How much for new Damp Proof Course.

WHATNEXT_2

I've been reading this thread with interest as I currently have a damp problem in my house which I'm trying to find the best way to resolve.
I live in a stone cottage on a hill. My kitchen & the back end of my house sits about 4 foot into the hill. The cottage was built in 1826 so has no damp course but an osmosis damp course (I think thats what it's called)was fitted by rentokil about 20 years ago which is now out of warrently.
The damp I am experiencing is in the utility are in the kitchen at the back of the house, the chimney breast in the living room also at the back of the house & an internal wall seperating the kitchen & living room for the full length of the house.
The utility room is actually an add on to the house built with single brick, sits 4 foot into the hill & is very damp to the point that there is a substantial amount of water under the flooring. This was never picked up in the survey when I bought the house as the previous owner had put a tongue & groove panelling in front of the wall & floor covering was down. The area of the house underground backs onto my neighbours drive. His drive butts up to the external walls to my house with a gap of about an inch awat from the wall but this only goes down about 6 inches (if you get what I mean) I appreciate this is the cause of the problem but I really don't know how to get round it as it's not likely he will allow his drive to be dug up to rectify my damp.
I have had a damp specialist in who has advised me that I need to tank the utility area, the interenal wall & the chimney breast, quoted £5,400 on the basis I remove the plaster from the walls & the york stone covering the chimney, myself.:(
Can anyone give me some confidence I have been given the correct advise before I start to pull my house to pieces.

Bricks

WHATNEXT wrote: »

I've been reading this thread with interest as I currently have a damp problem in my house which I'm trying to find the best way to resolve.
I live in a stone cottage on a hill. My kitchen & the back end of my house sits about 4 foot into the hill. The cottage was built in 1826 so has no damp course but an osmosis damp course (I think thats what it's called)was fitted by rentokil about 20 years ago which is now out of warrently.
The damp I am experiencing is in the utility are in the kitchen at the back of the house, the chimney breast in the living room also at the back of the house & an internal wall seperating the kitchen & living room for the full length of the house.
The utility room is actually an add on to the house built with single brick, sits 4 foot into the hill & is very damp to the point that there is a substantial amount of water under the flooring. This was never picked up in the survey when I bought the house as the previous owner had put a tongue & groove panelling in front of the wall & floor covering was down. The area of the house underground backs onto my neighbours drive. His drive butts up to the external walls to my house with a gap of about an inch awat from the wall but this only goes down about 6 inches (if you get what I mean) I appreciate this is the cause of the problem but I really don't know how to get round it as it's not likely he will allow his drive to be dug up to rectify my damp.
I have had a damp specialist in who has advised me that I need to tank the utility area, the interenal wall & the chimney breast, quoted £5,400 on the basis I remove the plaster from the walls & the york stone covering the chimney, myself.:(
Can anyone give me some confidence I have been given the correct advise before I start to pull my house to pieces.

If there's no way to dig up around the wall where your neighbour's drive is, in order to improve drainage, then it does seem like tanking might be the only option. £5,400 seems quite a lot...in any case get at least 3 quotes from different people before doing anything.

If you could post some photos people might find it easier to give you advice.

Dampqueen

stevencalvert wrote: »

The slate does not deteriorate however as the house moves the slate cracks and allows water penetration by simple capilliary action all of you arm chair experts should learn lesson 1 before making a comment on things you don't understand rising damp is a major problem in london and the south east as there are thousands of underground streams that where just built over dig anywhere in the south east and after about 1meter you will find water so a concrete floor without an effective D.P.M or a brick wall without an effective D.P.C will allow water penetration and that needs to be stopped at floor level

re the above, this is very interesting and relevant to me. I live in SE London in an 1890 terraced house apparantly built over a stream. I have had three separate areas treated as patches of damp appear and damp smells have arisen and now I have another patch and very wet floorboards in the back room on an internal wall (which backs onto my neighbours fireplace and she has also noticed a damp patch). There is no fireplace on my side of the wall. I believe under the floorboards there is just the earth and from the dank musty smells that are now starting to permeate the living room, I think it must be quite close to the floorboards. I also have the problem of slug invasion which I put down to the dampness below the floorboards and I am at my wits end with the slug trails all over the rug and you can also see their slime between the floorboards.
I have a builder coming tomorrow to take a look. I beleive there is a DPC but it has obviously been bridged. I really need a long term solution to my problem. I also have no air bricks in the back room (where there is currently damp). I have heard that this could be a problem as well as if there is rubble etc under the floorboards then the air wont circulate sufficiently. Is there a cheapish solution to covering up the earth beneath the floorboards and laying something over it to block the smell/ slugs etc. I had thought of laying laminate over the original floorboards but think I need to find the source of the problem first.
Sorry for the long message but I am at my wits end and think about slugs nearly all the time now!

