Damp has resurfaced after DP course

DiscoDolly

Hi Forum Peeps,

Any help/info would be appreciated on this matter, I suppose it's about workmanship and my rights.

I paid for a damp-proof course approx 1.5 years ago, I had just bought the property and decided to get this done before doing the rest of the work needed and moving in. A month after the DP was completed a few small 'stains' appeared on the wall. I called the company back out and they said it was the plaster reacting, but it was nothing to worry about. The same stains were in my living room but the company assured me this was not damp! To touch it was sticky, almost like paste on the walls (we had scrubbed the walls so knew it was not this). The company did advise me when they came back out, that I would need to put vents in my windows, for the DP to work properly. This was not explained to me before I paid for the DP.

I finally moved into the property in November 2008. Before moving in, whilst decorating the funny 'stains' appeared in large patches on a wall which had been damp-proofed. This was the same stains from the living room, which had multiplied throught the wall paper in the summer. I got rid of all stains by using a damp proof stain, painted on top of the lining paper and then painted the colour on top.

After living in the property for approx one month, I noticed the wallpaper in an alcove in my bedroom appeared 'crystalised'. When I touched the wallpaper, it had come away from the wall. The area that was affected was from the skirting board up to the plug point. Over the next week, black spots appeared there, in my bay window and could be seen behind my fixed wardrobes. All walls where the damp-proofing had been applied.
The spots have got worse and are visibly rising up from the skirting board. I have a 1950s dressing table in my bay window, the legs have turned green and it has stained my new carpet.
The wooden windows which had all been sanded back and painted white, have been attacked by condensation green spots. I cannot leave my windows open due to the flat being ground floor and the window faces a public street. I have left the door open for air to circulate, but I can smell damp. I have had to throw out a bag full of shoes which had black and green spots on them, they were inside my cupboard on a shoe rack. My clothes smell musty too!

I have contacted the company who did the DP course but they want £117 for an inspection! Is this fair?

Has the DP course worked???

Can anyone help with advice/info?

Thanks.

bluenitsuj

I had the same problem. I was charged £50 though and when they agreed that they had to re do the work I was given a full refund - which is what you should get.
I also got a seperate damp company in to do a survey in case the original firm ( as quite a few do ) denied anything was wrong.

Fire_Fox

When you say the damp in your bedroom, is this a bungalow or two storey property? Were you advised to let the new plaster dry out before redecorating? Does the place have ventilation (essential in all properties)?

Damp proofing only resolves rising damp. It does sound as if at least some of the damp is below the line of the damp course, which may not therefore be the responsibility of the damp specialists.

If you have damp is several areas, it may be you have another problem with the property that is not coming up from the ground. The reason I say this is I used to own a cottage with a damp problem. Most companies just wanted to inject, but the Rentokil man wanted to resolve the underlying issues. In one area there was a lean-to extension with a concrete floor breaching the damp course. This section of wall had to be injected. In another extension he removed the skirting to show me that the plaster went down to the floor, again breaching the damp course. This simply had to be cut back. A third area was in front of an old chimney breast and he suggested we clear out the debris and install an air vent.

DiscoDolly

Thanks for your replies...

The property is an end of terrace ground floor property. The rooms that had DP were the rooms which were the end of terrace, although DP was applied to an internal wall in one of those rooms.

It was over a year before I decorated, so the plaster should have dried out. I was advised to wait a month before painting and 12 months before papering.

We blocked up a chimney in my bedroom and a doorway (there were originally two doors leading into the room). In the other room the chimney had already been blocked up, no vents had been put in. I keep saying to my Dad we need to do this, but he believes it is rising damp and whether a room has a vent or not won't affect it.

When we blocked up the doorway, we pulled up the flooring and notice mud under the bricks and original tiles. The house was built in the 1900s.

My room which has the damp is only affected around the baywindow, the corner of the house and behind the one wardrobe (internal wall). The other wardrobe does not smell musty and is further into the room. I had DP in the other alcove in my room, this is completely fine.

I forgot to add, my Dad bought me a dehumidifier, which was nearly full after the first day of putting it on.

Not sure if any of this additional info can be any more help?

Thanks...

