- Joined
- 13 Feb 2009
- Messages
- 120
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
Situation:
detached bungalow built 1958, concrete floors, hall and lounge floor covering is original wood block parquet, remaining rooms 'marley' type tiles.
property has been uninhabited for several months.
noticed there are no airbricks anywhere in the structure.
cavity wall construction.
plot is on a slight gradient, the fall from front to back of structure (30ft run) with a drop of approx 2ft.
rising main enters vertically thru concrete floor in toilet room.
structural engineer advised there "might be sulphate attack" a couple of months ago, due to some loose marleys and white deposits along seams of some tiles, predominantly in the two rooms at front of property, but that a "core sample" was reqd for analysis to prove/disprove.
consequently i investigated/priced up digging out floors, new dpc etc etc....
however, on stripping the property back to a shell yesterday, noticed the folowing:
parquet wood blocks lift easily (looks like bitumen adhesive).
The loose marleys i've scraped up here and there are bone dry underneath, as is the floor underneath.
some internal walls show damp patches (damp wallpaper) up to 18 inches above skirting, all such patches are on walls just off or against the central hallway.
none of the rooms external walls have damp patches.
none of the outside brick skin show damp patches.
pulled some skirting away from directly below a damp wallpaper patch, it was clearly damp/rotten, noticed the finished surface (appears 2 be sand and cement render) runs right down to the floor. throughout the entire property the wall surfaces are rock hard, even kicking internal damp patches it's obvious the render/plaster is not even slightly blown.
racking my brains as to the source: sulpahte attack, damaged rising main, damaged sewer pipe closeby, due to the gradient of the plot.....
not sure where to start digging!
has anyone experienced a similar scenario and what steps did u take to invesigate and remedy?
detached bungalow built 1958, concrete floors, hall and lounge floor covering is original wood block parquet, remaining rooms 'marley' type tiles.
property has been uninhabited for several months.
noticed there are no airbricks anywhere in the structure.
cavity wall construction.
plot is on a slight gradient, the fall from front to back of structure (30ft run) with a drop of approx 2ft.
rising main enters vertically thru concrete floor in toilet room.
structural engineer advised there "might be sulphate attack" a couple of months ago, due to some loose marleys and white deposits along seams of some tiles, predominantly in the two rooms at front of property, but that a "core sample" was reqd for analysis to prove/disprove.
consequently i investigated/priced up digging out floors, new dpc etc etc....
however, on stripping the property back to a shell yesterday, noticed the folowing:
parquet wood blocks lift easily (looks like bitumen adhesive).
The loose marleys i've scraped up here and there are bone dry underneath, as is the floor underneath.
some internal walls show damp patches (damp wallpaper) up to 18 inches above skirting, all such patches are on walls just off or against the central hallway.
none of the rooms external walls have damp patches.
none of the outside brick skin show damp patches.
pulled some skirting away from directly below a damp wallpaper patch, it was clearly damp/rotten, noticed the finished surface (appears 2 be sand and cement render) runs right down to the floor. throughout the entire property the wall surfaces are rock hard, even kicking internal damp patches it's obvious the render/plaster is not even slightly blown.
racking my brains as to the source: sulpahte attack, damaged rising main, damaged sewer pipe closeby, due to the gradient of the plot.....
not sure where to start digging!
has anyone experienced a similar scenario and what steps did u take to invesigate and remedy?