Dan1605

Thanks Faz, we've been told that a EWS1 isn't needed due the block being under 4 stories/18mtrs. I've spoken to the surveyor today who did the homebuyers survey and as far as he's concerned the building is compliant, however this doesn't remove the uncertainly of the intrusive survey. Other than the timber in the balconies there are no other issues.

Thank you all for your comments. Having spoke to a couple of surveyors today it's apparent that nobody really knows the answer. FYI the balconies are metal framed with timber slats for the floor. Appreciate the comments, it certainly looks this purchase will be pulled as the management company appear to be in no rush to get the issue resolved.

Hi All, I'm not sure of this is the right place to post this but I would really appreciate some help as I seem to be in Limbo! I am now 5 months into a property purchase (Apartment) which has so far taken an age due to the Management company not providing the Managment pack to our solicitor. Having chased on four separate occasions the pack finally arrived, containing the latest Fire Risk Assessment report. The report which was carried out in February this year noted "potential combustible" cladding within the balcony floors and after weeks of the Management company stating there is no cladding it turns out the report is actually referring to timber in the balcony floor. It suggests that an intrusive survey should be carried out. Now, we all know Timber is flammable but what differentiates this from being combustible or should we assume it's both? At present no quotes have been obtained for the survey and I have the seller trying to tell me that it will be in the region of £2500 which will be split over 40 properties, I'm thinking this will be much more. Our predicament is that we are actually only a few weeks away from completion as all other work has been completed and for the sake of £50 It would be a shame to pull out at this point. I appreciate this is minefield but at the moment I am getting no clear answers other than a survey is required and there are no estimates. The buildings are less than 18mtrs high and approx 20 years old, there is at least 200 apartments in total built in blocks of 6, all of which appear to have the same wooden balcony floors. I would appreciate some help on the following, 1. Approx cost of an intrusive survey 2. Should we assume that the timber is combustible? 3. Approx cost of replacing a balcony floor - the average appears to be 4-5k 4. Does the balcony floor need to be replaced under current Government guidelines - from what I can see it is only recommended Part of me knows that I should be running a mile but if there is any chance of this being rectified at minimal cost then I would like to know. At the moment our Solicitor is reporting the findings back to the lender whom may pull the plug anyway. My suggestion is to shelve the purchase until the survey or at least costs have been published. Any help that anyone can provide comes greatly appreciated. Kind Regards Dan