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How much for new Damp Proof Course.

We have a three bed 1930's semi house we are looking at buying and have been advised that the house needs new Damp Proof Course.

Can anyone give me a rough idea what kind of figure we may be talking about here?
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Comments

  • TJ27
    TJ27 Posts: 741 Forumite
    The injection of the DPC itself isn't the difficult or expensive bit. It's the hacking off of plaster/render and all the decoration and mess. I have exactly the same sort of house as this one probably.

    You have to hack off plaster to a height of about one metre. It will probably have walls plastered with black mortar. It's easy to get off but will make a huge mess of the whole house. It gets everywhere. You need to make sure that you completely seal up any areas you want to keep clean.

    Then the DPC is injected, then you have to replaster, then you have to redecorate. Of course you might be doing this anyway before you move in.

    As I was able to do most of this work myself on my house, I was able to install a DPC for about 500 quid. However if you get a builder in it will probably cost you a few grand. To be honest I'm a little out of touch with prices though and much will depend upon where you live and how big the house is. I'm not sure, but 3k perhaps?

    Oh, and it pays to be slightly cautions when people tell you a new DPC is needed for the whole house. I did a building degree a few years ago and have been surveying for about ten years. Rising damp is not as prevalent as some people might like you to think it is. There are plenty of other reasons why walls might be a bit damp. If it's been unoccupied for a while, with no heating on and no windows open then of course the walls will be damp, but it might not be rising.
  • Having looked in to this a little more, The whole house has the original slate DPC which is at the end of its life and needs replace as damp is coming through. Also we have been told the kitchen floor which is solid concrete is very damp and needs digging out and a DPC membrance laid and then recornceted over.

    I have rang a local firm and they have said at the worst we are looking at £10k :-( but it should be less. They will be able to give us a more detailed cost on inspection. Other firms I rang will not quote or even give me a rough guide on the phone so at the moment I only have the 10k figure to go by!
  • TJ27
    TJ27 Posts: 741 Forumite
    Digging up an relaying a concrete floor is a fairly easy job and the material cost is quite low. However there's a fair bit of donkey work involved. Sounds like a lot of money but like I say, I'm a little bit out of touch regarding prices.

    I do wonder what it is that causes slate to come to the end of it's life. I've got some slate that has a sticker on the bottom saying, "this slate is five hundred million years old." So it survives underground for 500 million years and suddenly by being bedded into a brick wall for 75 it comes to the end of it's life! Still, I probably don't know enough about it. I believe that the efficiency of slate does reduce with time. It's a little bit unusual to have a slate DPC in a 30's house. I think in most areas they were using butuminous DPC's by then.

    There are various pricing books for building works which will give you a rough idea of costs. One is called "SPONS" but it might be a bit difficult for the layman to understand I'm afraid. There are others though and some may be simpler to read. They will give a price per unit measure for various jobs. So you should be able to find a typical cost per square metre for a concrete floor. There are lots of variables even for such a simple job, but it'll give you an idea. You should get a price per linear metre for a new DPC too.

    On the other hand jobbing builders will charge whatever they can get away with and some might have difficulty reading page three, let alone a price book.

    (Only joking, if any builders are reading this!!)
  • clutton_2
    clutton_2 Posts: 11,149 Forumite
    £10k !!!!! is he having a laugh !! First thing i would do, is check the cheaper options first, check all the rainwater goods, are they effectively draining all rain water away from all brick walls ? are your airbricks fully exposed and working ? check the pointing, check window sills, for cracks, check if the windows open and that the damp is not been caused by condensation, check for internal water pipe leaks. etc etc. Having said all that - Lenders seem to have become obsessed with certificates. Like TJ, I personally think there is very little rising damp, but you may well be forced into having a DPC installed. Damp Firms will ALWAYS tell you that you need more work than is usually necessary, so get 2-3 companies in to quote, and play them off against each other.

    IF you have to have the floor dug up, and plaster hacked off the walls, you can remove the plaster ourselves and hire a skip, but, it is VERY hard work. Having done this several times, please dont live there while you are doing it, its really vicious dust-wise, and most unhealthy, not to mention the toxic chemicals which are then pumped into your walls and which need airing for several days afterwards. They say these are not harmful, but, ....... i don't believe 'em !

    I would have guessed £2-3k myself, but if you are in the south east, this may be more. i had a 2 bed terrace done this year for £1800.
  • Bluefusion wrote:
    We have a three bed 1930's semi house we are looking at buying and have been advised that the house needs new Damp Proof Course.

    Can anyone give me a rough idea what kind of figure we may be talking about here?

    If you contact any firm that sells DPC, they will say that you need a new DPC ... hhhhmmmmmm I wonder why? :confused:

    I think you are far better off spending a couple of hundred quid with a buildings surveyor who knows his stuff and let him tell you what needs to be done. He will probably also put you in touch with the right people to do the job.

    Simply injecting modern DPC treatment into an older property is not the only remedy - and might not be the right one. This article (about damp proofing in period properties) could be useful. You can search for a local surveyor, including those who specialise in particular areas, here

    HTH
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
  • These posts are a bit old. Can anybody give me some more up to date cost advice. I am buying a 1946 semi and the home buyers report has found the exterior and interior walls are damp and recommends getting a new chemical injected damp proof course. The floor is also suffering from damp - this can be rectified by more air bricks etc. but if the floors have been damp they may have rotted and so it may involve new floors and additional insulation. Any ideas of how much this will cost?

    How much does rewiring cost these days? It hasn't been tested but the house was built in 1946 and if it hasn't been tested recently it suggests it hasn't been rewired.

    Any advice, help much appreciated..
  • anselld
    anselld Posts: 8,262
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    edited 25 August 2010 at 11:42AM
    Just had about 10 metres length of walls done for £1500 (don't know how good this is though).

    Check other possible causes first - rainwater, DPC bridging, cavity bridging, etc.

    Check each section of wall sepaerately with a meter - you might not need everything done, just the areas where it has deteriorated. High readings up to a height of approx 1m then decreasing would indicate rising damp.

    If suspended floor consider additional airbricks (circa £30 each fitted).
    If wooden floor check also for rot/decay where joists meet wall ( I had most of my kitchen flood replaced - £270 fitted).
  • Kaaaaarl
    Kaaaaarl Posts: 168 Forumite
    My Dad does it and he charges £100 a metre as advised because he offers a 30 year guarantee, it isnt cheap.
    Love United - Hate Glazer
  • Riq
    Riq Posts: 10,430 Forumite
    I know a guy who will do the damp coursing only for £500 on a 3 bed house, the real art is the plastering afterwards. That is where the majority of the cost is.
    "I'm not from around here, I have my own customs"
    For confirmation: No, I'm not a 40 year old woman, I'm a 26 year old bloke!
  • Bricks
    Bricks Posts: 135
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    People, don't spend money on injected damp proof courses! They are almost universally ineffective and in some cases can make problems worse. The whole notion of "rising damp" is largely a myth, invented by the people that want to sell you their chemical treatments.

    The money should be spent getting a surveyor who does not have an interest in selling you something to ascertain the cause of the damp and the best solution. It's likely that condensation is the issue.

    Google "rising damp myth" and look at the link from "askjeff"
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