Woodworm ate my flat

sleepyone · 16-03-2007, 5:08 PM

A big fat ARSE is what it is.

Bought a flat 2 months ago, been doing it up the last couple weeks.

Went up a ladder to paint the coving and crunch, one of the feet of the ladder goes through the floor.

Got a joiner in to fix the hole, said 'You've got woodworm mate'

So I then got Rentokil out to inspect and i have to replace half the joists and 5 floorboards in one room and all the joists and all the floorboards in another

The lounge is ok so that's aright then

Not really a point to this thread other than to have a rant in general about it.

Oh, did phone the Surveyor and they would only have spotted it if i had got a full structural survey as they don't go under the floors or even poke things with a stick.

Would have been better off just paying for a valuation, would be £150 towards my new floorboards from McNair the builders.

grumble grumble grumble

DancingJester · 16-03-2007, 5:19 PM

Oh man that really sucks! Can't believe the surveyor didn't pick up on it.

On the bright side at least you discovered it now rather then later ...

Good luck sorting it out!

Paul_HDLover · 16-03-2007, 8:03 PM

I got stung by surveyors last yeat. Paid for the more expensive survey as i was moving into a top floor of a tenement building and i wanted a clean bill of health on the roof. No roof problems were reported.
Now Im facing a £5k bill to overhall the thing. After reading survey in more detail he inspected the roof from the ground. Incidentally the roof is about 120 foot from ground level.

Would have been better, like you say just getting a valuation done.

Mep · 16-03-2007, 8:17 PM

even with binoculars that hardly qualifies as an inspection!

Nimby · 16-03-2007, 8:20 PM

Woodworm prefers wood with moisture levels above indoor norms (more than 18%) so have this aspect checked. A surveyor who doesn't stick the sharp pins of his little handheld moisture tester here and there hasn't done his job. You can buy these little wood moisture testers for peanuts at DIY outlets or even on offer in supermarkets sometimes for a couple of quid. I use one for my firewood and checking around the house.

sleepyone · 16-03-2007, 10:14 PM

Pulled up some of the floor and got a good look tonight.

Its an ex council flat and i think i see where some renevations have been done. They blocked up the old chimney and didn't leave any ventilation, i'm guessing that is were the damp has come from as the worm seems to have spread out in a cirle around it through the two rooms.

Anyway saving money by pullign the boards up myself and removing the joists, with advice from the joiner of course

Should have the floor replaced by end of next week then i can put down the carpets that have been sitting in the carpet store for the last two weeks!

For a first property not a good start

Nimby · 16-03-2007, 10:32 PM

Check around for ventilation plates. They usually look like small louvered or perforated panels on the exterior of your outside walls. Roughly 10"x 8" or 250 x 200mm from memory. Not all places have them fitted of course but check they haven't been deliberately blocked to stop draughts. People struggling to stay warm on a low budget in a hard winter would try anything to improve their comfort at little personal cost. It's most important that underfloor ventilation isn't blocked or dry rot could set in.

monkeyleader · 17-03-2007, 4:32 AM

that totally sucks.

On the up side your post title did make me laugh out loud which then caused my wife to wake up and shout at me (it is 4am after all)

Good luck with it all ..

sleepyone · 17-03-2007, 11:38 PM

As long as someone got a laugh out of it

Heres some pictures.

Singh400 · 18-03-2007, 1:04 AM

What does woodworm actually look like any way? Just loads of little holes or something? Off to wikipedia I go...

paul1967 · 18-03-2007, 7:46 AM

If thats the ground floor it might pay to look at put some insulation down.First i would get some one to look as it would have to breath this means possible vapour barrier as we to stop it sweating.

pjclark1 · 18-03-2007, 8:55 AM

A least you can run your AV cables easily!

Mep · 18-03-2007, 9:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjclark1

A least you can run your AV cables easily!

......every cloud.........

tomson · 18-03-2007, 4:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancingJester

Can't believe the surveyor didn't pick up on it.

I can. When my folks were buying their house the surveyor failed to notice an entire floor

sleepyone · 19-03-2007, 1:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjclark1

A least you can run your AV cables easily!

Funny you should mention that, as we are going to be running, VGA and cat5 from the bedrooms to the lounge. Also running DVI, component and HDMI and speaker cable in the lounge to connect up my Projector

Was hoping to have it done it time for just after midnight on Thurday, getting a new toy to play with

, but not now

sleepyone · 19-03-2007, 1:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul1967

If thats the ground floor it might pay to look at put some insulation down.First i would get some one to look as it would have to breath this means possible vapour barrier as we to stop it sweating.

We are thinking about it.

As you can tell there is about 3 feet below the floor in that bedroom. Gets to about 4 foot at the front of the flat, the rentokil guy was a short bugger and had to jump to be able to get out the access hatch at the front door

Decadence · 19-03-2007, 1:37 PM

Is this not covered by insurance?

sleepyone · 20-03-2007, 5:05 PM

No, rot and woodworm are not covered nor is any damage incurred before the insurance started.