hard with kids but nothing more can be done so just roll with it.I thought I'd update how far we've got with this.
We've been dealing with insurance up until today. We've sorted most of the contents out. Clothing and duvets will be professionally cleaned, mattresses, beds, curtains, picture frames etc have been condemned. The carpets are a problem. The underlay is pretty damp, but there's no sign of damp spores in the carpet itself, so they want to get it all cleaned. We'd prefer to get all of it changed (as I'm sure we all would), but that's something we might have to argue about a bit more.
We've been told to move out by the claim handler the building insurers (Zurich) use. They estimate we'd need somewhere to live for 6 months, but finding somewhere for 6 months is proving very difficult, close to my sons school (as my missus doesn't drive, and they don't subsidise travel). They've put aside a budget of 10k each for flats that need to move out, but we have to pay the deposit and admin charges (which we don't really have at the moment). We did find a place suitable, but they want us to commit to 12 months, which we obviously can't do. They did offer us two rooms at a hotel (premier inn or such), but that's out of the question for us with two kids at Christmas.
We might just be in the flat till after Christmas now. The kids are sleeping in the front room, and their bedroom is out of bounds. We need to find somewhere quick, or stay put so we can give the kids a Christmas.
The builder has picked holes in so many building flaws that it'd be best to pull the lot down and start again! Our concrete floors (1st floor) are wet, and the flat below us has the same problem. Their insurance company won't replace her carpets as the floor is too bad. They will change it once the problem has been rectified and tests prove their floors are dry.
I have been thinking. With all the work needing doing to this property after only 8 years, will this go on record against the property? And will I be sitting on a flat with no value because of it? Why buy a property that's had problems when there's others out there that haven't had any at all?
Cheers in advance
Dean
Your flat will be repaired.
We don't know what your insurer will say or do, you need legal advice if you feel it's not going well, do you have legal cover on contents insurance?
Thanks for the reply.
I'm actually quite pleased the fact that there's progress, but there are a couple cogs involved with teeth missing. All I'm worried about is where we will be for Christmas, as we can't find anywhere to be at the moment, and if the value of my property will be with such problems logged and filed against it.
We want to put a Christmas tree up for our kids aged 5 and 2. We could stick it out till after Christmas and get the whole place professionally cleaned, but the spores and mould do come back very quick, so moving out is a given. There isn't anything out there in our area right now though, and when there has been an adequate place, the landlords only want tenants to commit to 12 months. Infact there is a flat in a high rise building, but it's notorious for drugs and prostitution, so I'll refuse that one for the sake of the kids!
This was just a thread update. Our managing agents will be sueing (sp?) the house builder once all work is complete, but I will look into the contents insurance in the meantime and see if it has it's own legal cover.
Cheers Jonah
I'm actually quite pleased the fact that there's progress, but there are a couple cogs involved with teeth missing. All I'm worried about is where we will be for Christmas, as we can't find anywhere to be at the moment, and if the value of my property will be with such problems logged and filed against it.
We want to put a Christmas tree up for our kids aged 5 and 2. We could stick it out till after Christmas and get the whole place professionally cleaned, but the spores and mould do come back very quick, so moving out is a given. There isn't anything out there in our area right now though, and when there has been an adequate place, the landlords only want tenants to commit to 12 months. Infact there is a flat in a high rise building, but it's notorious for drugs and prostitution, so I'll refuse that one for the sake of the kids!
This was just a thread update. Our managing agents will be sueing (sp?) the house builder once all work is complete, but I will look into the contents insurance in the meantime and see if it has it's own legal cover.
Cheers Jonah
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