Damp Proofing in Victorian House

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We live in Victorian House, thinking of selling soon sooo.....

Being in for 18 years....22" stone walls at front.....bricks at back....No damp proof course in house.

When we bought it we were informed no dP was required. Now there in no damp in the house at all, internal or external....how does a modern surveyor view this kind of house now, will he insist on a DP being installed, even if his meter says all is ok?
 
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hi if there is no damp dont bother he wont find it. most surveys done to a property depend on how much the buyer has paid for his survey. 75%
of people just pay the couple of hundred quick one where the guy runs round not really bothering. but if the worst comes to worst and they do find damp in your property i think the only was to cure it is by a means
where they put a low voltage electric wire round the damp level behind
the plaster. this is the only way they can do it and it takes someone special to do it. my brother in law had it done on his place worked a treat.
hope this helps.

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/ELECTRICAL_DAMP_PROOF_COURSE.htm

regards terry
 
Thanks for the info bout electrical dpc.

I got one of those blackspur dpc machine thingys and tried itout on the walls. Got a slight beep and one light (5 in total) on a kitchen wall, but nothing else where.

Is there a tollerance regarding these machines or does a surveyor say if it beeps its damp?

The wall shows no damp signs at all.
 
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I'm afraid the days of the Surveyor doing a shoddy job should be soon over. Home Inspectors have all been trained to a very high standard. They do a thorough job looking at every aspect of a property from the chimney pot to the foundations. Dont believe the rubbish said about Home Inspections they produce an MOT for your house that any buyer can read it also helps you in the selling because the Home Inspector has highlighted any problems and gives you the opportunity to put them right.

Chartered Surveyors that want to carry on inspecting properties have had to under go an arduous retraining scheme.
One Surveyor I met (20 years surveying) had failed the exam three times.
And the reason why The Inspection is so rigid is that whoever inspects is liable if they miss anything, so they could be sued.

Home Inspectors know you've not got a DPC. If its dry They will say so in the Report
 
I've never trusted the electrical DPCs as I had a lot of problems with one in a house that I used to own - basically it didn't work so I had to get a normal chemical DPC installed.

It seems that I am not the only person with this opinion - I found this on the Channel 4 forums:

Not so sure about elecro-osmosis myself. Its a nice idea, but I've heard of several failures and BRE don't reckon much on it either - the BRE book "Understanding Dampness" has this to say:

"There are two types: active and passive; neither has been approved by a recognised laboratory. By far the greater number of systems are of the passive kind, where there is no external source of electricity. They have always been something of a controversial issue. On theoretical grounds, it remains a mystery as to how they can work; their effectiveness has not been demonstrated in the laboratory and field evidence is disappointing.

Active electro-osmotic systems use an external source of electricity. BRE has no evidence to suggest that the two types behave differently in practice, though some of the active systems may be rather susceptible to the effects of mechanical damage and electrochemical corrosion.

Installation is quick and relatively simple in practical terms and involves, in principle, the installation of a continuous electrode in walls at DPC level. the system is either earthed through earthing rods set in the ground (passive types) or a potential is applied between the DPC and earth or between DPC and another set of wall electrodes set at a different level (active types).

The claim for passive types is that a damp wall contains an electrical potential and the earthing of this potential causes the dampness to fall. It is true that the existence of electrical potentials in a damp wall can be demonstrated. However, where such potentials are caused by the movement of moisture and salts in the first place, earthing the potentials might be expected to increase rather than reduce the upward flow of moisture and salts.”

The installations inspected by BRE were coupled with a replastering system which provided a good barrier to moisture; it is suspected that claimed successes for the system relied heavily on the render and plaster system. As far as is known the passive system is no longer available, though many thousands of installations still exist. Active systems do attempt to make use of true electro-osmosis: the movement of moisture through finely pored materials under the influence of an electrical field. Site experience is not encouraging and, again, the systems rely on the assistance of plaster to contain moisture.

Of the complaints about electro-osmotic damp-proofing that BRE has investigated, some have involved condensation problems that the installation could not be expected to cure; in others there appeared to be at least partial failure of the system, suggesting that electro-osmotic systems are not effective in preventing rising damp in walls in all conditions."
 
I'm afraid the days of the Surveyor doing a shoddy job should be soon over. Home Inspectors have all been trained to a very high standard. They do a thorough job looking at every aspect of a property from the chimney pot to the foundations. Dont believe the rubbish said about Home Inspections they produce an MOT for your house that any buyer can read it also helps you in the selling because the Home Inspector has highlighted any problems and gives you the opportunity to put them right.

Chartered Surveyors that want to carry on inspecting properties have had to under go an arduous retraining scheme.
One Surveyor I met (20 years surveying) had failed the exam three times.
And the reason why The Inspection is so rigid is that whoever inspects is liable if they miss anything, so they could be sued.

Home Inspectors know you've not got a DPC. If its dry They will say so in the Report

thanks for the advice
 

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