External Insulation - Vendor can't provide certificate

[briank]

We have gone sale agreed on a house and the surveyor came back with a number of points I'm not too concerned about. One issue that I did not know about was the certificate for the EWI which had been applied to the house.

I requested this through our solicitor and the vendor came back and said that they could not find the certificate or any documentation relating to this (it is an executor sale).

I queried this with the surveyor and his advice was not to sign the contacts until the certificate was provided.

Anyone have any thoughts/advice on this?

 

[Branz]

What value will the cert be in reality?
If the EWI has been done a while, then maybe the entity is gone bang so what exactly is the surveyor worried about: his PI probably....

In addition the purpose of the cert is more to support the paper trail/tax aspects of the work, rather than provide any real comfort on the quality of the work.

Yes SEAI now do random inspections but for EWI, without invasive examination, the inspection is just to see was it actually done, with no checks on the materials used.

I would , as an building services engineer, be much, much more concerned about the quality of the work, the materials used and what state the house in in post the EWI, moisture and mould wise.

Re an executor sale, you are really buying as is so don't expect any sympathy from the vendor.

Ps, if it an issue for the bank, if so sceil eile.

 

[briank]

Thanks ircoha.

The the surveyors report said:
"Exterior walls have been insulated using exterior insulation. Exterior insulation systems if not correctly installed can lead to early failure of the system. Check if the insulation contractor was
approved and certified to fit this exterior insulation and if the contractor / manufacturer of the insulation system have any guarantees for the works carried out".
There were no concerns raised in the report regarding the EWI itself.

The survey did not find any evidence of moisture or mould in the house. The certificate would identify who installed the EWI so would this give an indication as to the quality of the work, materials used etc?

Not looking for any sympathy from the vendor, just concerned as we have no visibility in relation to the work which was carried out.

The bank have not raised this as an issue.

The house is semi-detached and the EWI was fitted to both houses. Would it be worth getting the vendor to pursue this with the neighbouring house?

 

[sunnydonkey]

This was a typical CYA statement by the surveyor. I wouldnt blame him, its just the way things are these days. Would it really make a difference if you found out the installer was a company nobody had ever heard of and which doesnt exist anymore?
The important thing is "The survey did not find any evidence of moisture or mould in the house."

 

[briank]

Thanks sunnydonkey,

I imagined it was a bit of a box ticking exercise alright. We identified the company who carried out the work. The EWI was fitted in compliance with the SEAI conditions. We did not see any negative reviews about the company when we carried out some searches.

 

[Leo]

This was a typical CYA statement by the surveyor. I wouldnt blame him, its just the way things are these days.

That's the surveyor doing the job you paid them for. They can only visually inspect lots of elements, including EWI. So looking for certification is the only means they have to tell if the job or the materials used are up to scratch. Badly installed EWI can lead to very significant mould and damp issues.

The important thing is "The survey did not find any evidence of moisture or mould in the house."

Again, be very careful of assuming everything is OK based on a visual inspection. Damp problems often only surface after years, and then particularly during periods of heavy rain. Summer is always the time to sell a damp house.