Rising Damp - long term solutions

[MattJD]

Hi folks, could do with some experienced options please.

Were are in the process of purchasing a bungalow from 1950's era, been empty for 18 months, has been subject to a partial stripout. Building survey identified a host of issues, most of which don't worry us, but extensive rising damp has been identified on internal and external walls (red on the picture)

Its clearly had some failed attempts at resolving it (chemical) There is a lot of foliage (inc ivy) growing around the perimeter (marked on the pic) which isnt helping, but i think this goes beyond poor maintenance

We have since had a 'worst case' quote, which is full room excavation and remedial works, but i feel would solve the issue.
The vendor has also had a survey which essentially feels like a sticking plaster solution "To drill & inject a Wykamol ultracure chemical damp proof course and to install a Wykamol techno S.B.R. vapour barrier".
The work comes with a 20yr guarantee, but as this property is intended as a long term home for us, with adaptations for our daughter, we want it done right, not for it to present as an issue in several years time.

So essentially, do any damp solutions really work or is the problem always going to resurface at some point, regardless of how much time/effort/money you throw at it?

Thanks for reading

 

[flameport]

There is a lot of foliage (inc ivy) growing around the perimeter

Get rid of that for a start.

Other pictures show external ground level too high relative to the existing DPC. Also check whether water falling onto the exterior ground/paving/whatever actually drains away from the building and not towards it. Gutters/downpipes must also be checked, including where they drain to.
Damp on the interior kitchen wall far more likely to be water ingress via the chimney, either directly into the top of via defective flashing around it on the roof.
Dry rot isn't rising damp, but does indicate water ingress somewhere.

Injecting chemicals will not solve any of the above issues. However it will certainly be a good way of disposing of large amounts of money for no reason.

 

[foxhole]

Agree with flameport , you have penetrating damp not rising damp the cladding will exacerbate the damp problem preventing will walls from drying .
How was the damp identified by surveyor , or was it a guess?

 

[MattJD]

Really appreciate the replies and advice

Damp on the interior kitchen wall far more likely to be water ingress via the chimney, either directly into the top of via defective flashing around it on the roof.

Actually, that's a very good point, open chimneys have been noted

How was the damp identified by surveyor , or was it a guess?

In both cases it was by using a moisture meter.

Would this type of damp need floor excavation to ascertain its origin, or would that be unnecessary?

The cheaper end of the quote reads like this;

Remove skirting boards,
Remove salt contaminated plasterwork,
Drill & inject chemical damp proof course,
Install S.B.R. vapour barrier,
Sand & cement render walls, including iwp water proofer/salt inhibitor.
Finish plaster walls to leave a decorative surface.
Install a drainage channel to the extreme rear of the property,

Thanks!

 

[foxhole]

You cannot detect damp with a meter , requires drilling for a core sample which is then tested in a device which can detect moisture content . A meter can only detect surface moisture ( condensation) and is easily fooled , my own wall showed 100% moisture , which was the foil insulation under some old wallpaper.

 

[foxhole]

Really appreciate the replies and advice



Actually, that's a very good point, open chimneys have been noted



In both cases it was by using a moisture meter.

Would this type of damp need floor excavation to ascertain its origin, or would that be unnecessary?

The cheaper end of the quote reads like this;

Remove skirting boards,
Remove salt contaminated plasterwork,
Drill & inject chemical damp proof course,
Install S.B.R. vapour barrier,
Sand & cement render walls, including iwp water proofer/salt inhibitor.
Finish plaster walls to leave a decorative surface.
Install a drainage channel to the extreme rear of the property,

Thanks!

The only thing that makes sense is the drainage channel, which is an actual possible source of your problem.

