Damp - Who to call?

jonewer

Hello all, just noticed a growing damp patch on our dining room wall.

Who should I call to tackle this? Plumber, surveyor, builder or what? Are there damp specialists with lots of letters after their names?

Thanks,

PS I live in Redhill if anyone can make a recommendation I'd be grateful.

jonewer

Bump - anyone?

whowants2brich

A few questions really, moe than answers:

Is the damp rising from the floor or falling from the ceiling, or does it just start in the middle of the wall? Is t he wall adjoining to another property or part of the building, or is it an external wall? What is on the other side of the wall, that could be causing the damp? These may help you to find out what the cause may be, and what may need to be done to sort things out.

If you need to sort things out but can't get responses then the following may help to make things safer (or not make things worse): Are there any water pipes nearby to the patch, or in the room above? Are there any electrical sockets nearby or below the damp patch? If either of these questions get answered with the word yes then call your insurance company as a matter of urgency and tell them that this seemingly small problem might get very very bad very very quickly, as invariably the bill could get a lot higher if the pipework is leaking and the property floods, or electrics get caught up with the water... And as a short-term, either turn off the fuse to the ring providing electricity to that area, or turn off the stopcock to the water, that may make things a bit safer, or slow down the problem if pipes are the problem.

If there are no water pipes or electrics nearby then call a builder tomorrow and see what he says. It could be that wallpaper and plaster will need to be removed to find out what's going on, so whatever happens, it won't be pretty. Or call the insurers to see what they can advise - they may be able to recommend what to do, who to call, and local tradesmen in the area...

Canucklehead

jonewer wrote: »

Hello all, just noticed a growing damp patch on our dining room wall.

Who should I call to tackle this? Plumber, surveyor, builder or what? Are there damp specialists with lots of letters after their names?

Thanks,

PS I live in Redhill if anyone can make a recommendation I'd be grateful.

Hi...you could investigate the problem yourself to try and determine the cause. Take a look at BricksandBrass .
We found the website invaluable when we were renovating our stone house a few years back.

HTH

Canucklehead

buglawton

See http://www.ask-jeff.co.uk/ and read the book "Looking After Your Property" mentioned on that site or Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunday-Telegraph-Guide-Looking-Property/dp/1405046589

Book has an excellent section on damp, that debunks a lot of the myths on this subject and helps you avoid being ripped off by dodgy "specialists". Also, ignore/report any posts in this or other MSE threads by newbies recommending a particular company!

jonewer

Thanks all.

The wall is internal, the one between the living and dining rooms in a victorian house and is therefore almost certainly structural. The damp rises from the skirting board about 30" max although theres possibly some small spots higher up. Walls upstairs are fine, no sign of damp. Roof looks ok from the garden.

I dont think theres any threat to electics but there is a radiator pipe hidden behind some skirting board that could be to blame.

Bit strange as the house is on a hill, there should be ample clearance between the earth and the floor and the airbricks (atually cast iron grates) are all not blocked. I would think damp would normally occur next to exterior walls or roofs.....

I'll call my insurer in the morning and see what they say.

dampdaveski

Hi Jonewer,
I suspect your insurer won't be interested
Is the 'damp' near a chimney breast? have the walls been replastered recently using dot and dab plasterboard? or just over skimmed.
Try the property care association for a contractor, you have a level of security with these members that you don't get with 'joe bloggs' (yes I am a member) www.property-care.org

Good luck
DD

Canucklehead

jonewer wrote: »

Thanks all.

The wall is internal, the one between the living and dining rooms in a victorian house and is therefore almost certainly structural. The damp rises from the skirting board about 30" max although theres possibly some small spots higher up. Walls upstairs are fine, no sign of damp. Roof looks ok from the garden.

I dont think theres any threat to electics but there is a radiator pipe hidden behind some skirting board that could be to blame.

Bit strange as the house is on a hill, there should be ample clearance between the earth and the floor and the airbricks (atually cast iron grates) are all not blocked. I would think damp would normally occur next to exterior walls or roofs.....

I'll call my insurer in the morning and see what they say.

Good morning: what route does the water main take i.e. does it run under your suspended floor? Alternatively a central heating or DHW pipe could be the culprit i.e. leaking joint, pinholed, nail/screw through pipe...the OH has discovered all of these over the years as causes of interior wall damp. Take up a floor board and have a boo. Any pipework buried in the walls?

Let us know how you get on.

HTH

Canucklehead

donmaico

dampdaveski wrote: »

Hi Jonewer,
I suspect your insurer won't be interested
Is the 'damp' near a chimney breast? have the walls been replastered recently using dot and dab plasterboard? or just over skimmed.
Try the property care association for a contractor, you have a level of security with these members that you don't get with 'joe bloggs' (yes I am a member) www.property-care.org

Good luck
DD

interesting you should say "is it near a chimney breast" because prior to moving into my new home and after a survey carried out by the local damp specialist, we had a whole section of internal wall done on either side and that was near a chimney breast.H e stated on his report that damp had "somehow bridged" the DPC membrane.It occurred to me afterwards that as the chimney breast and been sealed at the top and the fireplace blocked with little or no ventilation, there might some rubble lying inside which could account for the damp seeping sideways onto the walls, which in turn , proved expensive to treat ie two days work £1250+Vat.Caveat emptor!
Ironically I fund a very localised area of damp just above a window where a door use to be (I know this because there is a strip of DPC just above it in the brickwork) where the plaster has blown and is coming off on the inside of the window recess .It should of been picked up by the contractor but wasnt - he said the outside walls were fine.

hollydays

What are your floors made from?
What did the original survey say when you bought the house? What age is it?
Is there a current guarentee in force for the damp course?
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/using-guarantee/

jonewer

Thanks for all the responses.

Its not near a chimney breast. In fact one of the things thats baffling is that if you looked for the most interiourest wall in the house, that would be it! House is victorian, floor is nasty laminates over what I assume to be the original suspended floor. No survey done. No time for that, but thats another story!

I marked the "high water" with a pencil yesterday and it hasnt advanced, despite it having chucked down cats and dogs over night. I turned the radiator valve off a few hours before I marked it so I think its very likely a weeping joint in the CH system.