Hello, so we exchanged on a house a couple of months ago - an ex-rental (1907ish terrace) that is in need of a little doing up. Our survey mentioned damp registered at the top of the chimney breast in the loft, and some bad staining, that according to the surveyor was likely due to the open pot sitting on top of our chimney. Since getting the keys, it's been raining non-stop and the mortar in the loft is extremely soft, and damp to the touch. Worryingly so. It was likely left this way by the previous landlord for a long time to get to this state.
I had a roofer over, who suggested we repoint the chimney, re-do the crown, and add a cowl on top of the open pot. His visual inspection of the lead flashing (from poking his head out the Velux window in the loft) said that it was likely okay, and the survey mentioned that it's condition was fair and not likely in need of immediate attention.
The chimney was repointed yesterday, crown done, and cowl added. The guys who were sent over to the do the work, did it all on a ladder no scaffolding so didn't repoint every single section of the chimney, just the worst bits. They finished the work and suggested that actually, the lead did need doing, and also some of the ridge tiles on the roof need re-bedding as well as there are visible gaps. Not sure if we're going ahead with that yet as I wasn't expecting it.
From the images attached, do you think the work done so far is sufficient to solve this problem? And does the brickwork in the loft even look safe? I'm worried the level of damp means that it is structurally unsound, but the surveyor didn't seem too fussed in our report - just told us to address the open pot... Some of the bricks are cracked and bulging.
Any opinions would be great thanks
I had a roofer over, who suggested we repoint the chimney, re-do the crown, and add a cowl on top of the open pot. His visual inspection of the lead flashing (from poking his head out the Velux window in the loft) said that it was likely okay, and the survey mentioned that it's condition was fair and not likely in need of immediate attention.
The chimney was repointed yesterday, crown done, and cowl added. The guys who were sent over to the do the work, did it all on a ladder no scaffolding so didn't repoint every single section of the chimney, just the worst bits. They finished the work and suggested that actually, the lead did need doing, and also some of the ridge tiles on the roof need re-bedding as well as there are visible gaps. Not sure if we're going ahead with that yet as I wasn't expecting it.
From the images attached, do you think the work done so far is sufficient to solve this problem? And does the brickwork in the loft even look safe? I'm worried the level of damp means that it is structurally unsound, but the surveyor didn't seem too fussed in our report - just told us to address the open pot... Some of the bricks are cracked and bulging.
Any opinions would be great thanks