Electro-somosis damp proof - cost & views? DIY?

henpecked1

Our house has gone under offer and we are awaiting the survey. We had the walls (up to 1m) tanked and plastered. The stupid handyman knowing the tanked walls screwed in the skirting boards!

Anyway, my damp reader has picked up no readings in most of the walls. A party wall between us and next door is coming up damp. Next doors garden is higher than our floor level which isnt helping.
We have a chemical DPC injected and spent 3k 18 months ago. Understairs cupboard is showing high readings and the internal wall adjoining the external wall (which backs on the bathroom wall downstairs) has swelled. It cant be the shower as everything looks secure and watertight in the shower tray area.

I know I can get the damp people in again but having lived through the last hassle of replastering, I am loathing the idea of mass destruction. I seem to recall rentokill did a DPC 20 odd years ago so we have had two failed DPCs. I cant see anything outside to cause the damp problems.

I have decided if not too expensive to opt for elecro osmosis, does anyone have 1) and idea of cost (2 bed semi) 2) time it will take to do 3) could i do it myself? 4) can i run it through internal walls as well for max protection?

ps our walls are 9 inch solid thick walls so no pipes leaking

David_Aldred

Hi henpecked1 - Wykamol amongst others market electyro osmosis systems:

Wykamol Group – Unit 3, Boran Court, Network 65 Business Park, Hapton, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 5TH (tel 0845 4006666) www.wykamol.com

Be mindful that the system does not carry a British Standard but it does have some certificates of approval.

I was tought how to put the system in and it is not difficult if Wykamol are prepared to guide you on the instalation but be mindful if doing it yourself limits liability if there is a problem.

However before you dive into this system, or any other for that matter be mindful that if that electric damp meter is picking up high readings on the plaster it is highly likely the new sustem will not stop such readings occurring. The electro osmosis system is really supposed to be done in conjunction with re-plastering rather than stand alone where such plaster already exists.

All you have at present is high conductivity meter readings. That is not the same as proving rising dampness is present and you could simply have hygroscopic plaster as the cause. Rising damp cannot be proven with electrical damp meters and they simply highlights areas of concern requiring further investigation. Rising damp can only be proven by laboratory analysis of wall samples. I am not saying you do not have rising until proved otherwise but please be mindful of this issue before you dive into guessing at a cure which may be simply a waste of time and money.

I am away for the weekend and will be happy to talk / help you through the matter upon my return on Monday either on the forum or off post. In the meantime please have a look at my other posts in this forum on dampness, damp meters, rising damp which may be of assistance as backgroudn information. Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Independent damp and tiumber surveyor

henpecked1

David_Aldred wrote: »

Hi henpecked1 - Wykamol amongst others market electyro osmosis systems:

Wykamol Group – Unit 3, Boran Court, Network 65 Business Park, Hapton, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 5TH (tel 0845 4006666) www.wykamol.com

Be mindful that the system does not carry a British Standard but it does have some certificates of approval.

I was tought how to put the system in and it is not difficult if Wykamol are prepared to guide you on the instalation but be mindful if doing it yourself limits liability if there is a problem.

However before you dive into this system, or any other for that matter be mindful that if that electric damp meter is picking up high readings on the plaster it is highly likely the new sustem will not stop such readings occurring. The electro osmosis system is really supposed to be done in conjunction with re-plastering rather than stand alone where such plaster already exists.

All you have at present is high conductivity meter readings. That is not the same as proving rising dampness is present and you could simply have hygroscopic plaster as the cause. Rising damp cannot be proven with electrical damp meters and they simply highlights areas of concern requiring further investigation. Rising damp can only be proven by laboratory analysis of wall samples. I am not saying you do not have rising until proved otherwise but please be mindful of this issue before you dive into guessing at a cure which may be simply a waste of time and money.

I am away for the weekend and will be happy to talk / help you through the matter upon my return on Monday either on the forum or off post. In the meantime please have a look at my other posts in this forum on dampness, damp meters, rising damp which may be of assistance as backgroudn information. Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Independent damp and tiumber surveyor

David, I have read many of your posts, you take great care and time and I only wish you lived a bit further south!

David_Aldred

Hi,
I have just come back from doing a survey of a large historic property in the Hebrides which was a pleasure to be invited to inspect and makes travelling to the South of England a walk in the park (laughing). Anyway back to the matter in hand, in the first instance it may be helpful to know if the plaster where you are obtaining these high damp meter readings is contaminated. If you would like to send me some sealed samples (discuss off post if you like regarding how to take / send these) I will do the lab work on them for free as a gesture of goodwill amongst fellow forum members to help you get to the cause of the problem. Kindest regards, David

Dry_Rot

Hi Henpecked1

In view of the fact that you have a buyer, the best thing is to focus on smoothing the way for the sale to complete.

Firstly - don't do any work in advance of the survey. You have no idea whether anything will come up. Believe me when I say that surveyors vary by a great extent and he may simply not mention the problem.

However, let's suppose he does. he will probably ask the buyer to get a damp specialist in. Forewarn your estate agent that there is a guarantee on the DPC, this will discourage any specialist from turning up and spoiling things by commenting on the system. Insist that if a specialist is to come to the house (on the buyer's behalf), the firm must be a PCA member. PCA members, apart from being the better qualified and reputable end of the industry, are bound by a code of conduct - they cannot comment knowingly on other contractors work - make sure they know everything is guaranteed.

If the surveyor has found high readings, get on to your installer. You may need to pay a small fee for a 're-visit'. This is worth it because you will need the installer to field the buyer's surveyors questions. The walls may be drying, he may fob you off with something - it doesn't matter at this stage, provided you persuade him to confirm that his guarantee is still valid and he will put right any defects. That way, your buyer simply steps into your shoes and has the re-assurance of a competent contractor they can turn to, if indeed things get bad enough for the damp to be visible rather than just something a meter has picked up.

Of course, all this depends on who the specialist is, is he focused on your needs and is he credible to the buyer? The last thing you want is a defensive contractor, making excuses. So when you contact him, make sure he knows, that everything is fine, you just need confirmation that these readings are nothing to worry about and the buyer will need assurance.

This may sound very political, but in the years I've been in exactly this situation it has worked for the vendor.

If the damp is the result of a problem with the DPC, you need this to be history, as far as you're concerned. You need to be thinking about the house you're going to, not the one you're leaving.

I stress that spending money now would be a mistake. No DPC can remove contaminants from the plaster. If the plaster is not contaminated, then the DPC has not failed anyway.

Dry Rot

vaio

two excellent posts