Damp Advice Please

[gemmacockerham]

I am a first time buyer and have had a survey done which states the following: -

"The walls contain a bituminous felt damp-proof course.
Damp was found internally, to ground floor walls and floors, possibly caused by the
lack of an effective damp-proof course and further specialist investigations are
needed."

How necessary is this? The property has been empty for 3 years with no heating or open windows - could this not just be condensation?

Any advice please?

Thanks

Gemma

 

[mattice]

I'm not an authoritative source but I've been in the same position a few years ago being very very scared of our first building survey and the dreaded word... damp. Everyone told us to keep away, and forums sigh at yet another damp question. Having just moved into a house labeled damp and resolving with three air bricks costing £100, pointing the gutter into it's downpipe, and lowering the level of a flower bed, I'm glad we didn't listen!

You will need to try and explore a little more and post some more info. We had a specialist survey and it told us exactly the same as the main survey. Unfortunately they still can't lift floorboards and dig into the walls!

Based on what you've said, it's unlikely to be condensation as it's unoccupied and condensation comes from living. The house we moved into was damp and the heating hadn't been on for months. Heating the house may well make a difference. If the damp was tested with a damp probe I'm not surprised there is a reading given the house has been empty.

Did you notice the damp when you looked around? Was it at the top of walls, or bottom of walls. What were the ground levels like? what are the floors made of? Are they suspended or concrete? Age of the house etc.

Don't get me wrong, damp can be a pain in the backside but there are plenty of relatively cheap and effective solutions. If it's empty the sellers may be happy with you being a bit more invasive in your investigations, it's worth asking and if you get a further professional view it'll mean the recommendations might be better. Choose someone independent though, not someone flogging a damp proof course.

Good luck

 

[^woody^]

.... possibly caused by the
lack of an effective damp-proof course

Another numpty surveyor strikes again, with a nonsense statement

Damp can be possibly caused by several things, so the surveyor should be either stating that it is caused by a specific thing, or listing all the possible causes and not just one

It could equally be possibly caused by condensation, or a broken pipe, or bad pointing etc, so why is he not saying so?

You should be asking him these questions, because what he has written is meaningless

You are correct in that this could be 3 years worth of condensation.

If that was a Homebuyers Report, then that is the normal crap comment that you will get. However, if you had a proper survey, then that surveyor is palming you off. He is a qualified to diagnose damp, so why isn't he?

Obviously you need to know what it is, so unless you know a proper surveyor who can look at it, then you are left with getting 3 different damp proofing company reps to give you an opinion.

 

[pinenot]

.... possibly caused by the
lack of an effective damp-proof course

Another numpty surveyor strikes again, with a nonsense statement

Damp can be possibly caused by several things, so the surveyor should be either stating that it is caused by a specific thing, or listing all the possible causes and not just one

It could equally be possibly caused by condensation, or a broken pipe, or bad pointing etc, so why is he not saying so?

You should be asking him these questions, because what he has written is meaningless

You are correct in that this could be 3 years worth of condensation.

If that was a Homebuyers Report, then that is the normal crap comment that you will get. However, if you had a proper survey, then that surveyor is palming you off. He is a qualified to diagnose damp, so why isn't he?

Obviously you need to know what it is, so unless you know a proper surveyor who can look at it, then you are left with getting 3 different damp proofing company reps to give you an opinion.

+1

It goads me every time I hear this, a so called professional getting paid good money to submit a report that's not worth the paper it's written on. But unless this is just another money spinning HIPS report, as the old adage says ~he who pays the piper calls the tune~ if you are paying for this survey ask for an explanation!
I put this to the surveyor co. my daughter had engaged and he gave a lot more detail online. It's worth a shot...pinenot

 

[limerockconstruction]

I just priced a big job for friends of mine on a house they are now not going to buy, but the survey was utterly meaningless!! Must of been 48 pages of nearly nothing! There was about 8 pages of get out causes and a further 8 pages of key/legend - just a waste of a read.

As the chaps already suggest if you have questions call him up and ask for some answers.