Rising damp renovation approaches

[markypays]

Hello, I've just bee to view a nice detached cottage in need of complete overhaul. The worst bit is the damp. Looks like genuine rising damp - the lower metre or so of all the ground floor walls is in a right mess. Loads of salt, peeling paint etc and all the skirting rotten. The orginal floor is long gone - I guess it rotted away years ago and was replaced with a concrete job but that looks sloppy. It's not at all level and also letting damp through. Also the lower walls are sand cement plastered so again suggests someone's had a go at sorting but not done a great job. i'm thinking of putting in an offer on the place but wanted to work out the best way to tackle the damp. I'm thinking of firstly getting the dodgy conrete floor out. Then fitting plenty of air bricks and re-instating a suspended floor. The house sits on low lying ground which is not well drained. I reckon the contrete floor is probably making things worse, if a suspended floor is re-instated the ground will be able to dry and I'll be able to insulate it. The current floor will be a massive heat sink in winter. Not sure about a DPC. I've seen some articles that say if you ventilate properly and use french drains you shouldnt need a DPC. But I've used dryzone cream in the past and it work alright but to be honest this is the first genuine case of rising damp I've seen and it's real bad so wondered if might be better to get a physical DPC put in. Any suggestions or comments welcome!

 

[jeds]

I think you've answered all your own questions. I'd bet there's no rising damp and all the problems will be resolved by a new insulated suspended floor with good ventilation. However, if this is an investment project then bear in mind that some buyers will be put off by a lack of a 'damp' guarantee.