Damp proof course

hiccupsgalore

I have had a timber and damp report back on the house I am buying and it has rising damp and needs a DPC in both reception rooms, a joist needs cutting back and treating, a few of the floorboards need replacing and 4 sub floor air bricks need replacing. all this came to £3,150.00
I have since read articles by Peter Ward from the Heritage House website suggesting that in most cases these surveys are a con and these 'recommended' treatments are unnecessary and good ventilation is what is needed. it is convincing reading but I really don't know what to believe or do now.

Gordon_Hose

Get an independant surveyor in to take a look. It'll set you back £200-£300 but they don't have a vested interest in seeling you damp rectification products.

We had one done and it was worth it's weight in gold.

Doozergirl

The fact that you need more airbricks is the indicator that the subfloor wasn't vented properly. Can you see how the subfloor is ventilated now?

If you have rotten joists etc then all of that does need to be treated, but if you then ventilate underneath correctly, there should be no need for a DPC.

You need to know if the plaster above is salvageable, though. Get a dehumidifier in to let the place dry out. Make decision on the plaster after the boards have been replaced.

I really don't believe in new DPCs. Solve the problem causing damp to want to climb. Even old houses have slate DPCs which should work perfectly well on a day to day basis, it's only when you have something causing a real increase that it fails. A chemical DPC is little better - it is not a fool proof guarantee and it won't stop problems caused if the airvents aren't cleared and/or replaced and added to.

Solve the problem causing the dampness then you shouldn't need something to stop it spreading.

hiccupsgalore

Thank you, that makes sense.

Mary-Jane_2

I had this problem on a refurb that we did.
Turned out the problem was that a lot of the concrete had fallen between the brick walls and forming a "water bridge"
We had to take a few bricks out and clear the debris away but it seemed to solve the problem.
~Unfortunatly this was after we had paid for a damp course!

kingstreet

http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

MisterB1959

Mary-Jane wrote: »

I had this problem on a refurb that we did.
Turned out the problem was that a lot of the concrete had fallen between the brick walls and forming a "water bridge"
We had to take a few bricks out and clear the debris away but it seemed to solve the problem.
~Unfortunatly this was after we had paid for a damp course!

you can remove a couple of bricks at a time and go all round the walls that are external. you can do this from the inside (as shown in the photo below), be ready to get scraped knuckles tho you can make yourself a special tool to 'rake' it towards you, make sure you cement in any removed bricks and leave them a day or two BEFORE you remove any others. reinstate any damp proof membrane you remove, though its best to remove bricks below it or above it if you can, so it remains undisturbed


in my experience 99% of rising damp is in fact due to cavities being breached by debris. the debris provides a bridge between the external brickwork and the internal brickwork


injecting a new dpc and then rendering the walls only hides the problem, it doesn't cure it

Emmylou_2

I can thoroughly recommend West Twelve (http://www.westtwelvesurveying.co.uk/) - we've just bought a Victorian semi that has had nothing (literally) done to it since the 1970s and their survey was fabulous...plus as they don't actually DO any works so they haven't got a vested interest in selling you any particular products/services, which reassured me that the survey was more accurate.