Wet Concrete floor/ Rising Damp

Tracy28

Hi,
Not sure if this is the correct place to post this!! We have recently started decorating and have noticed that some of the wallpaper was peeling near the skirting boards. Other areas have developed 'bubbling' in the plaster as well as a 'sandpaper' texture to one wall. I contacted a damp proofing specialist who has confirmed I have rising damp however; on further inspection they noticed that a bump had appeared on my kitchen floor (I knew about this but honestly, I thought it was just the shoddy workmanship of the guy who laid the flooring). On removal of a section of laminate, the tiles that cover the concrete floor had crumbled and the concrete floor underneath had crumbled too and looked like wet sand.

The DP specialist has given me a quote to repair the rising damp however; the quote to repair the floor seems expensive. He has quoted me £860 to repair 1 square metre of floor. My concern is this; if he repairs this section and the entire floor is damp, won't this problem just reappear? Also all of the rising damp is on adjoining internal walls; could the floor be the cause of the rising damp?

My house is approximately 60 years old and an ex local authority property, therefore they were built to last. I live in Hull which was hit hard during the 2007 floods. Although I did not think I had been hit by the flood (there was no water inside my property), the front and back garden filled up like a small lake! This happened again in 2012.

I've contacted RSA, my insurance who obviously have informed me that I'm not covered. They say that the DPC is 'general maintenance' of the property. I'm not sure how you're supposed to know it needs maintaining when it is a DPC and a concrete floor underneath laminate AND old Council House tiles!!! I believe that this problem began with the floods and is continuing to get wet every time it rains, (my garden is on an incline to the house).

I'm not sure whether to pursue RSA regarding possible flood damage. Do I have the rising damp dealt with or is this being caused by the wet concrete floor? I am abolutely desperate for any advice ... PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks in advance xxx

wallbash

I contacted a damp proofing specialist who has confirmed I have rising damp

What a surprise, they work on comision they ALWAYS find a problem

He has quoted me £860 to repair 1 square metre of

I WOULD want the whole floor floor for that price.

GET A SECOND opinion ,from a local builder , not another 'damp' expert

Doozergirl

If there is a problem with a wet concrete floor, it sounds like you have a leak?

DPC is all smoke and mirrors. If you didn't have a wet concrete floor, you wouldn't have damp walls. If it is the floor then the while thing has to be replaced with a proper damp proof membrane - not to say that we know what the problem is at the moment but a new floor has to have a complete DPM. Just because.

Edit: just re-read about rain. I wonder if you have a high water table.

zaax

Dig an 18" hole in the garden to see how high the water is.

Doozergirl

By the way, if your damp man doesn't understand the need for a floor replacement rather than a square, then he doesn't understand damp.

And you don't have rising damp, you have an unidentified problem. No point recommending a DPC until you know what that is.

teneighty

From the description it sounds like possible sulphate attack on the floor slab. This is not really my area of knowledge as it only tends to occur oop North so I have no idea if it occurs in Hull. It is caused by industrial waste being used as fill under the floor slab, ash from power stations etc.

Certainly the damp proofing contractor sounds like a complete numpty but it would probably be worth getting a second or third opinion and maybe speak to a local structural engineer of building surveyor to find out if sulphate attack of floors is a local risk.

Tracy28

How do I find out if I have a high water table?

Doozergirl

Dig a hole as advised above and observe if it fills with water at any point.