Damp issue

Pint_of_Gem

Any advice welcome.....
We have an issue with damp in our front room. It seems to be mostly affecting the outside front wall on the inside. It smells.
We have someone coming out to look at it tomorrow but I suspect where the problem is coming from.....
the previous owner of the house we live in built 2 flats on the side (making the house from a semi-detached to a mid-terrace). I suspect that when a new damp-proof membrance was installed for the flats that it has somehow compromised what we have.
Does anyone know if there is any comeback on the builder of the flats/owner of the flats (still the previous owner of our house) if this is indeed the case?
Would a situation like this be covered by our house insurance, do you think? Currently really stressing out about a possible massive bill to sort it out.

devotee

Did you get a survey before you bought the property?

WLM21

A general builder can drill holes in the external wall and inject a silicon solution into the bricks. This will form a new damp proof barrier.

Internally, the plaster would normally be removed and replaced with a screed of waterproof sand/cement mortar, followed by new plasterwork. the smell would go then. Sometimes, I know not in your case, internal dampness is caused when people remove an old fireplace and don't install a vent. the old chimney then gets damp and the dampness comes through to the wall surfaces.

Regarding getting this sorted by your neightbour .. probably quite a problem proving blame.

Pint_of_Gem

devotee wrote: »

Did you get a survey before you bought the property?

Yes, although no mention of it. We got a 'Homebuyer Report' which isn't a full survey

Leif

Pint_of_Gem wrote: »

Yes, although no mention of it. We got a 'Homebuyer Report' which isn't a full survey

My HBR missed a fair few issues including potential damp.

Johnhowell

IMHO: Get an independant structural engineer with a specialty in damp issues to survey your property - not a salesman (sorry engineer/surveyor) from a damp-proofing company. I bet they will poke your wall with a damp meter and hey-presto damp!

The source of the water needs to be located - it could be a breached damp course (raised ground level outside), leaking/damaged guttering, bloked down pipes/hopper, damaged/blocked drainage pipe. Watch Sarah Beany - "my house is falling down" on C4 - many issues are glossed over but you will get the gist on the usual suspects when it comes to damp issues.

If the qualified surveyor/engineer assesses the issue as the flats next door then your insurance should rectify the issue and counterclaim off the builder/owner next door.

Good luck and do keep us informed on what develops.
John

Pint_of_Gem

The update is that the engineer working for the recommended company (Brunel Preservations in Bristol) has established two issues:

1) damp high (head height) in wall is coming through via a crack in render on the outisde. Easily fixed by removing and replacing inside and out.
2) damp low in bay window area is rising and probably because of lack of damp-proof membrane due to age of house. Again, relatively easily fixed by injecting a barrier in and then replacing internal plaster.

His initial estimate of the cost seems very reasonable and a 6-month quote should be in the post within 48 hours.

Will await the report and quote, but at the moment (compared to what we thought it might be and how much it might cost) quite relieved.

Johnhowell

My quick thoughts to the two comments made by the engineer(salesman):

1: obvious crack in rendering - "easy" solution to stop incoming water
2: why is damp only in the bay window due to no DPM? If the house "due to age" has no DMP then damp would be everywhere not just the bay window. I have noticed (TV programmes and other posts here) that bay windows do seem to suffer from damp - more than likely due to the changes in construction material and changes in direction of brickwork, etc. Houses do not necessarily have a DPM - older houses could have slate as the damp barrier.

I still suggest you get an independent structural engineer to survey your property not a representative from a damp proof company.

Good luck,
John

rustybucket

The 'engineer' is a salesman.

We had damp in our Victorian property.

We had 5 'experts' out with their meters, all gave different readings and indications as to where the problem was, they spoke tosh.

Eventually paid someone to come out, and he spent half the day looking at guttering, floors, drilling holes in walls/floors etc.

The problems were not with the walls, but the floor, which had been changed from wooden joists years ago to concrete which was soaking up water and had no DPM.

It was rotten, so had to get it replaced and cost a fair few quid, but if we had listened to the 'preservation' companies, we would not have solved our issues, we would have just wasted £1500/£2000.

3 years later not a sign of damp.

Have you checked your gutters? Whats the ground like outside of the bay window, does it breach the damp course? What is the ground made of (concrete, grass, tarmac etc)

Does it smell more after it has rained?

Is your floor solid in the front room or is it joists?

How old is your property and how long since the other properties were built?