Penetrating damp - how long to dry out?

noelphobic

I think I may have penetrating damp. Steps have been taken to remedy the causes - mainly repointing and repair of gutters. However, there is still damp. Could it be that it's just taking a while to dry out - especially as we have had a lot of rain lately - or do I have an ongoing problem?

I know no one can give me a definitive answer but any advice would be really appreciated.

abankerbutnotafatcat

There's a calculation we were advised - a certain thickness dries out per month. But it means it can take up to a year to completely dry out.

tony6403

The rule of thumb is reckoned to be 1 inch (25mm) per month drying out time for brickwork.
Possibly this is right but I think that a sound structure should dry out much more quickly than that , but there are so many variables.

noelphobic

The floor is also damp under the worktops - it's a concrete floor. How long would this be expected to take to dry out or is the fact that the floor is damp suggest it is something other than penetrating damp?

I am going to try to phone a couple of damp specialists today. I know a lot of people reckon that they will say that expensive and extensive work needs doing, whether it does or not, but I will see what they say. I did have a builder in to do some work to eradicate the damp and repair the damage. In retrospect I wish I had got a specialist in first and waited before getting new cupboards and flooriing, as I am now worried that they will be damaged or will have to be ripped out again. The floor has been tiled with extremely expensive tiles so they are my biggest worry.

There were other causes of the damp - the washing machine and sink had been leaking. There was also damp on the walls and floor in the adjoining dining room which seems to have dried out now. I am hoping this problem is confined to a relatively small area and can be eradicated without too much stress or expense but I need to find out. I buried my head in the sand when I last had damp and lived to regret it. I need to do my best to nip it in the bud this time.

We are getting an awful lot of rain at the moment which isn't helping at all!

charlotte99

We had similiar problems, hired a small dehumidifier for a couple of week and it worked wonders.....we left it under the floorboards with a temporary floor, then just lifted this and emptied it.

noelphobic

charlotte99 wrote: »

We had similiar problems, hired a small dehumidifier for a couple of week and it worked wonders.....we left it under the floorboards with a temporary floor, then just lifted this and emptied it.

It's not working for me I'm afraid! I've had a dehumidifer for years and it is currently on whenever I'm out at work. When i am home I have the windows open as much as possible.

I also hired a large dehumidifer when I was getting work done on the kitchen and bathroom. It was on 24-7 for a week.

Also, I don't have floorboards - the floor is concrete.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Have you approached surveyors via the PCA or just companies that carry out the work? We got a surveyor, he produced a detailed report which we then used to contact the appropriate tradespeople.

noelphobic

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Have you approached surveyors via the PCA or just companies that carry out the work? We got a surveyor, he produced a detailed report which we then used to contact the appropriate tradespeople.

Just companies so far. I don't find their website very user friendly. When I put my area (North West) in it comes up with companies all over the UK!

How much did it cost for the surveyor? I don't want to rush into making any decisions about who to use and what to get done but I am aware from experience how much damage damp can do if it's not nipped in the bud. I have had a quote for £1180 and will have that in writing by the end of the week as so far it has only been discussed in a phone call (although the company has of course been to my house to look at what needs doing!)

noelphobic

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Have you approached surveyors via the PCA or just companies that carry out the work? We got a surveyor, he produced a detailed report which we then used to contact the appropriate tradespeople.

The 2 companies that I did contact told me that they don't do work that involves concrete floors and apparently that is quite common. I don't know whether that means a surveyor would also not be interested, although I don't suppose there's any harm in asking.

abankerbutnotafatcat

We have a concrete floor, the independent surveyors just look and poke and prod and measure and photograph and whatever they need to do to ascertain the issues and suggest remedies. Ours cost £200 and we're in an high cost area so if anything yours will be a bit less.

With ours he felt the original, probably slate, DPC may have been slightly breached but it wasn't much of an issue. He recommended the application of a painted on epoxy substance on top of the floor prior to us fitting floor tiles. Most of our problem was caused by moisture from a sweating floor (plastic sheeting under laminate) climbing the walls as the plaster touched the floor.

Yes, we had to work our way down the list on the PCA website to find one with a local address.