Hi, can anyone offer advice regarding the best way to do DIY Damproofing? We moved into our 90 year old end terrace property 3 years ago. We bought it newly renovated, it also came with a damp proof guarantee. Needless to say the guarantee is defunct as the trader that carried out the work is no longer trading (under that company) and there appears to be nothing to back it up. Recently we had a recomended damp proofer carry out a survey, as it had only had a damp course less than 4 years ago we needed to establish the facts. They advised that there is a combination of rising damp (the main issue) and condensation. It is only the downstairs of the property that is affected. Notably the internal walls are suffering much more than the external walls. Which seems unusual. The plaster is crumbling from the base of the walls and up to half a meter high in some places (including behind radiators) The external walls don't seem too bad, there is mold and a few bubbles in the plaster here and there. Im hands on and have done some DIY plastering before. Im not prepared to pay 3k when it seems i can get all the materials I need for less than £300. I was going to buy a recognised chemical product but im not so sure after reading so many varying comments about its effectiveness on forums. A friend of mine who is a builder suggested rendering the walls as they only have a basic plaster under the skim, he said that a render is normally what should be done after a damp proof course which seems true. Can anyone offer advice...timescales before plastering, after doing a damp course etc for the best results? Any good products etc? Apologies for the length of the description here, I thought it would be a good idea to get all the facts out.
DIY Damp proofing - confused
- Thread starter Bedge
- Start date
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How unsurprising.
Far more likely that condensation is the main issue, and there is a small possibility of other causes.
The only people that rave about the effectiveness of those products are:
a. the manufacturers
b. companies that install them and offer worthless guarantees
c. people who have spent £1000s having them installed and therefore must convince themselves that it was money well spent.
Rubbish. Render could actually make things worse, particularly if it contains waterproofing agents.
When it was built 90 years ago, it had plaster on the walls. If render and useless chemicals were not needed then, why would they be needed now?
Before spending any money on anything:
1. Ensure the property is properly ventilated. If you have double glazing, this means leaving the windows open (hopefully then can be locked slightly open to allow ventilation), any bricked up fireplaces should have vents in them, bathrooms and showers must have extractors fitted, kitchen extractor must extract outside (recirculating ones are useless).
2. Lift floorboards and examine the walls below floor level. Are they damp/wet - if so, any evidence of water leaks or flooding from drains?
3. Check the external airbricks around the property, unblock those which are clogged with rubbish or cemented over.
4. Check gutters, downpipes and drains - all of them. Repair or replace any damaged items, unblock drains.
If you currently dry clothing inside on racks, drape wet/damp clothing over radiators or use a tumble dryer which doesn't vent directly outside, then stop now.
J
joinerjohn
I do hope this company are not Cathedral Damp (as shown on BBC Watchdog last Thursday) Rip off merchants of the highest order. If it is, don't sign anything at all.
Many Thanks for the advice flameport. Its given me a different perspective on the problem. I'm no expert but it still doesn't fully fit in with the issues we have. I'll explain a bit more.
When the chap came around to do an inspection, whilst he seemed confident I could see that he was perplexed. There is virtually no mould. The only mould was in one corner of the dining room, where the plaster had blistered, the damp surveryor said that this was where we where getting condensation. He said all of the other walls where suffering from rising damp (though to touch the walls are dry and crumble). If the main issue is condensation wouldn't the plaster be crumbling all over the walls (including higher up) as humidity and water can effect anywhere. Higher up the walls in my front living room and rear dining room are solid and not showing any signs of perishing. There are already vents. These appear new and where fitted as part of the renovation before we purchased the property. These are in both rooms on the fireplaces, and a simple plastic vent in the kitchen which i will replace with an extraction unit. The bathroom, which i would think is the wetest room in the house is fine. The plaster is still sound with no crumbling plaster or mould. However my partner does tend to air out clothing in the rear room to dry. But splits in the plaster where it has started to crumble is equally as bad in our front room and in the rear room and we have not dried any clothing in this area. Just to confuse the matter more, we have often dried clothing in a spare bedroom, more often than in the dining room and the walls in this room are also sound (we dont open the window in this room at all). The only other thing i might mention are the windowns. These are new but I re-rendered around all of the windows externally last year as the same builder that did the damp course also fitted the windows and the render was crumbling away. However the integrity of the walls internally of the windows has been ok. The gutters had some rubbish in them but no blockage. I've still got to re-plaster the walls. What would be a good method? I've knocked the plaster off back to the brick (but only about 1/3 way up). The drainage issue has got me baffled too. Unfortunately the property has got a concrete floor so I'm unable to do much inspecting. The brick vent to the rear of the property was blocked. Im not sure how much of a problem this one vent can cause if blocked?
