Rising damp in a Victorian house

Habbakuk

I'm about to purchase a house which was owned by a deceased relative. It's a terraced house. One of the walls has what appears to be 'rising damp appearing from the bottom. I believe that what the do in such cases is inject a kind of damp proof course into the wall. How far down below ground level is this done? A builder did look at it before and he gave me a price for various things which needed doing. I decided not to purchase at the time since somebody had put in a bid for it on the open market. The purchase was going through but weeks later they withdrew. I've managed to get it cheaper that's why I'm going ahead. Of course, I threw away the estimate the builder gave. If I remember correctly, it the dampness was going to cost a couple of thousand pounds if not more. Just wondering if I could cut the cost by doing the digging myself. So, how far down. Of course, I will have to speak to the builder about it.

Habbakuk

I've been doing some readin an apparently rising damp is quite rare. The wall with the dampness is one on the side adjoining another house. I also read that often dampness is caused by condensation. The relative who used to live there spent his time sitting in front of an old gas-fire which was turned up high. The property also has storage heaters in case that gives a better picture. In fact, I would imagine too, that he wouldn't have opened windows etc throughout the winter. Any thoughts?

wallbash

I've been doing some readin an apparently rising damp is quite rare.

There was ( is ) a guy writing a respected DIY colum in a national paper who has always dismissed the whole idea of rising damp. But there is a whole industry making money out of the problem ....... take your choice.

If I can recall the article will get back to you.

wallbash

Google is my friend

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

Habbakuk

Thanks wallbash. Just spoke to the builder. I said to me that the rising damp problems would be around £3000. I mentioned to him that I had beeen researching and that rising damp is quite rare and it could be condensation etc. He said that condenstaion is usually found in corners high up. But he did say that he uses a dampness expert and if I like I could ask him to take a look. He says that the guy sometimes even says that nothing needs to be done. I do trust this builder and members of my family have used him. I asked him if I could do some pick and shovel work and he said fine to save some money for example, to dig down if needed to plaster and skim concerning the dampness. What do you guys think?

SilverSaloon

you need to try and figure out whats causing the damp.

whats the ground level like vs the internal level

are there airbricks?

do the gutters leak?

has the wall been insulated but needs to breathe?

all these should be checked before spending/wasting money on damp proofing. Also many damp specialists are salesmen for damp companies. You need independent advice (which you will have to pay for) which doesnt profit from advsiing work

wallbash

SilverSaloon wrote: »

you need to try and figure out whats causing the damp.

whats the ground level like vs the internal level

are there airbricks?

do the gutters leak?

has the wall been insulated but needs to breathe?

all these should be checked before spending/wasting money on damp proofing. Also many damp specialists are salesmen for damp companies. You need independent advice (which you will have to pay for) which doesnt profit from advsiing work

Could not have put it better.

Errata

How far down below ground level is this done?

It's done above ground level.

ariba10

I don't know how true it is but was once told that the U K is the only place that uses a damp course when building.

ed110220

The first thing I would check is that the damp proof course hasn't been breached as this is a common problem with older houses, that tend to 'sit too low in the ground'. Often the ground outside has been raised, eg with one layer of paving on top of another, and this has come up above the damp proof course. Or a garden wall is built up against the house. My parents' house had both problems.

It's usually possible to tell whether the problem is water coming from outside or if it is condensation. Condensation tends to cause mould, while soaking water tends to cause brown stains.

Habbakuk

The wall with the dampness is the wall which adjoins the next terraced house if you know what I mean....ed110220

I'm going to have a look tomorrow and see what kind of stains there are.

No insulation has been carried out for at least and I mean at least a couple of decades. What if I try and take some pics?