Damp Floors And Walls

[nickxcpro]

Hi All,

I am currently in the process of buying a house, i have had a full survey carried out and it has highlighted that i have rising damp in the walls and damp coming through the floors.

They have advised me to have an injection damp proof course for the wall and to have the floor dug up (which they have said is the original flag stone floor) and re-laid with a DP membrane below the concrete.

My question is: To try and reduce the cost of having a new floor am I able to coat it with something to prevent the damp coming up? Something like an Epoxy Resin??
If i am able to use this sealant will it be ok on the original flag stone floors ?

The problem I have to this, if it is possible, as I have got to have the wall injected this is normally below the interior floor level so if the damp interior floor level is higher than the injected walls will this cause a bridge for the damp to come up in the floor and then across into the walls above the newly injected wall?

If this is correct am i able to paint the walls with the damp floor sealant say up to 1.2m high to in effect ‘Tank’ the room to keep the damp out?

Sorry for all the questions but i feel like i have just jumped off the deep end with this house!!!

I look forward to your replies

 

[^woody^]

Fist thing, before anything else, is to ask the surveyor why he thinks it is rising damp and why the DPC is defective, and not any other cause or remedy.

What type of survey was it - a proper survey or a homebuyer or valuation survey?

 

[nickxcpro]

It was a full structural survey that was carried out.

I believe the damp walls are due to, 1. The exterior ground level needs lowering 150mm and 2. The house was built in 1909 so any DPC fitted will be about at the end of its life.

The damp rising through the floor i am told is just down the there nit being any DP membrane fitted under the flag stones?

 

[stuart45]

Just because the DPC is old doen't mean that it's defective. There isn't a problem with damp going through the flags and evaporating, it's just the same as lime plastered walls allowing the walls to breathe. Surveyors don't use the term Full Structural any more as it's misleading.

 

[^woody^]

For the wall damp, most likely its due to raised ground levels.

The surveyor should have been able to tell if the damp was due to ground levels or rising due to defective DPC. It's a waste of time injecting a new DPC if this is not the problem

You can get products to coat the surface of floors with a liquid DPM. However, if these are small section slabs (or flags as you call them), then there may be some movement in them which will crack any surface DPM.

But you may get away with a sheet of polythene laid before any carpet. It just depends if the surveyor has diagnosed the problem properly - is it just a bit of excess moisture, is it ground water rising under pressure, or is it just a cold floor and some condensation.

A survey should not just tell you what the problem is, but it should tell you what it is not .... and why not.

A new floor will be subject to notice under the building regs, and will need to be insulated to modern standards

Your plan to "tank" the walls may result in the coating coming off, if there is any pressure from any damp. So you need to be clear on what method is appropriate for your particular situation