Trebor569

My neighbour has built a raised concrete & slabed area right against one of my exterior walls, the top of which is level with my damp proof course, and I am concerned that over time this will adversely affect my property. Especially as it is a brick clad timber framed building. Apart from stringing him up from the nearest lamppost is there anything that I can get him to do to help prevent any possible future damage. I am told that the Partition Wall Act 1996 does not help as it is optional, i.e. if someone says that they are going to abide by it then they have to, if they don’t then there is no compulsion to make them. (Why can't Tax be optional?)
:mad:

Sara_B_3

I purchased my house 4 months ago, I was told by the surveyor that it needed a new damp proof course, the house had been shut up for 12 months, there is no sign of damp inside or out, no paper peeling no mold no nothing, so what should I do, the outside has had pebbled ashing (is that what it is called) the house is 100 years old.
thanks in advance...a confused house owner:cool:

ITFTKD

I've just had a building survey undertaken on a 1930s end-of-terrace house.

It says that the external ground level is high in relation to the DPC, particularly around the front and to the rear timber decking. A reduction in ground level should be carried out as part of future gardening works.

It also says that the subfloor ventilation provision is good along the side elevation, but is limited at the front and there is none at the rear. Given the existence of the conservatory and rear projection structure the incorporation of rear ventilation is not now practical. Additional ventilation at the front is recommended, to ensure as much through flow of air as possible.

A few questions that I'm hoping someone on this forum can answer:
Are these two recommendations (reduction in ground level, and ventilation at the front) about the same thing? How deep/wide should the ventilation be at the front?

Bricks

ITFTKD wrote: »

I've just had a building survey undertaken on a 1930s end-of-terrace house.

It says that the external ground level is high in relation to the DPC, particularly around the front and to the rear timber decking. A reduction in ground level should be carried out as part of future gardening works.

It also says that the subfloor ventilation provision is good along the side elevation, but is limited at the front and there is none at the rear. Given the existence of the conservatory and rear projection structure the incorporation of rear ventilation is not now practical. Additional ventilation at the front is recommended, to ensure as much through flow of air as possible.

A few questions that I'm hoping someone on this forum can answer:
Are these two recommendations (reduction in ground level, and ventilation at the front) about the same thing? How deep/wide should the ventilation be at the front?

The reduction in ground level is about making sure that dampness from the earth resting against the walls of the house is not getting to the inside of the house through the wall. The ground level should be lower than the DPC level as the wall above the DPC will not have been designed to have damp earth up against it.

Improving the subfloor ventilation is a separate thing - this is about making sure that air can flow into and out of the space underneath the ground floor. The more ventilation to this space, the less chance of any structure in this space (for example the underside of the floor joists) getting damp and not being able to dry out.

However, it might be that the excessively high ground level is also blocking vents which are trapped behind.

See pages 26 and 27 here for what the building regs say about amount of ventilation (this is for new-build but you could use it as guidance):

a ventilated air space. This should measure
at least 150mm clear from the ground to the
underside of the floor (or insulation if provided).
Two opposing external walls should have
ventilation openings placed so that the
ventilating air will have a free path between
opposite sides and to all parts of the floor
void. The openings should be not less than
either 1500mm2/m run of external wall or
500mm2/m2 of floor area, whichever gives the
greater opening area. Any pipes needed to
carry ventilating air should have a diameter of
at least 100mm. Ventilation openings should
incorporate suitable grilles which prevent the
entry of vermin to the sub-floor but do not
resist the air flow unduly