 

[bobasd]

OP,
there's a few things missing from your posts:

do you now own the property?
was a mortgage survey done on the property?
who engaged the two D&T surveys?

why not (after removing ID details) scan and post both reports with diagrams and quoted prices.
annotate diagrams showing where pics were taken.
show where the outside ground level is higher than the interior FFL - or too high for DPC protection.

in pic 1.
the "Faux Stonework" on the wall is well known for allowing penetrating damp & bridging DPC's.
for what they are worth, the line of DPC injection holes/plugs is useless - too high.
the mechanical DPC can be seen 150mm above ground level. one course below the DPC there is a thin black cable showing in the bed - what is it?
do you have cavity insulation?

the skirting appeared to show signs of true Dry Rot - so did the plaster above & behind it.
the damp line above the skirting shows a true rising damp salt line.

its possible that no membrane (DPM) exists under the concrete floor - remove some plaster from behind the rotted skirting to find out.

there are various ways of detecting rising damp besides carbide meters etc.
multi meters can be very effective in the hands of an experienced surveyor - or even someone who knows what they are talking about through experience - not gorping at misleading youtube videos.



i presume that the black block on the kitchen wall is a chimney breast in the above diagram?
"open chimneys" is irrelevant - most flue terminals are open with no particular damp consequencies.

 

[flameport]

Another thing to consider:

a bungalow from 1950's era,

That building has been there for 60+ years. For most of that period it did not have rising damp or rot.
Something has recently changed - and whatever that is needs to be identified and fixed.

Shoving chemicals, vapour barriers and the like in wasn't needed for the first 50+ years of it's existence, and therefore won't be a solution to anything now.

 

[MattJD]

Just to give a bit more history, the property is a deceased estate, empty for 18 months, prior to this there was an elderly widow living there, so we are guessing (from the state of the house) no maintenance has been done for several years. The vendor looks to have started a strip out - fitted a new boiler then stopped work (no reason given)

OP,

do you now own the property?
was a mortgage survey done on the property?
who engaged the two D&T surveys?

Its a property we have had an offer accepted on. We could see when we viewed it needed a massive amount of work, we then instructed a building survey ourselves. We raised the damp issue and the vendor engaged the second specific damp survey
A mortgage survey has been done - we are now questioning the value as they have missed the damp, the property needs rewiring, it also has no kitchen and the bathroom cant be used in its current state - its a shell basically!

OP,

why not (after removing ID details) scan and post both reports with diagrams and quoted prices.
annotate diagrams showing where pics were taken.
show where the outside ground level is higher than the interior FFL - or too high for DPC protection.

I will get them uploaded this weekend

one course below the DPC there is a thin black cable showing in the bed - what is it?

do you have cavity insulation?

i presume that the black block on the kitchen wall is a chimney breast in the above diagram?

Not sure what the cable is - looks typical of a cable tv installation (can just be seen on another picture)
There is a cavity, but it unknown if there is insulation
Correct, the black block is the chimney breast

 

[JohnD]

it has a concrete floor? There might be a leaking water pipe in it.

Is there a water meter?

Since the wall you show has both a slate DPC and a (useless) chemical injection, you can reasonably deduce that additional chemical injections will be equally useless. You can be certain that a chemical injection will not cure a leak or a building defect.

 

[Nige F]

it has a concrete floor? There might be a leaking water pipe in it.
.

ce vieux chataignier

 

[MattJD]

why not (after removing ID details) scan and post both reports with diagrams and quoted prices.
annotate diagrams showing where pics were taken.

Surveys condensed, info added and uploaded

Thanks!

 

[endecotp]

Ignore the “damp report”. The author doesn’t know how to spell “were”, amongst other problems.

 

[plastic_peanut]

Off topic but have you any idea what the car in the garage is?

After looking through the survey I think this explains why the vendors downed tools after the boiler install. Are they relatives of the deceased? Hopefully you can use the above to negotiate a serious price reduction to conduct the repairs. £10-£15k should get it sorted but I assume it will be a money pit so the spending won’t stop there

 

[bobasd]

MattJD,
thanks for the surveys