Hello all,
Without going into (much) detail, my ground-floor flat in 1970s brick-wa lled self-contained block, had damp in one corner of a room. With the asse nt of maintenance company, I had some work carried out (Sika injection) on the external and internal walls. Currently I am not sure 1) if the wall if "drying out", 2) whether the work done was irrelevant or 3) (sleepless nigh t scenario) the work done has made the problem permanently worse, since dam p has re-emerged internal on one (very rainy) day.
My question is: what "rights" do I have to have the roof inspected and can the freeholder / maintenance company refuse access for inspection?
I am trying to locate a competent, impartial, experienced building inspecto r / surveyor in North London to advise on any recommended further actions. I am in discussion with one surveyor as how to proceed.
Is there a specialist building / damp or legal forum I could go to for advi ce before I start paying large amounts in professional fees? I accept the i nformation I gain through forums may be ill-informed opinion but I am hopin g someone who reads this can give me advice based on knowledge or personal experience - or at least point me in the right direction as to where to get help.
My current issue is that the parties concerned have different positions on how to proceed
1) The builder wants access to the roof to inspect the coping stones at the top of the parapet as he feels that could be the source of water ingress. Ok, if that is true, how come the damp is not experienced by the top floor flats? I have asked the occupants of the top floor flats - I have only esta blished contact with one flat owner at the moment - if they experience damp , and they say no. I have left my phone number at all flats asking for any information on symptoms of damp. Those I have spoken to say the have tempor ary condensation issues fixed by opening windows.2) The building manager will not permit my builder access to the roof citin g insurance concerns/ restrictions. I understand this concern.
3) I have had a phone conversation and sent an email with some attached pho tographs of the problem to a local building surveyor. I have asked the surv eyor for his fees.My great concern is the work I have had done has actually made the problem worse and is irreversible. My more immediate concern is if I pay for a surv ey (one could argue it is the collective responsibility of the block for su ch issues to be investigated - but I just want the problem understood and f ixed) without access to the roof any survey might not locate the probably / possible source of the problem.
Any suggestions on how I can proceed?
Clive