To Damp Proof or not to Damp Proof, that is the question.

jellycat · 13 Nov 2008

My mum recently died and I decided I wanted to keep her house on even though it needs a lot of work. Hired a surveyor (FRICS) so I could get a better idea of what needs doing to try and minimise risk of getting ripped off.

Surveyor said evidence of extensive rising damp affecting the ground floor (internal and external walls he said) and I should get a BWPDA damp coursing contractor in to advise/treat.

Having read all the threads about damp I'm now v confused!

Surveyor said roof needs retiling and the gutters and downpipes need overhauling/replacing. Is it possible that it's actually these defects that are causing the damp??

I also noticed that the bottom of the outside of the house has a slight greenish tinge to it, almost like there's a thin layer of moss covering it.

Any advice?

Also, any ideas on a ball park firgure for re-doing the roof. It's a small three bedroom semi.

Oh and it might help if you know the house is of cavity wall construction, ground floors are cincrete slab construction - floors are OK and not affected by damp.

Sorry if I sound a total novice - but I am!

^woody^ · 14 Nov 2008

If you paid this guy to report on the condition, then get him to explain, in a language which you can understand, what the problems are, why he has reached the conclusions he has, and what the appropriate remedial action is.

He should also be able to comment on possible costs.

If the roof issue has caused the damp issue, then he should relate the two. If he has not then they are separate

Also tell him that he is supposedly a surveyor, so you want him to comment on the damp and required action, and you do not expect to have to engage another person to do something well within what is expected of a surveyor - and one of such high standing too!

jellycat · 14 Nov 2008

^woody^ said:
If you paid this guy to report on the condition, then get him to explain, in a language which you can understand, what the problems are, why he has reached the conclusions he has, and what the appropriate remedial action is.

He should also be able to comment on possible costs.

If the roof issue has caused the damp issue, then he should relate the two. If he has not then they are separate

Also tell him that he is supposedly a surveyor, so you want him to comment on the damp and required action, and you do not expect to have to engage another person to do something well within what is expected of a surveyor - and one of such high standing too!

Cheers Woody.

To be fair, the surveyor did say verbally that he expected the dpc was broken and would need replacing, though he didn't put this in the report. It's just when I stated reading the various threads (esp. the ones where people argue rising damp is v rare) I began to wonder...

Plus, the thought of basically having to have plaster hacked off all the downstairs wall to have a new dpc fitted is filling me with dread!

^woody^ · 14 Nov 2008

Despite what a certain person repetitively posts and argues, moisture will rise through walls, unless prevented by a physical or chemical barrier.

If you have rising dampness, then the precise cause has to be determined, before the correct or most appropriate remedial work can be carried out. Replacing plaster is normally part of the work

But a "broken" DPC is rare

jellycat · 14 Nov 2008

Thanks again, Woody.

I also need the cavity wall ties checked. I see there's a fair bit of controversy over that, too!!

gregers · 14 Nov 2008

might also be worth checking to see if the dpc is bridged by silt and carp in the cavity.

jellycat · 17 Nov 2008

gregers said:
might also be worth checking to see if the dpc is bridged by silt and carp in the cavity.

How would I check this?

A guy from Peter Cox is coming to have a look at the damp. Are there any questions I should be asking him, do you think?

jellycat · 31 Dec 2008

I thought it might be helpful to others if I posted a bit of an update on this.

The guy from Peter Cox carried out the free survey. He advised I needed almost all of the ground floor damp proofed and it would cost a lot of cash.

I wasn’t convinced.

I’m a total novice when it comes to all this stuff and don’t really know what I’m talking about, but I do know this house and I really thought that condensation might be to blame for a lot of the damp. In the end I got a very decent independent chap to come and have a look. His conclusion: mostly condensation.

He’s given me some solutions to the problem that are cheaper and much less intrusive than having a new dpc put in throughout the ground floor.

My advice to anyone who’s in the same position as I was – shell out a couple of hundred quid and get an independent specialist damp surveyor to come and have a look at things. Worth every penny.

XtraRaptor · 31 Dec 2008

I often find that if someone asks a question and gets an answer they are not happy with, they will keep asking the question until they find someone who gives them an answer they like

If you thought it was condensation, why waste money getting the survey done in the first place?

If it is condensation, why not hire/buy a de-humidifier, run it for a couple of weeks, monitor how much water you get from it each day, then have the damp/condensation checked again.

Nick.

maltaron · 31 Dec 2008

If the house is of cavity wall construction i would be very surprised if there is no damp course, even 9" walls built prewar had quite efficient blue brick damp course. I would suspect that the DPC is bridged by soil or a path adjacent is too high. You state that this is semidetached, is the adjoining property damp? If not, it may be that the house is damp as it has stood since your mother passed away with no heating or ventilation.

jellycat · 31 Dec 2008

XtraRaptor said:
I often find that if someone asks a question and gets an answer they are not happy with, they will keep asking the question until they find someone who gives them an answer they like

Not a matter of wanting an answer I was happy with; more an issue of wanting to be sure what was recommended by one person was actually the right solution. In the same way one should always get more than one quote for a job, surely it's always worth getting more than one opinion?

XtraRaptor said:
If you thought it was condensation, why waste money getting the survey done in the first place?

Because I'm a layperson and not a damp expert and I could have been totally wrong.

XtraRaptor said:
If it is condensation, why not hire/buy a de-humidifier, run it for a couple of weeks, monitor how much water you get from it each day, then have the damp/condensation checked again.

That is a good idea, but not possible to do this at the moment.

Thanks for friendly reply.

jellycat · 31 Dec 2008

maltaron said:
If the house is of cavity wall construction i would be very surprised if there is no damp course, even 9" walls built prewar had quite efficient blue brick damp course. I would suspect that the DPC is bridged by soil or a path adjacent is too high. You state that this is semidetached, is the adjoining property damp? If not, it may be that the house is damp as it has stood since your mother passed away with no heating or ventilation.

Hi Maltaron

Apparently the DPC will be either slate or bitumen.

The damp proof chappie looked at all the possibilities you mention and didn't think they applied in this case. The house next door is fine. You're right about the heating and ventilation, I think. Plus the central heating system is pretty old (radiators have been there since early 70s!).

ModernMaterials · 3 Jan 2009

I think you are doing exactly the right thing in investigating and trying to remedy particular problems with this house.

I note that you say the floors are all of concrete construction.

Are you absolutely certain of this?

Builders at that period. ie 1920s 1930s had a nasty habit of using cellulose/sand sub floors, topped with quarry tiles. Quite good in a pantry at that time but causing damp problems eventually.

Dont concern yourself about intellectual debates hypothesising the nature of rising damp...if your house is damp, thats all you need to worry about.

Dont however rush off and get damp proof injection until you have proved that the floors are not causing it.

Is any of the plaster loose? Check floors particularly under loose wet plaster.

Does the house have central heating? and for how long?...The guy who suggested condensation as the cause is probably right (in my humble opinion) it is amazing what central heating can do for a house.

The green on the outside is probably caused from the outside. by water dripping on to the green part. I would definitely attend to this first and remeber that if it was the leaky roof/guttering causing it in the first place, that it might take a while to finally solve itself ie at least a year in some cases.

keep an open mind and good luck.

diynot

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To Damp Proof or not to Damp Proof, that is the question.

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