I think you can consider it unlikely that the floor would collapse without warning; you are likely to see both cracking and parts detaching on the underside well before there is any risk of collapse. A hidden defect is something you could not have discovered or investigated and had no reason to look for. If a previous owner presents that the garage was built 4 years ago with neat construction documents from the designer and installer, there is little or no reason to conduct a deeper investigation of the floor's structural integrity. If the garage has a simple concrete construction that looks like it's from the 1950s, there's every reason to assume it might have seen better days, and here it's nearly impossible to classify it as a hidden defect. In any case, compensation is demanded by suing the seller in court, a process that is probably not trivial for everyone involved, so if it doesn't involve very large amounts and you are very sure of your case, you should consider whether it might be better to focus on your own and how best to address the problem. You can't expect time to stand still; if the house is old, the house is old - materials age just like we do.
First, have an expert look at the concrete floors. It's probably not a hazard.
What you describe as unfinished, what is the problem there, besides efflorescence?
What you describe as unfinished, what is the problem there, besides efflorescence?
There's really no other problem besides the precipitations. I've read that it can be a sign of carbonation of the concrete, and that the reinforcement might be affected.H hempularen said:
It might be necessary to improve ventilation; from what I can see, there's a vent, but it's not an environment you want to crawl into. It looks like someone could have been buried down there, just kidding aside, if I could, I would have filled it with soil and some form of insulation, but that might not be that simple.
Or civil engineer.
As mentioned, you can turn to your insurance company for advice, not for compensation. They may possibly send someone out to perform a moisture measurement and give you good suggestions for someone nearby who can help you further. But the cost to remedy something will fall entirely on you.
But based on what has been clarified now, it doesn't seem to be anything urgent in the near future, so I would rather recommend you hire a surveyor (or someone else in your acquaintance with good knowledge of old houses) to get to know your house. It sounds like you have only read a report.
You need to go through the entire house together with someone who can explain to you what you have, what should be prioritized, and what can be ignored.
From the description given here, anything from a dehumidifier in the "kulverten" might be sufficient to solve the problem, but maybe (although unlikely) stamps are needed to support the floor.
But based on what has been clarified now, it doesn't seem to be anything urgent in the near future, so I would rather recommend you hire a surveyor (or someone else in your acquaintance with good knowledge of old houses) to get to know your house. It sounds like you have only read a report.
You need to go through the entire house together with someone who can explain to you what you have, what should be prioritized, and what can be ignored.
From the description given here, anything from a dehumidifier in the "kulverten" might be sufficient to solve the problem, but maybe (although unlikely) stamps are needed to support the floor.