Fire_Fox

Both chimney breasts must be vented, and you must check they are not full of carp. If so the rubbish will effectively breach your damp proof course, same as if you had earth or a path outside too close to (or above) the line of your damp course. However this will only affect the section of wall where a fireplace once was.

Are all the damp patches very low on the wall? Are they all on internal or external walls or a mixture? Rising damp will be low down, only below your new DPC if it is working correctly. Condensation will be mainly on external walls as they are colder, or in areas with poor air circulation (e.g. in and around wardrobes). If you have wet windows on cold mornings you have too much water in the air.

Do you dry laundry indoors? Do you always cover pans when cooking? Are your bathroom and bedroom well ventilated when you use them? You cannot underestimate the amount of water created by daily living - even breathing - you must find a way to ventilate, or accept you will need to use the dehumidifier on a daily basis.

DiscoDolly

Thanks for responding FireFox, you are a great source of information!

First of all what is carp?
The fireplace had a gas fire in there, we removed it and cleaned out the debris which had gathered in the hole. There is no damp on the chimney breast, only one of the alcoves either side of the breast has the damp. Co-incidentally this is the alcove nearest the window and the corner of the house.

The black spots are predominantly from the floor to about two foot upwards. It looks considerably higher behind the wardrobes.

I'll check the windows when it is next cold.

We dry laundry indoors but not in the rooms affected by the damp, as they are the bedrooms - the same rooms where the DP was applied.
I cover pans, open the window and the fan vent when cooking, but again the kitchen is not near the bedrooms.
The bathroom has a fan vent and I always open the window after a bath/shower.
I shut my bedroom door when sleeping, it's approx 13 ft x 11ft.

Many thanks for any further valuable info!

Fire_Fox

Carp ... rearrange the middle two letters to make a word meaning rubbish! Forgot you were a newbie, sorry.

If you shut your bedroom door, all the water you breathe out is stuck in the room with you overnight. As soon as the room cools down this will settle on the walls - trust me you breathe a lot out overnight! If you dry laundry indoors this will also make the air very damp. This will tend to 'travel' to the colder rooms and, again, condense on the coldest spots (walls or windows). :rolleyes:

We dry laundry indoors - no choice in a flat - and have to wipe and open our windows daily. The worst condensation is in the main bedroom (breathing) and our completely unused second bedroom (unheated). If you can't safely leave the windows open, you will need to use your dehumidifier daily until you notice a significant reduction in the amount of water collected, and then perhaps only when you are drying laundry. Pull the wardrobe out a bit from the wall to let air circulate for now.

I suspect the reason you have more damp/ mould lower down the walls is two-fold. Firstly this is below the damp course so the walls here will never be completely dry - the condensation just adds to the naturally rising damp. Secondly heat rises, so the top of your room is always better heated. Dettox mould and mildew killer works wonders on black mould, but it bleaches so may well damage your wallpaper. If you don't kill the mould it will spread or grow back next winter. :eek:

Ideally you would also insulate these cold external walls. If you have a cavity with cavity wall insulation, if not with some sort of insulating poystyrene or special plasterboard. Not really my area, but search 'condensation' on the forum and you will get loads of info.

:A

DiscoDolly

Thank you so much Fire Fox.

I am going to print off your wise words and show them to my Dad (who has renovated my flat) and my flatmate who breathes!!

The simple things are often overlooked. Let's hope the sun comes out soon, so we can dry the laundry outside and spend more time breathing outside!

Info very much appreciated.....I will try all the above before parting with my £117 for an inspection. The insulation will have to wait until I've saved some more money...hopefully via this forum!

Thanks! x

Fire_Fox

DiscoDolly wrote: »

The simple things are often overlooked. Let's hope the sun comes out soon, so we can dry the laundry outside and spend more time breathing outside!

:rotfl:
I only learned from experience and trawling the net for answers. Once someone has explained it to you, you notice the condensation being much worse on certain mornings: we have very tall metal framed windows and condensation actually 'rains' from the top edge if we don't air the place properly! :eek: The paint around my bedroom window is peeling off dreadfully due to neglect/ ignorance by the previous occupant (and me the first winter). I am going to scrape it all off, dry it out over the summer and redecorate with anti-damp paint.