Help needed; think i may have subsidence/ damp

Vindiesel

HI all

I know my house has suffered a but of damp in an upstairs bedroom in the past, prob caused by ill fitting windows and/or leaky guttering - both since rectified, but how can i be sure that the problem is now fixed?

I realise this probably sounds odd/thick, but I have no experience of damp. The wallpaper all around the affected area - all 4 sides of my bedroom window had signs of mould, and I have stripped nearly all of it. The plaster below does not appear ot be dark, does not feel wet, but how can i be sure the damp has gone?

I have had the house two years and having just re-read the survey (top whack survey), it mentions no signs of damp - seems strange as the ceiling had some clearly visible damp patches above the clearly visible patches on the wall, but there you go.

I am not sure who to get out - if anyone - to inspect. Can anyone advise?

Furthermore, after peeling the wallpaper, I can now see evidence of IMO dramatic cracking - the 30yr old ish extension has evidence of a gap around 1/2 cm wide crack through the plaster, at the join with the original part of the house - over 100 years old.

Again, the survey said 'no signs of subsidence/settlement' although i know there is a caveat for things they can't see like under wallpaper. The plaster in question appears IMO, to be around 10-30 years old, but i may be way off the mark. Below this room, there are minor hairline cracks, that I am not concerned about, but I have not started peeling wallpaper downstairs to have a look - want to wait till after cmas.

Again, a little ignorant here, but who do i need to call? A surveyor? I am reluctant to call the one used to survey the house for obvious reasons so can anyone reccomend one in the Manc area, if indeed this is who i need to have out.


Advice & help appreciated. :-)


Thanks all,

V

sandraroffey

have to ask if you paid for a FULL structural survey?? or just a mortgage valuation one???

we found that to our cost when we bought a house, paid for a valuation survey, and then found that someone had cut all the A-frames out of the loft to make it into a nice big space!!

should have had the structual survey.

maybe your first port of call should be the mortgage provider. they will send a surveyor because they have a vested interest in the property.

Vindiesel

yes, had a FULL survey. not sure re mtg provider, don't wanna get into an issue with my mtg, and them restricitng my contract/offer/rnl etc etc?

Doozergirl

You wouldn't call your mortgage company anyway - that's not their job. You would call your building insurance company if you thought you had subsidence. Half a centimeter between the original building and the extension doesn't sound exactly dramatic after 30 years. The house would have settled long ago, the extension would need to settle also - the weakest point will be the join.

If all the wallpaper in the room is affected by mould, then I'd suggest that there's condensation building up which may not be linked to any leak; although a leak won't help, obviously. Do you have trickle vents in the windows or any other means of ventilation? I never know what to say in these situations - it's trial and error really because if you get a damp specialist out, they will almost certainly sell you a 'solution'.

Years ago they tried to sell us a special fan which blew air into the house - a London taxi driver, of all people!, suggested we re-open the fireplace (which we wanted to do anyway) and it totally solved the problem.

Suzy_M

When the windows were done did they seal around the outside of the frame properly?

illzlee

you don't have subsidence. such a gap is evidence of differential settlement whereby the later extension has compacted the ground and settled in a slightly different direction than the house. At 100 years old you house would have different foundations (likely spread brick rather than conc strip) which behave differently due to being at different depths.

the damp round the window is a common problem, caused by poor pointing round window frames etc... most noticeable often on walls facing the direction of the prevailing wind. Could still be an element of poorly fitting windows

Vindiesel

Suzy_M wrote: »

When the windows were done did they seal around the outside of the frame properly?

hi suzy,

yes they did - very good job (this time round), i have been out and inspected it properly. I note the old windows were very shoddy, and in a bad state of repair - windows didn't even shut properly. I also know there was a leaky gutter/rotted fascias, and an adjacent flat roof that was prone to leaks too. I think on balance, this combination of things was the root cause of the problem.

I have taken most of the paper off, and the lining paper underneath is completely dry, as is the plaster, so after reflecting, i don't think i have damp.

After hearing your guys comments re the natural settlement, this seems to add up, i believe the extn was erected in the 70's. Plaster could be 40 years old (in my limited knowledge opinion), so to suggest he plaster is orginal, and suffered some cracking & settlement post erection, which is what i see now. This corroborates the lack of any other signs of subs, and the survey stating the property has not suffered any subs.

One further q to those in the know - how reliable is a survey ie if it states the house has no subs, to what extent can i rely on that? Is it almost certain i don't have it (assuming the surveyor is competent)?


Thanks all, you are helping me to see clearly

V

27col

I would think that the survey said that the house had no subsidence, because it didn't. As someone has already said, what you appear to have is differential settlement. This a different order of seriousness and common with additions. All houses move a little over the years and this can normally be dealt with by crack filling.

Fayp_2

When we bought out house the home buyers survery recomened a damp survey. We had 3 companies come out offereing a 'free' survey. Basically its not a survey, as they will always find damp and try and sell you a damp proof course. The 3 companies all differed in their explanations for why we had damp (all said we had rising or penetrating damp though) and the quotes ranged from £800 to £2500 for a DPC!!!

I was very sceptical so i did a lot of research on damp on the internet and found that the only way to get an honest opinion was to pay for an independent survey. It was the best £500 we ever paid as basically the cure for our damp was to unblock our airbricks, replace the chipboard floor in the lounge and dining room, install a powerful extractor in the bathroom and replace some of the skirting boards and a bit of replastering here and there. I know that sounds a lot but if you consider spending £800-£2500 for a DPC we didnt even need only to have to do all the other stuff anyway eventually to fix the problem i would strongly recomend an independant survey to anyone with damp problems.

We used Abbey Independant Surveys and Paul was brilliant. He explained what he was doing and was in our house for 4 hours with various machinery drilling holes and taking readings. I would recomend them wholeheartedly.

www.abbeyis.com

slummymummyof3

Have you tried increasing the heating and ventilation to the affected rooms as it sounds like condensation - remedied by heating and ventilation.

Do you dry washing over you radiators, use a tumble drier, ventilate your bathroom after a shower/bath?

Vindiesel

got a dehumidifier, and will ventilate room a bit more


thanks