Survey damp/condensation?

supernothing

Hi,

We are selling our 1901 mid terrace house, survey has said high damp reading in external kitchen wall.

We have no visual signs of damp either internal or external. So no moss on the bricks outside and no dark patches or mould anywhere in the kitchen. The only thing we have noticed on the wall is the paint has bubbled slightly in a small patch near the skirting boards, again skirting boards are in good condition and as far as we know never replaced. The room also doesn't smell damp.

This is the only room that doesn't have a radiator and it is very cold in winter, I'm guessing the bubbles may be caused by condensation. We noticed last week while cooking that wall was a bit shiny so open the back door.

When we purchased the property 10 years ago our survey also brought up this reading but our mortgage company where happy with a letter from a local builder saying a dpc was present, the wall looks the same as it did 10 years ago, only painted a different colour.

The buyer is sending a builder next week to price up the cost of the damp work required, I'm sure they are just going to say a new dpc is needed.

Any pointers on what we can do or what we need to look for to prove we have no damp?

G_M

It's a ******!

Surveyors use crude meters that don't even measure damp, they measure electrical conductivity between the prongs. Water moisture of course is one possible cause of an electic current running.....

And as you say, if there IS damp it could well be localised, temporary condensation, and thus not significant.

the risk is the buyers (or even their lender) insist you need a (£2000?) damp proof course or similar.

Try to question their builder when he comes - he, of course, may have a vested interest in finding damp as he could get a job oit of it.

If they come back later demanding a price reducion on the basis of the builder's report, insist they get an independant damp surveyor's report ie from someone who does not do remedial work.

supernothing

Thanks,

I've spent most of the day reading up on damp on the internet! I'm sure it's condensation but trying to convince 2 very wet behind the ears first time buyers is going to be hard!

G_M

Did you come across

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

supernothing

Thanks, I had seen it come up on the google search but not yet read it. I have looked at which.co.uk reports into dodgy damp identification.

Building_Surveyor

The buyer should be getting a specialist damp survey done by an independent damp surveyor not a builder. If worse comes to the worst you could always get one done if your not happy with the outcome. But really this should have perhaps been further investigated by yourselves a while ago...

supernothing

With having no signs of any dampness, mould, moss or peeling plaster we didn't think damp. Surely if there is true damp there would signs not just a 'meter reading'

Halle71

We had what we thought was damp on an internal wall - the wallpaper would bubble and discolour but then calm down which should have given me a clue about what it was but I still got two damp 'experts' round.
Both told me it was rising damp and gave me quotes for £750 and circa £1000 to remedy.
I then read up about damp and how these companies are sales companies rather than building companies and that most cases are at best misdiagnosed, at worst deliberately wrongly diagnosed.
Unsure, we left it until we were decorating and our builder stripped the paper to discover pristine plaster. The waterproof wallpaper plus condensation was causing our problems.

Mickygg

When I got my property my surveyor found high damp readings in a room. Got the EA damp people in to do a reccy. They quoted work was required to tank the walls plus next room, £4k!!!!

A year on, yes there is a bit of damp but I think it's on the floor where I need to seal this with some sealant. The walls that were tested appear fine, no bubbling, mould, stains etc. no way was all that work needed, which my surveyor at the time agreed.


So, you send round a damp company where they know high damp readings have been found, they will diagnose work that is needed.....but not needed!

supernothing

Thanks, Mickygg.

Do you think we could ask the surveyor who came any visual of damp was found rather than just a meter reading?

Also is it actually possible to have damp without any signs of it.

anselld

supernothing wrote: »

With having no signs of any dampness, mould, moss or peeling plaster we didn't think damp. Surely if there is true damp there would signs not just a 'meter reading'

Mould and moss don't tend to grow on rising damp as the salts in the moisture suppress them. Mould is more a sign of condensation where the moisture is "pure".

Bubbling paint can be sign of damp as it happens when the underlying plaster becomes contaminated.

I would agree with GM there are plenty of instances of false positives from damp meters, but that doesn't mean rising damp is a complete fiction.

It sounds, even in the worst case, that this is very localised and should not be expensive to fix. Let the buyers send an independent damp surveyor if they are concerned.