damp proofing downstairs

dilby

Hi all -

I recently purchased and moved into a 3 bed detached house which I suspected had an issue with damp - we got a company around to do a survey before purchasing and they told us it was rising damp due to the fact that the house was built before DPM's were required and therefore the house (stone walls) was sitting on the mud. Made sense to me and after doing some research I prepared myself for a cost of a few grand (Aviva say a standard 3 bed should be around £3-4K and I read a few similar estimates). I took the hit as I loved the house.

Now I've been in for 6 months I can see signs of damp on the walls in patches and I've had 2 companies around for full surveys (no work actually done yet). The signs of damp are just speckly patches slightly darker than the wall colour - nothing too crazy but enough to be concerned about, especially as I want to repaint and don't want to have to redo it again. The companies all same the same thing; remove the plasterboard at 1.2m high (it's just been dot and dabbed onto the stone), drill and inject, tank and then re-board and skim. It's downstairs only and a room roughly 7 x 4 m (the downstairs of our house is basically open plan). Both companies however have quoted £10k + vat which includes the damp proofing work, the replastering etc and the removing of rubbish.

The only other side of the scale is a couple of builders we've had around to quote and they really didn't seem to know their stuff at all - it seems no middle ground exists!

So my questions are:

1). Do those quotes seem expensive? (Seems so to me!)
2). How important is a guarantee? I know a good builder who could do it, but doesn't offer the sovereign guarantee that the others do.
(for example reselling the property etc).
3). The damp patches are only in particular places in the room, but the companies want to strip all of downstairs including internal walls - is this overkill and could costs be saved by localising the treatment without compromising the repair job?

Thanks all so much for your help in advance!

ChrisQueries

Hi
I just moved too and had damp issues with many people giving contradictory advice and opinions. However, I came across this guy (David Aldred from Aldred Ltd) who gave me fantastic easy-to-understand pointers on what to look for and what to consider. Sorry I can't help further, but I recommend him to offer a friendly, helpful and clear guide.

olimain

I'd be very wary of these so called damp specialist companies. I've done a fair bit of research on this and there's an enormous amount to suggest that rising damp is a myth, or if not, then it's so rare that 99% of building contractors will never see it in their careers - yet funnily enough every damp specialist company seems to find it.

Far more likely causes are penetrating damp - maybe due to pointing crumbling/falling away, gutters blocked, a leaking pipe, water running towards the house from a neighbour's patio, soil piled up against the side of the house etc. etc.

Have a read of this and be very hesitant about going with one of these companies: http://www.heritage-house.org/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

Hope I save you some cash!

bob-y

with due respect to all and after studying the subject my question is; does damp exist as we see it in the UK noting that in nearly all other countries there is no damp proof industry to speak of and most houses do not have damp proof courses installed??

holes_in_my_pockets

A polite word of warning - before booking any of these companies (large ones like Kenwood etc will charge you the earth and probably not qualified to carry out specialised reports), its really worth investing in a couple of hundred quid for a fully qualified specialist damp report by a member of an accredited body. They will tell you the work that really needs doing with no ulterior motive...