Aluminosis, damp and the IEE: resale pathologies in Alicante

There is a moment, when you cross the threshold of a 1970s flat in Carolinas Bajas or Benalúa, when your senses tell you more than the listing does. The smell of old wood, the slightly cooler air, the muffled creak of parquet underfoot, tired hydraulic floor tiles. It is the most romantic moment in a resale purchase. It is also the most dangerous.

A home with history brings the whole story. It brings natural light that new builds no longer know how to replicate, high ceilings, thick walls, terraces big enough for a lemon tree. And it brings, hidden, the ailments of half a century: ageing concrete, damp rising by capillarity from the street, installations that no longer comply, cracks that have been there so long no one remembers them.

Buying resale in the province of Alicante means looking at both faces of the same house. This is a guide to seeing what cannot be seen.

Aluminosis: the silent disease of concrete

The word sounds like an old textbook, but it is still alive in every rehabilitation budget. Aluminosis is the pathology that affects the floor joists made with aluminate cement, a material widely used in Spain between 1950 and 1970 during the great construction boom. It set faster than traditional Portland cement, so factories could turn out more joists per shift. Industry chose speed. The consequence appeared decades later.

Aluminate cement, with time and under certain humidity and temperature conditions, undergoes what engineers call conversion: hexagonal aluminates rearrange into cubic aluminates, the concrete becomes more porous and loses strength. Up to 75 % of its load capacity can vanish. The reinforcement bars are exposed to the air, they rust and, eventually, fail. The surface of the joists takes on a characteristic brownish, almost chocolate tone, and in the most affected areas it flakes off.

The Levante, along with Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, is one of the most exposed territories: the limestone aggregates common in the area facilitate the carbonation that accelerates the process. Mediterranean humidity and temperature swings do the rest. Bathrooms and kitchens, because of condensation, are usually the first places where the symptom appears. Top floors, because of roof leaks, the second.

How it is detected and how much it costs

The diagnosis is not made by eye. A technical architect carries it out by taking samples (coring of the joist) and running an oxine analysis, a reagent that dyes aluminate cement orange. If the sample tests positive, the levels of damage range from mild (monitoring and protective painting) to severe (full slab replacement, a job that can cost between 250 and 500 € per square metre of built area). Buying a flat with aluminosis without knowing it means, in the worst case, taking on a complete structural rehabilitation. The market devaluation of an affected property runs, according to technicians, between 50 and 80 % compared with a healthy comparable.

Before signing, ask the seller for the minutes of the most recent owners' meeting and check whether the building has had any special levy for slab reinforcement. Ask directly. If the building was raised between 1955 and 1975 and no inspection has been done, pay for a pre-inspection yourself. It costs between 200 and 600 € and saves you from six-figure surprises.

Damp: three families, three origins

Wall stains are not all the same. Telling them apart is the first step to knowing whether a home has a cosmetic ailment or a serious problem.

Capillary damp rises from the ground through the pores of the wall. It appears at the base of the walls, up to one metre or a metre and a half, almost always with saline efflorescence (that white snow you can scratch with a fingernail). It is typical of ground floors and semi-basements in old quarters such as Santa Cruz or the historic centre of Villajoyosa. The solution involves injecting hydrophobic resins or chemical barriers and, in serious projects, breathable mortars: between 80 and 200 € per linear metre of treated wall.

Filtration damp comes in from outside. Rain crossing a poorly sealed facade, a broken downpipe, a terrace with an exhausted waterproofing membrane. It usually leaves localised stains, dark halos and, if it turns chronic, bulging plaster. It is the reigning pathology of Alicante penthouses after the September storms. Repair depends on where the water enters: a downpipe, two hundred euros; an entire roof, five figures.

Condensation damp is born inside. It is water vapour from the home's own use, showers and cooking and breathing, that condenses on cold, poorly insulated surfaces. It shows in the corners of exterior walls, around old windows with thermal bridges and on bathroom ceilings without extractors. The Costa Blanca has a mild climate, but the humid winters of the northern coast (Dénia, Jávea) and of the inland villages bathe the cold spots. Here the solution is usually cross-ventilation, thermal insulation and, in chronic cases, dehumidifiers and new window joinery.

Other signs you should not ignore

A resale home is not just aluminosis and stains. Before signing, also look at:

• Vertical or stepped cracks in load-bearing walls, especially on the ground floor: they may indicate foundation settlement. Microcracks in plaster are normal; cracks that cross bricks are not.
• Electrical installation with aluminium cables or without earth: buildings from before 1973 usually fail the current Spanish low-voltage regulation (REBT). A new installation costs between 3,000 and 6,000 € in an average flat.
• Lead downpipes and pipes in flats from before 1980. Replacing them is practically mandatory if you plan to renovate the bathroom or the kitchen.
• Asbestos in roofs and tanks: fibrocement sheets (Uralita) installed up to 2002 may contain asbestos. Removal requires a company registered in the RERA registry and costs from 30 € per square metre.
• Aluminium joinery without thermal break: typical of the eighties, ruins energy efficiency and triggers condensation.

The IEE: the building's mandatory X-ray

For residential buildings older than 50 years in municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants, Spanish national law requires a Building Evaluation Report (IEE), heir to the old ITE and currently regulated by Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015. In the Valencian Community it takes the form of the IEEV-CV and is processed through the Generalitat portal. It evaluates three things: state of conservation, universal accessibility and energy efficiency.

In the province of Alicante, several town councils have tightened the deadline: Orihuela and Santa Pola require it from 40 years. Alcoy, Benicarló, Catral, Finestrat, Jijona, La Nucía, Sagunto, Villajoyosa and Vinaròs also have their own ordinances. The rest of the municipalities follow the national 50-year deadline.

The cost of the report ranges from 500 to 1,500 € plus VAT depending on the size of the building (a rough benchmark is 35 € per dwelling). The Generalitat Valenciana has launched aid calls that can cover up to 4,500 € per building, subject to scoring criteria. Before buying, ask the seller for the current IEE. If it does not exist and the building exceeds the mandatory age, demand that one be made: you can negotiate a price reduction or a retention on the deposit.

The price of looking carefully

Commissioning a pre-inspection from a technical architect before signing the deposit costs a small fraction of the flat's price and usually lowers the final cost by more than the report itself. Detected pathologies become a negotiation lever: confirmed aluminosis justifies a structural discount; well-diagnosed capillary damp lets you agree on who pays for the repair; an unfavourable IEE opens the conversation about the next special levy.

Resale, when done well, is still one of the most beautiful ways to live in the province. A house that already breathes, on a street that already has life. You only need to know how to listen to what the walls have been telling for so many years.

Would you like to explore our properties on the resale market on the Costa Blanca? If you need a technical eye before taking the step, contact us and we will guide you through the stages before signing.