clunch

[helentwocats]

Hello...
Can anyone give us some advice on buying this house (link below) which turns out to be made of clunch - something I'd never come across before last week. What are the potential issues we may have and what should we ask the vendors at this stage? The house is 200 years old and in good condition but we are very scared it may be hiding problems for the future. we don't want to find that it costs us lots of money and headaches in the coming years.
The vendors have had the walls lined - is this good or bad?
Can anyone give us some advice please.

 

[formerly known as]

Hello,

are you sure that the building is of clunch as opposed to chalk - which is often incorrectly referred to as clunch - or is it of clay as suggested in the naming of the property?

clarification of construction material aside, if the walling is lined internally with modern impermeable materials without ventilation and the exterior is rendered in anything other than non hydraulic lime, I would be either walking away or be factoring in appropriate remediation.

look also for concrete ground floors and hardstanding up against the base of the external walling.

 

[helentwocats]

Hello and thank you. Yes the construction is actually clay batt. We are viewing again today and have arranged to see the previous survey. The concrete driveway butts up to what must be the base if the house which I understand in these constructions would be brick or flint on which the clay batt wall is built. At risk of a little knowledge and trying to make it go a long way.

 

[88v8]

Ye gods, someone's done a thorough job of erasing all character and originality there :shock:

I suspect that you're right to be concerned. I wouldn't rely on them having had any sensitivity towards the structural needs of an old house.
More likely to be cement, gypsum, concrete, insulation, all the usual unsuitable materials one finds in houses 'improved' by the average builder.
Barge pole, alas.
Imho.

Ivor

 

[Penners]

I would never advocate walking away from a property on the basis of a few words of vague description. I think you really need to get as much clear and detailed information about the construction of the building as you can.

Clunch, chalk, clay lump and so on can all be fine, so long as they have been properly regarded in the way that the building has been renovated. If they're encased in concrete render externally, and gypsum or tanking materials internally, then there's a higher risk of problems.

The crucial questions are these: are you sufficiently attracted to the house to spend money on a structural survey, carried out by a surveyor with good experience of local period properties? And if that survey comes back with bad news, are you prepared to write off its cost and walk away?

 

[formerly known as]

I would never advocate walking away from a property on the basis of a few words of vague description. I think you really need to get as much clear and detailed information about the construction of the building as you can.

Clunch, chalk, clay lump and so on can all be fine, so long as they have been properly regarded in the way that the building has been renovated. If they're encased in concrete render externally, and gypsum or tanking materials internally, then there's a higher risk of problems.

The crucial questions are these: are you sufficiently attracted to the house to spend money on a structural survey, carried out by a surveyor with good experience of local period properties? And if that survey comes back with bad news, are you prepared to write off its cost and walk away?

the survey will need to include selective opening up for it to be of any real worth; no point relying on the usual caveat loaded nonsense.

C20th coverings and linings can, and often do, hide the proverbial multitude.

 

[Penners]

the survey will need to include selective opening up for it to be of any real worth; no point relying on the usual caveat loaded nonsense.

True, but if the surveyor reports on the types of surface coatings used, eg: "Exterior concrete render, interior gypsum plaster" then that could form the basis of the potential buyer's decision on whether to proceed.

 

[formerly known as]

the survey will need to include selective opening up for it to be of any real worth; no point relying on the usual caveat loaded nonsense.

True, but if the surveyor reports on the types of surface coatings used, eg: "Exterior concrete render, interior gypsum plaster" then that could form the basis of the potential buyer's decision on whether to proceed.

although some opening up will determine if the substrate is rubbish, that is crucial.