When the chap came around to do an inspection, whilst he seemed confident I could see that he was perplexed. There is virtually no mould. The only mould was in one corner of the dining room, where the plaster had blistered, the damp surveryor said that this was where we where getting condensation. He said all of the other walls where suffering from rising damp (though to touch the walls are dry and crumble). If the main issue is condensation wouldn't the plaster be crumbling all over the walls (including higher up) as humidity and water can effect anywhere. Higher up the walls in my front living room and rear dining room are solid and not showing any signs of perishing. There are already vents. These appear new and where fitted as part of the renovation before we purchased the property. These are in both rooms on the fireplaces, and a simple plastic vent in the kitchen which i will replace with an extraction unit. The bathroom, which i would think is the wetest room in the house is fine. The plaster is still sound with no crumbling plaster or mould. However my partner does tend to air out clothing in the rear room to dry. But splits in the plaster where it has started to crumble is equally as bad in our front room and in the rear room and we have not dried any clothing in this area. Just to confuse the matter more, we have often dried clothing in a spare bedroom, more often than in the dining room and the walls in this room are also sound (we dont open the window in this room at all). The only other thing i might mention are the windowns. These are new but I re-rendered around all of the windows externally last year as the same builder that did the damp course also fitted the windows and the render was crumbling away. However the integrity of the walls internally of the windows has been ok. The gutters had some rubbish in them but no blockage. I've still got to re-plaster the walls. What would be a good method? I've knocked the plaster off back to the brick (but only about 1/3 way up). The drainage issue has got me baffled too. Unfortunately the property has got a concrete floor so I'm unable to do much inspecting. The brick vent to the rear of the property was blocked. Im not sure how much of a problem this one vent can cause if blocked?
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Not rising damp then - dry walls are obviously not damp!
Exactly how did this person identify rising damp in dry and crumbling plaster?
No. The moisture in the air will condense onto the coolest surfaces, which is typically the lower edges and corners of walls in those rooms which are not heated as much, or have outside walls, or have lower levels of insulation.
Damp air in one room will move to other rooms, so drying clothing in one area can easily cause condensation and mould elsewhere in the property.
Likewise, damp air from a bathroom won't necessarily condense on the walls in there, as bathrooms tend to be heated to much higher temperatures than other rooms. Same can apply to kitchens, as cookers and other appliances put out a lot of heat, making that room much warmer than the others.
Here are the problems:
Ok, many thanks for the advice. I'll give the advice a go and see how it works. Did you have any info on a good plastering method, or will a normal base then skim do the job? To answer your question the surveyor used a damp monitor which he pressed against the walls. It surprises me that his analysis could be wrong as he was from a large, well known national company, with a good public profile to maintain. But he was also salesman so who knows.
On a slightly separate issue, why is there no governing body with clout for the damp proofing industry? No dis-respect to you flameport as I think your advice is good. But after viewing so many posts offering different advice, it seems that anyone can be an "expert" on the matter (Just like the blokes down the bookies). The advice varies significantly and i can't understand how products can reach the wider market that are not properly trialed and tested. It can't be difficult to test a product in a number of environments. Surely there are legal implications, especially where mortages are concerned for copping off a bad product, or even a service or surveyor that is not regulated. And why can't I get my damp proof work done under a guarantee, even if the builder is bust. if it was advocated by mortgage lenders and sold under the pretense of having a valid and lasting damp proof guarantee then surely someone is responsible. Based on this logic, if a surveyor requests that you must damp proof your property before you can sell up, hypothetically you should be able to just give them your own peace of paper if you set your self up in business (temporarily). This is seriously wrong. In my opinion the only guarantee is that you will be ripped off in some form. This could be shoddy work, an incorrect judgement, an excessive bill, or guarantee that doesn't actually guarantee anything. This system feeds on this unregulated system as fuel for the property broker gravy train. The mortgage brokers got his arse covered and so's the damp proofer..... Do you really think the "experts" won't be able to wiggle out of that guarentee in 5 or 20 years time when the damp problem crops up again. (if Properly regulated think of the insurance implications and legal issues and additional costs to the insurers, damp proofer's - and brokers if the industry was properly regulated). We are being ripped off! On the flip side...if the industry was properly regulated, we would still get the bill, as it will be joe public who will be paying for additional insurance hikes in the long run. But peace of mind a job well done for me though. I'll pay the extra!!!
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