Can Anyone Advise On Damp Proofing ?
- Thread starter Yorkie
- Start date
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This isn't a symptom of what is often called "rising damp," and would not be eliminated by a DPC.
Could either be "penetration" damp (e.g. from faulty brickwork pointing or rendering letting rain through, or a leaky gutter/downpipe splashing onto wall), or condensation, or (remote but possible) a leaking pipe inside the wall (e.g. central heating). The leak could even be long way from the damp patch, and could have travelled along the wall before emerging through the plaster.
To be honest, if it was me I'd just paint over it with stain-seal when re-decorating. I have an old stone walled cottage and, if this was the only damp problem I had, I'd be over-the-moon.
Come back if you're still worried.
Could either be "penetration" damp (e.g. from faulty brickwork pointing or rendering letting rain through, or a leaky gutter/downpipe splashing onto wall), or condensation, or (remote but possible) a leaking pipe inside the wall (e.g. central heating). The leak could even be long way from the damp patch, and could have travelled along the wall before emerging through the plaster.
To be honest, if it was me I'd just paint over it with stain-seal when re-decorating. I have an old stone walled cottage and, if this was the only damp problem I had, I'd be over-the-moon.
Come back if you're still worried.
I used to live in a stone cottage ( built 1812 ) This side wall and back of the cottge were built in to a bank!. The building society suggested a damp proof course. but is was no the subject of a retention on the mortgage. The original damp proofers blaimed it on the render/plaster used. In the end we treated the end wall with a silicone sealer to try to prevent penitrating damp. Replaced guttering and leaking windows and ran a dehumidifier. Problem solved!
We just never put furniture against the walls!
We just never put furniture against the walls!
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Thought I would tack on to this useful thread...
I informed our landlord of some "rising" damp patches around the fireplace in our badly ventilated, Victorian basement flat. A builder came around and found damp all over the lower walls and floors (front and back of property) and suggested a more thorough survey by a damp specialist, who did basically the same thing and prescribed a treatment of chemical damp course treatment in many of the walls. This was in Oct/Nov last year. The landlord gave the go-ahead for treatment, which will happen in Feb, but this will be a right pain in the derriere.
Having had the heating on over the last month or so the place feels much drier and there is less condensation on the windows (one more relevant fact: we've used a dehumidifier to help with clothes drying for over a year now). Reading here and elsewhere I see that there are many other things to try (ventilation, outside drainage, chimney inspection) before ripping out plaster and drilling holes everywhere. There was also a leaking washing machine over the summer (2007).
Any idea how I can convince the landlord to think again? I feel like the stone cottage people - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Could someone lend me a damp meter in SW6? (Or recommend a good one to buy.)
thanks for your time!
F.
I informed our landlord of some "rising" damp patches around the fireplace in our badly ventilated, Victorian basement flat. A builder came around and found damp all over the lower walls and floors (front and back of property) and suggested a more thorough survey by a damp specialist, who did basically the same thing and prescribed a treatment of chemical damp course treatment in many of the walls. This was in Oct/Nov last year. The landlord gave the go-ahead for treatment, which will happen in Feb, but this will be a right pain in the derriere.
Having had the heating on over the last month or so the place feels much drier and there is less condensation on the windows (one more relevant fact: we've used a dehumidifier to help with clothes drying for over a year now). Reading here and elsewhere I see that there are many other things to try (ventilation, outside drainage, chimney inspection) before ripping out plaster and drilling holes everywhere. There was also a leaking washing machine over the summer (2007).
Any idea how I can convince the landlord to think again? I feel like the stone cottage people - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Could someone lend me a damp meter in SW6? (Or recommend a good one to buy.)
thanks for your time!
F.
Don't bother buying or borrowing a damp meter, they measure electrical resistance whis affected by salts in the materials. You could use scales. weigh a sample of material, heat it in an oven at about 110 deg C for an hour, then weigh it again. The two weights allow you to work out the moisture content.
NEVER believe a damp proofing company, or a politician.
NEVER believe a damp proofing company, or a politician.
i agree with the sentiments on dpc men. but they are not all alike.
i would have another chat with your landlord and put your position to him. i would expect that it's not necessary to spend (at this time) if you the tenant are happy.
on meters the ones with pins are affected by salts and therefore not what you need. the ones with pads will give a correct reading. they are quite expensive and you may be best hiring.
the trouble is that once you've established that a wall is damp you then need to identify if it's condensation, penetrating or rising.
ideally you should rule them out in that order.
given what you say on the changes then i feel it's quite likely condensation was a major contributor but rising damp could be present. condensation is sorted by heat or vent.
generally if you can't make out a visible damp patch and the wall feels dry to the touch then it's quite likely that you could live with the damp. the air near the wall needs to reach around 80% Relative humidity for pests to become an issue.
for peace of mind you may want to hire a RH meter initially to see if condensation is an issue from either cooking or showering.
i would have another chat with your landlord and put your position to him. i would expect that it's not necessary to spend (at this time) if you the tenant are happy.
on meters the ones with pins are affected by salts and therefore not what you need. the ones with pads will give a correct reading. they are quite expensive and you may be best hiring.
the trouble is that once you've established that a wall is damp you then need to identify if it's condensation, penetrating or rising.
ideally you should rule them out in that order.
given what you say on the changes then i feel it's quite likely condensation was a major contributor but rising damp could be present. condensation is sorted by heat or vent.
generally if you can't make out a visible damp patch and the wall feels dry to the touch then it's quite likely that you could live with the damp. the air near the wall needs to reach around 80% Relative humidity for pests to become an issue.
for peace of mind you may want to hire a RH meter initially to see if condensation is an issue from either cooking or showering.
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