Damp issues

[Bradisback1997]

Hi my name is Brad, I'm a young 24 year old 1st time buyer!

I've recently just brought a end terraced house great price with alot of potential 95k 3 bed, one with ensuite and down stairs wet room, loft conversion (no regs) and celler (damp)

Great place the only thing that let's it down is no parking and yellow line on front!

Of course it needs renovations and the 1st we have done is buy a dehumidifier for the celler and that's worked and got rid of condensation off the beams for the floor above! Yay had a quote to sort it 4.5k for dpm alone, obviously we don't have that kinda money right now so we wait and get it done in the future.

This is where the problem comes with damp so the room above the celler is going to be our living area (so wood floor with beams) & the room next to it dinning area solid concrete as the celler is only under the living room it's and open plan room and the previous residents had it made open plan.

So we've ripped all the old wallpaper off and started to rip all the carpets open as requested by electrician has we having a rewire I ripped the dinning room carpet and found damp spots all under the area on concrete floor that I believe as been brick tiled and the tiles are popping up in areas I have put the heating on high and put the dehumidifier in there in hope to dry it out but if it comes back what's the best most budget friendly solution to deal with this

 

[JohnD]

Damp concrete floor quite likely has a leak under it.

Ventilation will dry it quicker and cheaper than heat.

Plot the paths of your pipes

Do you have a water meter?

 

[Bradisback1997]

Where getting the house repointed and new guttering to keep it water tight, I'm not sure what pipes are under the tiles / concrete. And don't fancy ripping tiles up if it can be tanked slurring on top to seal. I am with seven trent and Water supply is fix 40 for unlimited

 

[Lower]

Where getting the house repointed and new guttering to keep it water tight, I'm not sure what pipes are under the tiles / concrete. And don't fancy ripping tiles up if it can be tanked slurring on top to seal. I am with seven trent and Water supply is fix 40 for unlimited

The reason for asking if you have a water meter is that if you have one, you make sure all the the taps in the house are turned off and then monitor the water meter to see if there is any water flow that would indicate a leak.

Looking at your photos, the floor has been chopped into to bury the central heating pipes.

If you have a leak under the floor, you need to fix the leak.

 

[Bradisback1997]

The reason for asking if you have a water meter is that if you have one, you make sure all the the taps in the house are turned off and then monitor the water meter to see if there is any water flow that would indicate a leak.

Looking at your photos, the floor has been chopped into to bury the central heating pipes.

If you have a leak under the floor, you need to fix the leak.

That makes sense now yes, but sadly I am not. And I don't believe we are losing pressure in the boiler either

 

[Lower]

That makes sense now yes, but sadly I am not. And I don't believe we are losing pressure in the boiler either

Is it a sealed system or open vented?

 

[JohnD]

Where getting the house repointed and new guttering to keep it water tight, I'm not sure what pipes are under the tiles / concrete. And don't fancy ripping tiles up if it can be tanked slurring on top to seal. I am with seven trent and Water supply is fix 40 for unlimited

sealing over the top of a leak will not repair it, it just means that the water will build up and come out somewhere else.

Over time, leaks generally get worse, not better.

It is much more work, trouble and expense to cure the problem after you have covered it up and hidden it.

 

[Mr Chibs]

Is it not plausible that as an old floor, there may not be any DPM under the concrete floor, damp is then rising through the slab and then getting trapped by the rubber underlay?

A couple of my floors looked like this, I chose to dig them out... yes, it's a sod of a job, but it's sorted now.

 

[Bradisback1997]

Is it a sealed system or open vented?

Silly question but do u mean the room? If so no vents just windows each side of the room the damp is the side where the lady is standing and the fire place side is where the celler is under. And if u meant boiler then I believe it as a vent coming out the side of the house as they do.

sealing over the top of a leak will not repair it, it just means that the water will build up and come out somewhere else.

Over time, leaks generally get worse, not better.

It is much more work, trouble and expense to cure the problem after you have covered it up and hidden it.

Yer I get that if it's a pipe rip up and fix the problem but per say it was raising damp would tanking stop this and be okay as a cheap damp blocker rather than dpm. The gutters was bad and blocked up so alot of rain as been flowing over and on to house for some time so hoping could be that but it's rather weird as it's all over the floor in different places.

Is it not plausible that as an old floor, there may not be any DPM under the concrete floor, damp is then rising through the slab and then getting trapped by the rubber underlay?

A couple of my floors looked like this, I chose to dig them out... yes, it's a sod of a job, but it's sorted now.

Yer it's a big job I spoken to a builder from work and he said if I could tank slurring it be better, I asked about ripping tiles up to bare concrete he said u could do that but some bits might not come up and it could make life hard sorting out the level of the ground with self level. I don't know what to do yet he told me to dry it out and see what happens in the next week does it dry out does it stay and then deal with it

 

[JohnD]

not impossible, but there is a cellar next to it, and to my eye it looks like a leak.

Exposing it and letting it dry will show if there is a pattern to the wet that might indicate the source.

the blocked fireplace looks unventilated so will be damp.

 

[JohnD]

if u meant boiler then I believe it as a vent coming out the side of the house as they do.

does the boiler have a pressure gauge on it

how many water tanks are in your loft, and what size

what colour is your hot-water cylinder.

I see the downstairs bathroom. It will have water pipes running to it, and also waste pipes and drains. Any of these may be leaking.

 

[Bradisback1997]

does the boiler have a pressure gauge on it

how many water tanks are in your loft, and what size

what colour is your hot-water cylinder.

I'm at work rn but managed to chip these pics from a video loft is converted no building regs

To sort the problem out right and properly how much should I be looking at and can I do the work myself to save money

 

[JohnD]

your boiler is sealed. so radiator leaks would show as pressure drop.

 

[Bradisback1997]

your boiler is sealed. so radiator leaks would show as pressure drop.

Right well when I got keys pressure was at 0.9 ish and I up it to 1.4 and its gone up to 1.5

It's 15 years + old

 

[JohnD]

oh dear.

did it go up when it got hot?

or did you leave the filling loop slightly open?