Firstly, apologies for the long post, but I want to try and get the history across before getting to my questions. Also, hopefully I’ve put this in the right area of the forum, please let me know if not!
We have recently bought an ex-council semi-detached house. The house was built in the 50s and has been empty for about a year after the previous owner (an old widower) died last year. We're in the process of renovating and 'modernising' (including rewiring and re-plumbing).
Over the last winter there was a burst pipe caused by the cold weather and from the relatively sparse details given by the estate agent it seems that the leak wasn’t noticed for some time so there was quite a lot of water – when we first viewed the property in May the carpets were still very damp. Things have dried out now (the carpets are in a skip!). There is some mould on the walls but this appears to be just surface mould and wipes off.
We had a survey done prior to purchase and it included a recommendation to get a proper damp survey done as there may be rising damp, but due to the leak it was hard to tell at the time.
We’ve now had a damp proofing company round to have a look and they have said that we need a DPC installed. However, the areas they have suggested are affected by damp radiate out from the utility room where the leak was. This to me suggests that rather than rising damp the problem could well be that there is still dampness caused by the leak. The plaster on the walls is in really good condition, having stripped the wallpaper off throughout the house we’ve not come across any crumbling at all and the only minor cracks I’ve seen radiate out from holes where picture hooks have been nailed into the walls.
I should also add that I have spoken to the owners of the house next door (they moved in about 7 years ago) and they have never seen any evidence of damp in their house. The source of the leak is at the other end of the house to the party wall and they were not affected by the burst pipe at all. They have also mentioned that after the cold winter, when the house started warming up a bit, they could see condensation on the inside of the windows, but now the water from the leak has dried up this is no longer apparent.
Obviously a damp proofing company has a lot to gain from telling us we need to have a DPC installed and the plaster re-doing, they’ve quoted £300 for the DPC and £1,100 for the re-plastering (though preparation i.e. ‘hacking off’ the old plaster is down to us, apparently). We have another company quoting so we can compare reports and we are thinking of finding an independent specialist, after we’ve had the chance to run a dehumidifier for a bit.
So, my questions… if the house is still just a bit damp from the leak, would a damp proofer be able to distinguish this from rising damp? How likely is it that the need for a new DPC is being skewed by the effects of the mains leak? Can anyone recommend the best way to ensure that any dampness caused by the leak is gone before we get a specialist in? They mention the possibility of hygroscopic salts – can they actually test for these or are they just assuming they are present?
Thanks!
We have recently bought an ex-council semi-detached house. The house was built in the 50s and has been empty for about a year after the previous owner (an old widower) died last year. We're in the process of renovating and 'modernising' (including rewiring and re-plumbing).
Over the last winter there was a burst pipe caused by the cold weather and from the relatively sparse details given by the estate agent it seems that the leak wasn’t noticed for some time so there was quite a lot of water – when we first viewed the property in May the carpets were still very damp. Things have dried out now (the carpets are in a skip!). There is some mould on the walls but this appears to be just surface mould and wipes off.
We had a survey done prior to purchase and it included a recommendation to get a proper damp survey done as there may be rising damp, but due to the leak it was hard to tell at the time.
We’ve now had a damp proofing company round to have a look and they have said that we need a DPC installed. However, the areas they have suggested are affected by damp radiate out from the utility room where the leak was. This to me suggests that rather than rising damp the problem could well be that there is still dampness caused by the leak. The plaster on the walls is in really good condition, having stripped the wallpaper off throughout the house we’ve not come across any crumbling at all and the only minor cracks I’ve seen radiate out from holes where picture hooks have been nailed into the walls.
I should also add that I have spoken to the owners of the house next door (they moved in about 7 years ago) and they have never seen any evidence of damp in their house. The source of the leak is at the other end of the house to the party wall and they were not affected by the burst pipe at all. They have also mentioned that after the cold winter, when the house started warming up a bit, they could see condensation on the inside of the windows, but now the water from the leak has dried up this is no longer apparent.
Obviously a damp proofing company has a lot to gain from telling us we need to have a DPC installed and the plaster re-doing, they’ve quoted £300 for the DPC and £1,100 for the re-plastering (though preparation i.e. ‘hacking off’ the old plaster is down to us, apparently). We have another company quoting so we can compare reports and we are thinking of finding an independent specialist, after we’ve had the chance to run a dehumidifier for a bit.
So, my questions… if the house is still just a bit damp from the leak, would a damp proofer be able to distinguish this from rising damp? How likely is it that the need for a new DPC is being skewed by the effects of the mains leak? Can anyone recommend the best way to ensure that any dampness caused by the leak is gone before we get a specialist in? They mention the possibility of hygroscopic salts – can they actually test for these or are they just assuming they are present?
Thanks!
