• Looking for a smarter way to manage your heating this winter? We’ve been testing the new Aqara Radiator Thermostat W600 to see how quiet, accurate and easy it is to use around the home. Click here read our review.

Buying a House; Sudden damp now appearing on follow up viewings - Deal Breaker?

Joined
6 Oct 2025
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hi all, Hope you're well.
Recently posted here about loft advice on a house I'm looking to purchase, Got some great advice which I'm very grateful for. I'll post quick survey results from the loft because they may be related to this topic
Loft Survey Results - Humidity levels 69% in Loft (Not good) Am looking at installing lap vents, pulling back the insulation and trimming it as its blocking airflow.
Timber readings 10-13% (Currently 'acceptable').

I'll try and keep this short.
I'm in the process of buying a Period Terrace house, Built Prior 1860.

My first viewing was over two months ago now and I had slight concerns of damp after seeing a few areas that, at the very least had 'historic damp' but didn't appear actively damp at the time.

Fast forward 2 months, My L3 Surveyor has been in and also noticed these areas, specifically one patch of 'Damp / Historic damp' in the kitchen, By the door. Adjacent this door there is a drain pipe which is 1. Misaligned in one area. and 2. Has a pipe missing on the down shoot. (Both pictured). Behind the drain pipe on the wall there is visible, growing moss which is telling me that the area is holding moisture, and again, on the inside adjacent there is damp. On my prior viewings this 'Damp' on the inside remained dry, However after the recent downpours we've had, after another visit yesterday the area is more-so damp and now has salt deposits (Pictured).

Me, Someone who isn't very clued up on this is telling me this has to be the obvious culprit and fixing the drain pipe will stop the damp around this area.

The second area in question is something I noticed yesterday and yesterday only. On my first viewing, It wasn't there. Not even the Surveyor spotted this so this area of damp must be because of the most recent heavy down pours we've had.

We're now upstairs on the first floor in the master bedroom. This bedroom and wall in question sits directly above the front door / front windows and above is also the guttering. When viewing yesterday, Along the front wall (Front door facing) I noticed what I can describe as 'Visible Tide Marks' running all away along the skirting board along (Pictured). These 'Tide Marks' were between quarter of an inch to half an inch above the skirting board and were consistent all the way along (Pictured). When I put my moisture meter on these marks, The readings were quite high - Between 50-70% which is quite wet. If memory serves, The other 3 walls in the room DID NOT have these tide marks and the moisture readings went down to between 10-15% just above the skirting.

Now, I took a look at my Survey and noticed that the Surveyor noted & took a picture of the 'Blocked guttering' directly above. At the time of the picture, There was no heavy downpour however there is still visible sludge / water. I can only imagine how much worse these gutters have been over the past week or two due to the heavy rains.

My Idea; The gutters are flooding, Water is absorbing / trickling down the wall and sitting where the water meets the first floor, Then soaking through the brick and becoming visible through the plaster / paint which is what I'm seeing.

My main concern is that these are not the driving forces and theres something more sinister at hand causing these issues which I feel is extremely probable. I'm yet to exchange contracts, The vendor didn't mention any notable mold or damp but I'm starting to get concerned as I didn't initially sign up for this. I was however fully aware that these older houses can have these issues and had planned to run Dehumidifiers, Add trickle vents and a kitchen extraction fan but now I ponder if it'll be enough to combat these issues. Since getting the survey results I've even toyed with the idea of adding a PIV unit into the loft when the humidity issue is resolved and the timbers are fully dried out.

What are your thoughts and if you suspect I'm wrong how serious are these issues?

Pictures 1-5 are the Kitchen staining / salt deposits and the adjacent outside walls showing the guttering.
Pictures 6-11 are the first floor master bedroom + the guttering above the window.

Any thoughts / advice would be much appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • KitchenOutsideGutter.png
    KitchenOutsideGutter.png
    2.2 MB · Views: 42
  • KitchenOutsidegutterbottom.jpg
    KitchenOutsidegutterbottom.jpg
    448.1 KB · Views: 39
  • Kitchensaltdeposit.jpg
    Kitchensaltdeposit.jpg
    114.6 KB · Views: 39
  • KItchenstaining1.jpg
    KItchenstaining1.jpg
    145 KB · Views: 38
  • Gutter.png
    Gutter.png
    469.3 KB · Views: 42
  • Pic1.jpg
    Pic1.jpg
    237.7 KB · Views: 40
  • Pic2.jpg
    Pic2.jpg
    256.8 KB · Views: 40
  • Pic3.jpg
    Pic3.jpg
    259.7 KB · Views: 39
  • Pic4.jpg
    Pic4.jpg
    274.7 KB · Views: 35
  • Pic5.jpg
    Pic5.jpg
    264.9 KB · Views: 41
Blocked gutters and faulty down pipe will be probably be cause of all the damp . Meter is useless for accurate assessment of damp as it’s surface only .
Pic 1 isn’t showing much needs to be higher for clearer view .
Damp from long term leaks like gutters will take many months or even longer to dry .
 
Blocked gutters and faulty down pipe will be probably be cause of all the damp . Meter is useless for accurate assessment of damp as it’s surface only .
Pic 1 isn’t showing much needs to be higher for clearer view .
Damp from long term leaks like gutters will take many months or even longer to dry .
Thanks Foxhole. The Kitchen damp makes sense to me, However the damp in the master bedroom confuses me / makes me second guess myself. I would have assumed that if the gutters were the culprit in the bedroom the damp would've been up the top of the walls / top corners. I just dont understand why the walls at the top of the room is seemingly dry while the bottom is damp.
 
Thanks Foxhole. The Kitchen damp makes sense to me, However the damp in the master bedroom confuses me / makes me second guess myself. I would have assumed that if the gutters were the culprit in the bedroom the damp would've been up the top of the walls / top corners. I just dont understand why the walls at the top of the room is seemingly dry while the bottom is damp.
Gravity .
 
OP,
In terms of a house price then the Remedial Repairs you show as necessary are neither here nor there - if the house ticks all the other boxes for you then buy the house.
Some of the the repairs in the above post - there might be others that later come to light - could be DIY stuff thats maybe doable by yourselves.
Come back on here if you buy the house, & later want specific how to repair advice?
 

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top