susiet2103

Hello David please can you give me some advise? We are currently selling our property in Belfast which is a 1940's 3 bedroom semi with solid walls. We had damp proof work done approximately 4 years ago (the electrical system) and have never any problems with damp (though certain areas in the house downstairs can be quite cold even when the heating is on). The intending purchaser of our home is purchasing it through Co-ownership (a Government run schemed whereupon they purchase part of the property for you). They are notoriously picky and they have sent an assesser out to survey our home and have now sent us a letter asking us to have an expert check all ground floor walls for damp and the rear chimney breast for damp. We had a recommended expert (provided by our estate agent) to come out today, however he had only checked a few walls before his damp meter broke! Though he did say that the walls he checked in kitchen and our hall showed signs of damp. We have had the same wallpaper on our kitchen walls for 4 years now and have no signs of damp or damage to this paper. Please can you advise if you think this is condensation or a more serious form of damp, as i am very worried that we may have to go to a lot of upheaval and expense as Co-ownership will not sanction the funds unless the recommended work is carried out. Your expert opinion would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Susan

David_Aldred wrote: »

Hi,
Chimney breasts can be problematic especially when no longer used for their original purpose of having a roaring coal fire constantly within them. Often the hearth has no barrier to ground moisture beneath it with a relaince upon the heat from coal / wood fire in constant use keeping it dry. When no longer used dampness can strike up from the hearth into the surrounding area including the infill material behind the fire-back forming a moisture resevoir.

The products of combustion (i.e. the soot) tend to migrate into the surrounding area especially if the area becomes damp due to say reasons as described above and can cause havoc by way of disrupting plaster and causing unwanted dampness.

Party wall chimney breasts where there is a chimney breast back to back often compound the problem especially when the chimney breasts may be offset to each other.

Open chimney pots allow rainwater to come down the flues but tends to be seen as a problem to upper rooms before first before it migrates to lower room areas but this is not always the case.

Condensation within flues can be severe and add to the problem.

Gaps at solid floor / wall joints (even as little as to allow a knife blade to be inserted) can allow dampness to emerge there due often to the floor moving seperate to the floor.

If you are correct and there is no damp proof course then the wall may be subject to rising dampness.

If the floor level on the other side of the wall / chimney breast is at different level (i.e. higher) then lateral penetrating dampness can effect the wall / chimney breast.

If the alcoves are cavity wall construction debris within wall cavities could bridge any damp proof course if present (which you say is not in this case).

Once plaster is contaminated it will not recover. Substrate preperation (including new dpc if none present), sealing any open floor / wall joints and re-plastering or dry lining to an appropriate specification is often necessary. If hearths lack a barrier to ground moisture then replacement with one that incorporates such is worth consideration. Works to party walls (such as new damp proof course or waterproof grade re-plastering) including the chimney breasts may be subject to the Party Wall Act.

Hope the above is of some use to you, kindest regards David Aldred Independent damp and timber surveyor.

Olly_2008

Hi All,

I am just about to put in an offer on a 3 bed cottage. The outside exterior wall has concrete rendering on it in some places apparently to stop the damp penetrating. The inside has damp as you can smell it in the air. The house was brick-built circa 1800 (walls 9" thick) and so probably doesn't have a damp course. The house has UPVC windows and it is a small house lived in by an old gent so probably hasn't been looked at for some time i.e. maintained well.

The main wall which is northwest facing gets the brunt of the weather and the chimney is also bricked up and the stack taken off. I wonder whether it would be better to render the entire outside wall of the property and then treat the inside but am not sure what the best method is on the inside. I am not a DIY expert and a family friend has suggest 'mastic' I think he called it and sand thrown on top so that the plaster will bind to it better once dry.

Would anyone happen to know if there is a treatment that could work for the inside and the outside? Any help would be massively appreciated! Am just trying to gauge the likely costs and whether the above solution would in fact work!

eddlaurenbaby

hi olly i work for a timber and damp company in south east london and reading your thread it sounds as the you have damp in your property. Upstairs wouldnt be affected as damp doesnt rise higher than a metre normally. Without lookingat your house its hard to say what needs doing but i would recommend a DPC coarse which can which would stop the damp rising and then have it replasted after that would be your cheaper option. Godd luck.
Eddie Clark
London Damp