"Significant rising damp"

nikki1232123

Hi,
My boyfriend and I are currently buying a groundfloor flat in a victroian semi. We have just had the survay done and it has come back saying that there is 'significant rising damp'. It doesnt say where the damp is, and we can see no suggestion of damp in the flat...no marks on the wall, buckling, condensation on the windows etc, no smell of damp so we are a bit confused as to where we go from this.

Has anyone else had something like this pop up on a survay, how seriously should we take it...what should we do now?!

Thanks so much for any help!

Jaynne

Well for a start I'd phone the surveyor and ask where and what they would expect to do about it. They will at least be able to give you some basic info although they are usually reluctant to be drawn about exact costs.

Edwardia

When surveyors stick damp meters on older houses they can register higher levels of damp unless completely re-plastered and with new damp course/alternative. So I would ask questions about the construction ad ask whether the ventilation is adequate.

The houses were built to be breatheable so that moisture wicked to the exterior. They were usually built with lime mortar between the bricks and had horsehair plaster. Modern vinyl paints and wallpapers stop the wicking process.

On our Edwardian house with horsehair plaster we took off 12 layers of wallpaper in some rooms and painted. In the room we used a period colour modern vinyl paint the paint blew off the wall. Where we used Farrow and Ball Estate Emulsion the paint stayed on and there's no hint of damp.

I painted terracotta pots in vinyl emulsion for the garden using tester potsand once there was a plant in the pot it soon came away but the estate emulsion tester pots used stayed on far longer.

After that we switched to F&B. However as an alternative vinyl paints for new plaster which are breatheable have also worked well (recommend Wickes Trade).

I'm not saying that this IS the solution to the damp problem in the house and you do need to ask questions but sometimes with an old house the low tech solution really works.

Yorkie1

I suspect that your surveyor also recommended a separate damp survey? If you get one, don't use a company that does them free - they just want your business. Use an independent surveyor e.g. one from the PCA:
http://www.property-care.org/

HarriDec

You probably need a damp proof course (DPC), usually pretty straight forward for a builder to do. Obviously you should get the specifics from the surveyor first.