[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by flashollie

I bought a 200 year old house in March this year.
This has some damp problems identified in the full survey. On the back of the first survey I paid £100 for a damp survey by a damp specialist. Local well recommended independent not one of the big nationals. The report was very useful and gave a list of priority recommendations and associated cost.
Alot of my issues were due to poor ventilation and cold walls. These where cheaper fixes which I've done and the situation is a lot better. I can now see the remaining issues that are more costly but much less in area than first would appear.
So I have few bits of tanking to do in a couple of areas where it's rising and some penetrating damp where the render is damaged. The final bill is a lot less by working through the priority list and seeing what's actually going on.
I was able to renegotiate the sale price of the house due to the specialist damp survey.
So for a hundred quid I'd recommend getting it surveyed by a professional so you can work through the different causes as not all damp is from one cause.

I'm almost in the same boat. House we're buying is around 180 years old. Survey reported rising damp in the walls on the ground floor (along with loads of other issues in the basement which hasn't been touched for 100 years but we knew about those anyway.) The mortgage survey also noted the damp and wouldn't provide the mortgage until some damp proof working was done. Luckily the sellers were happy to get that done so most of the ground floor external walls have been pulled back to the brickwork, injected with resin and then damp proof plaster re-applied. We've had the guarantee cert and now hopefully the mortgage offer will be provided and we can get on with moving in to the money pit.

[f1swk]

majority of the time its condensation.
most surveyors like to keep the damp industry in business,along with the active woodworm in a house with central heating

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by f1swk

majority of the time its condensation.
most surveyors like to keep the damp industry in business,along with the active woodworm in a house with central heating

Not sure the basement of the house I'm buying could be classed as condensation causing the damp!

[f1swk]

Originally Posted by Nibbles

Not sure the basement of the house I'm buying could be classed as condensation causing the damp!

i did say majority
have you bought an underground house

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by f1swk

i did say majority
have you bought an underground house

No, it's just the old servants quarters that haven't been touched for 100 or so years. There's still some of the old bells down there and this which I don't think will be any good for the current fire regulations!

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

It's full of vague language, i remember when i read it first i wanted my money back. No indication of a damp problem at all.

I've attached the part about the walls below.




Most definitely, I'm going to get them to tell me the source before the works begin.

Yep it's solid walls, no cavity.
This masonary paint sounds amazing. I should probably use it even after the fix is put in place? Heck i'll use it everywhere to avoid this issue cropping up again!

In the damp guys report, they say it doesn't have a damp proof course, my electrician mentioned it too when he was working on the house. I'll try google a way to check - pretty important stuff, i hear you!



Yes, yes yes. I think you might have nailed it. There is a patio and it is high off the ground and i can definitely imagine it holding water against the side of the house. Tear that bitch up? I was thinking to dig a trench around the house and do some storm drains to keep water away.

There you go again.

Your first thought about the patio is to tear it up - you have absolutely no idea if it's been perfectly constructed with a dedicated DPC against the house and an air gap, and not causing any problems at all, but hey, just rip it out and see if that solves the problem.

Again with 'digging a trench around the house' - that's one of the more idiotic ideas I've ever heard of as a 'solution' to damp - especially when you don't know the actual cause of the damp.

If you've got a survey, and you don't understand it, then ASK the surveyor to explain it out to you in terms you CAN understand.

[flashollie]

I agree in part. A that proper survey by a qualified damp contractor would identify the root cause and I'd be doing that.
However I disagree about not have a drainage channel near to the house is bad idea. These are fitted to all new houses I've seen in recent months. If you are not going to have a damp survey done and thus you don't know the cause of raising damp, removing ground water from the foot of the external wall is surely a useful step and quite cost effective and minimal disruption.

[The0pportunist]

Originally Posted by robbiep

There you go again.

Your first thought about the patio is to tear it up - you have absolutely no idea if it's been perfectly constructed with a dedicated DPC against the house and an air gap, and not causing any problems at all, but hey, just rip it out and see if that solves the problem.

Again with 'digging a trench around the house' - that's one of the more idiotic ideas I've ever heard of as a 'solution' to damp - especially when you don't know the actual cause of the damp.

If you've got a survey, and you don't understand it, then ASK the surveyor to explain it out to you in terms you CAN understand.

Wow harsh lol. My only other property is a new build so very new to damp issues and it reared its ugly head at a critical point in the project hence my panicky posts before. I posted the part about damp above, they found no evidence of it. It would have been behind the kitchen cabinets and tiles. Note this was a additional home survey we did before going ahead with purchase, not a damp specific one. You're right though, i've not a clue if there is a DPC.

The damp company i used say they don't look for sources but just inject into the walls and guarantee it against further damp. We then used sand, cement and water proofer to cover it up. I've got an appointment with another company who will find the source but thats in January. Good news is the damp has not retuned even after some heavy showers, so i'm hopeful & let the project run.

Yep i'm doing storm drainage as a precaution, if there is water pooling up against the house, this should keep it moving?

Open to any suggestions.. Cheers

[The0pportunist]

Originally Posted by flashollie

I agree in part. A that proper survey by a qualified damp contractor would identify the root cause and I'd be doing that.
However I disagree about not have a drainage channel near to the house is bad idea. These are fitted to all new houses I've seen in recent months. If you are not going to have a damp survey done and thus you don't know the cause of raising damp, removing ground water from the foot of the external wall is surely a useful step and quite cost effective and minimal disruption.

Yep i have another company coming in January, they all seem busy it was the earliest i could find.

Re the trench, yes exactly this is what my research has showed too, i don't see how it could make the situation worse, only help it.

[Witney]

"The damp company i used say they don't look for sources but just inject into the walls and guarantee it against further damp."

Wow - everything that is wrong about the damp proofing industry.