New damp course and associated costs...

dampdaveski

Nothing wrong with membranes when used in the right context Taylor.
The problem is no one can diagnose this type of problem accuratley on a forum.
However!!! you mention mould, it is very rare for mould to grow on a wall affected by rising damp, unless there is an impervious covering between the two.
Rising damp is effectively salt water, mould is a plant and consequently won't grow on salt water. That over simplifies it but hopefully you get the idea
Sorry to add to your confusion!

DD

Taylor132

Thankyou Dampdaveski, that has really helped me sort it in my mind. Obvious really when you think about it....d'oh!

When I say mould though, I'm talking about a ting patch with maybe 5 little spores and this is right next to the offending wall (Think L shape). The wall with the mould got tested tonight and showed no damp whatsoever and mould hasn't altered/grown for a long while (I have had a dehumidifier in that small room for the last 6 months though.....

Am I being unreasonable expecting a reason for the damp? Especially when the damp seems so specific (2 seperate walls).... what steps would anyone recommend for going forward? I really would like to know what the cause is so I can do everything to stop it as I'm looking to get a beautiful parquet flooring done in the affected room so I don't want to risk harming that.

Doozergirl

Are these people looking for the source of the dampness? Ultimately, we want what is causing it to stop, not to treat the symptoms of it.

If you watch that 15 minute video on the website that was linked to, it might give you an idea of where some very typical problems might be.

They should be looking outside for reasons.

Taylor132

2nd guy did spend a fair amount of time outside but still no real reason, this one rambled on about the mystery of rising damp.... Very concerned by the suggestion to just leave damp in a wall. Like you say, finding the origin is the only way to guarantee success.

This is a 1950s house so not really old, the drains are all clear, I've opened up the air bricks (admittedly only very recently) All the guttering is cleared at least once a year. There is also a small stone shingle around the entire house so there is no bridging.

As my issue is only very minor. I'm tempted to leave it a few months and then check again and see if anything I have done has affected it. Also maybe unrelated.....I think I have found my leak in the CH. 4 radiators have very blue valves curtsey of the copper corrosion... 2 of these radiators are in the damp areas which are also cold areas of my house. It is very noticeable to walk into these rooms and feel a chill. The other 2 radiators - one is in the bathroom so well ventilated and the other is in the living room so again well ventilated and generally the warmest room.

Just a guess at this stage (struggle to believe a small leak could cause, through condensation, a wall to go damp but it could have been over several years....) so apologies for the ramblings....

SilverSaloon

you need to fix the reason for the damp.

do not do anything that prevents the wall to breathe.

remove any concrete, check your ground levels, and rainwater goods. and then dont do anything else until its had time to dry out.

go to https://www.periodproperty.co.uk forums for good advice.

you dont need any "damp specialist"

danm

Abbey independent Surveys, while not cheap are truly independent. I used them after my surveyor and builder diagnosed rising damp.

Not moisture meters in sight - took core samples from the walls and tested their moisture content - in addition to a number of other tests.

Result was no rising damp at front of the house. The 'rising damp' diagosed by the builder was in fact water damage from an upstairs leak.

They were also able to provide recomendation on the fixing/restatments which did include a membrane to allow me to immediately redecorate rather than waiting for the wall to dry naturally.

kingstreet

When I get a client with problems like this, I link to this;-

http://independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

and suggest they pay someone to find the problem, not pay someone to treat the symptoms.

Wigglysquiggly

Hi, I'm new on here and found this topic very interesting. I'm in the process of buying a small 1 bedroom bungalow and have been given an astronomical quote for doing the damp course nearly £5000!!! needless to say I'm getting more quotes and letting them know I can do some stuff myself to keep costs down. As in it doesn't cost nearly £900 just to take off skirtings and radiators!!! eeeekk

After watching the video clip as mentioned above It's blindingly obvious what needs to be done but was not even mentioned in my Damp survey which was more of a quotation hmmm. So pleased I looked on this forum

Doozergirl

I'm glad it helped, wigglysquiggly.

The spammy guy has obviously been deleted now. I did try to contact the owner of the website, but they're clearly too busy to bother with an answerphone or even to answer their emails. I'm not even that far from them, so slightly bemused at who the spammy one might have been, if it wasn't the owner.

I have a buildings surveyor coming out to my property tomorrow for some advice on the one wall that is baffling me. That wall has no less than three! damp proof courses at different levels!

dominoman

Wigglysquiggly wrote: »

Hi, I'm new on here and found this topic very interesting. I'm in the process of buying a small 1 bedroom bungalow and have been given an astronomical quote for doing the damp course nearly £5000!!! needless to say I'm getting more quotes and letting them know I can do some stuff myself to keep costs down. As in it doesn't cost nearly £900 just to take off skirtings and radiators!!! eeeekk

Well it might help you get some money off the price of the house.