Rising damp - who do I call?

katesmommy

Hi everyone

Sorry if this is a dumb question.

The wall between my kitchen and living room is showing signs of rising damp. This is the original end wall as the kitchen is an extension (done circa 10 years ago).

We have noticed it in the archway (it is an open arch rather than a doorframe and door). It's the bottom 12 inches or so on either side, very damp and mould has now appeared. The laminate we laid in the living room is now starting to bubble under the archway. The kitchen floor is bare concrete (not tiled it yet due to this damp) so not sure what's going on?

I've got asthma and mould is a massive trigger for me so I am eager to get it sorted, who do I call? Will they come out and explain/quote for free? I don't even know what to google!

Any advice?

dampdaveski

Hi Katesmommy,
If there is mould growing on the wall where it is showing signs of damp, it is unlikely to be a case of genuine rising damp.
Rising damp will not make laminate bubble under the archway.
Obviously it is extremely difficult to diagnose a problem like this via a forum (although there lots of opinionated ar####les on here that do! )
There is a chance that you have a leaking pipe somewhere, possibly under the concrete floor.
Is there a drain adjacent to the area outside that could be causing the problem?
Or a leaking rainwater pipe or defective gutter / roof leak
This could be an insurance claim assuming you have buildings insurance of course.
Who to call next?
Try a member of the Property Care Association (https://www.property-care.org)
Or do you know a reputable local builder who can carry out some exposure work such as taking up a bit of laminate, removing some of the damp plaster.
Alternatively call your insurance company and tell them you think you have a leaking pipe, they should send someone out to assess it

Hope this helps
DD

gavinh1175

Agree with dampdaveski - rising damp is rare & need to find the source of the problem.

A damp firm will probably recommend a chemical damp course. Like the one who said my house doesnt have damp proof course & quoted me £1,500. Just be aware. There are lots of mixed thoughts on chemical injection....

myhooose

I'd google for a local independant damp surveyor, making sure they are CSRT qualified and truly independant of any damp proofing installers.

abankerbutnotafatcat

We got a survey off a PCA guy last May. It cost £200 and was very detailed and practical. We took his advice and despite having since had one of the wettest years on record our problems have been resolved with a very small financial outlay and a lot of elbow grease!

dampdaveski

gavin, myhoose,
FYI, i'm a PCA member and I install damp proof courses for a living amongst other things. I just don't put them where they arn't needed
The 'Damp proofing trade' does have a bad reputation and for good reason, all I ask is just don't judge us all by the same cover

DD

myhooose

dampdaveski wrote: »

gavin, myhoose,
FYI, i'm a PCA member and I install damp proof courses for a living amongst other things. I just don't put them where they arn't needed
The 'Damp proofing trade' does have a bad reputation and for good reason, all I ask is just don't judge us all by the same cover

DD

I'm sure you are a very reputable contractor, however my experience of DPC contactors when buying a house (cheaply) with a lot of damp problems was not good. I invited two DPC contractors to survey the house and both stated the entire downstairs required injecting/re-plastering.

Only when I has a survey done by a independant damp surveyor I recieved sensible advise and ultimatley sorted the problem myself using a range of methods under the guidence of the damp surveyor at a fraction of the cost.

Touch wood the problems have not returned.

Dry_Rot

Hi,

You could do a lot worse than just visiting the Property Care Association web site. The PCA is the trade association for damp proofing contractors as well as independent consultants and surveyors.

Just use the find a member widget to get a list of local members in each catagory.

I must declare that I am a PCA member, but I do not use this forum for marketing my own business, Like DD I just give advice if I feel I can help.

Must echo DD's reply above - don't tar all damp proofing specialists as cowboys, they are not and it is very unfair to the good ones, some of them are excellent, DD included.

http://www.property-care.org/

gavinh1175

myhooose wrote: »

I'm sure you are a very reputable contractor, however my experience of DPC contactors when buying a house (cheaply) with a lot of damp problems was not good. I invited two DPC contractors to survey the house and both stated the entire downstairs required injecting/re-plastering.

Only when I has a survey done by a independant damp surveyor I recieved sensible advise and ultimatley sorted the problem myself using a range of methods under the guidence of the damp surveyor at a fraction of the cost.

Touch wood the problems have not returned.

Exactly the same advice was given to me too, by a PCA member, said the whole house need a DPC. Survey only picked up on 1 wall. Unfortunately the minority spoil it for the genuiene PCA members.

FACTorFICTION?

myhooose wrote: »

I'm sure you are a very reputable contractor, however my experience of DPC contactors when buying a house (cheaply) with a lot of damp problems was not good. I invited two DPC contractors to survey the house and both stated the entire downstairs required injecting/re-plastering.

Only when I has a survey done by a independant damp surveyor I recieved sensible advise and ultimatley sorted the problem myself using a range of methods under the guidence of the damp surveyor at a fraction of the cost.

Touch wood the problems have not returned.

well said. PCA member, and??? Every Peter Cox Salesman sits the PCA course. Enough said.

To install an injected DPC without PROVING its needed is infact fraud.

carbide testing should be carried out on ALL occasions.

The PCA course itself tells you not to as its destructive. Pardon? One hole drilled and calibrated? ....its a joke

abankerbutnotafatcat

Our PCA independent surveyor didn't recommend a new DPC. Our main issue was that the plaster went down to the floor and was absorbing moisture from the floor. He advised us to chip away the bottom few cms of plaster.