DRy Rot and rising damp

Hi,
I am attempting to buy a house and have been told by the lovely mortgage people that I will need an expert surveyor to check out the timbers and walls for rising damp.
The story with the house is that it has been empty for a while, an old fella was living there and the majority of the house has had no heat for a while. the inside walls have brown markings which suggest damp but the damp is approximately 2 metres high, and there is the same markings upstairs... surely that isnt rising damp... but more likely to be caused by water running from the roof, or poor rendering.....
as for dry rot,,,, what the hell do i do about that....
i would just like to know the costs of such problems and how can i get a genuine damp report from a genuine expert. also,,,
i have been told that there is no real solution to damp except for preventing the water from getting in in the first place and good ventilation,dpcs are not worth a handshake!!!
Is all this true or am I barking up the wrong tree,,, or just barking
thanks
marie

Rising damp is a bit of a rare animal - often talked about but rarely seen in public. But there are other plenty of other sources of dampness that might (or might not) be causing a problem. You need somebody who knows dampness to advise you. My advice is contact a local RICS surveyor. Make sure they are experienced in measuring and assessing dampness and that their report will be acceptable to your mortgage company. I do a lot of these surveys and most are in the £125-£175 range depending on the size and nature of the property.

I would avoid surveyors associated with dampness preservation companies. Not that they aren't capable of spotting dampness - just that sometimes they're a bit too good and some have been known to spot dampness that nobody else can find.

Injected dpcs are often of limited value - so beware. Ventilation is good. Very good.

Most of the dampness I see in old houses is caused by condensation due to cold walls and lack of ventilation, external cement render, so called masonry waterproofers, leaking downpipes and the odd leaking roof.

thanks for the reply john,, you have touched upon my main concerns... I can understand the Building society being cautious, what I am confused about is the whole process of measurement and surveying.
why send a surveyor who knows nothing about damp, surely it would be an advantage to send someone who is up on the subject. Then for a damp repair guy to compile a report when they will obviously benefit from a bad case of damp is just ridiculous.
Just a couple more queries for you if you dont mind....
I have read that the damp meters are worthless and the results obtained neglegable! is this true?
What about dry rot?? I am assuming that the surveyor is just ebbing on the side of cautiousness, again fully understandable.?
and finally(you will be glad to see the back of me i bet!!)
Is it right that there may not be any cause from the actual building and that a good amount of heat and ventilation will solve the problem???
thanks
marie

Look in Yellow Pages and get a couple of reports from Damp Proof specialists, try to use the long standing reputable ones. They will probably charge around £50 for the report.
Until you've done this no one on this forum is going to be able to help you as they can't see for themselves the extent of the damage (if any).
Dry rot is visible, it looks like fluffy strands of mould grey white in colour.
It is caused by prolonged wet rot and needs to be treated by a professional backed up by a guarantee.

I think you need to have more faith in trade specialists, they're not all out to rip you off and take advantage. Most companies give a 25yr guarantee on their work, just make sure it is insurance backed.

At the end of the day you just need to tell the mortgage lender what they want to hear, which is you have had it checked by a professional and will start remedial works when moved in. Whether you do is up to you (unless they hold back some of the money!).

Marie,
The surveyor was a valuation one, and even if he was an expert on dampness he wouldn't have time to do a complete survey. He would just report that dampness was present. This is always a worry to the lenders.
A damp meter is really designed to check the moisture content of timber, but it can be used with varying degrees of success on masonry. It can depend also on whether the surveyor knows how to correctly interpret the readings. A few years ago a report stated that the majority of suryeyors couldn't, but it may have been incorrect.
Its worth paying a bit extra for a good survey. It could cost you less in the long run.

Hi , as allready suggested get a couple of quotes from local damp proofing firms who more often than not will do the reports for free.Make sure the surveyor is C.S.R.T certified though

'why send a surveyor who knows nothing about damp'

Problem is there are different types of surveyor. Valuation surveyors do not normally receive a high level of technical training. A building surveyor does on the other hand and is specifically trained in building pathology. So it's a building surveyor you need.

I have read that the damp meters are worthless and the results obtained neglegable! is this true?

Possibly worthless in the wrong hands, but not necessarily in experienced hands. Electronic meters with pins are designed and calibrated for use on timber and are not accurate in masonry. There are othere types of electronic meter that use sonic signals rather than pins and these can give a good guide. An experienced surveyor will understand how to read a meter and properly interpret results to reach a conclusion.

What about dry rot??

An experienced surveyor will be able to spot the signs of dry rot or comment on the potential for dry rot in any given situation. It's impossible to say if the valuer was erring on the cautious side. For all we know he might have spotted something that alerted him or it might just be a standard copout to cover his fat a*se.

Is it right that there may not be any cause from the actual building and that a good amount of heat and ventilation will solve the problem???

Very possibly. Can't be certain without looking.

Electrical moisture meters are often criticised because they are not calibrated for use on masonry and therefore cannot give accurate readings. However, this misses the point a little, as what a good surveyor is looking for is the pattern of the damp readings ratehr than absolute values.

If you want absolute readings there is no substitute for the oven drying lab method, but you'll have to drill lots of holes in the wall to do this - which is, understandably, unpopular with householders.

A useful article on this topic can be found on Graham Coleman's website - http://www.buildingpreservation.com/Use of moisture meters .html