Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

michaels

Doozergirl wrote: »

Do you have suspended floors downstairs? Plenty of airbricks? Would you know what your damp proof course looks like in that part of the house?

If it isn't all the time, then I'd say either your water table has risen in this particular wet and you have some sitting water under the floors, or you have heavy rainfall managing to breach the DPC more than it might. It could be a lack of subfloor ventilation just making things musty (still needs to be rectified though!).

I don't believe in damp proofing treatments so I wouldn't spend thousands with anyone. There will be an obvious problem with an obvious solution.

Thanks Doozer.

So it is the new single story extension which has a solid concrete floor although it also has pipes running through it to air-bricks to ventilate under the old suspended floor section. I think the patio may be a bit high, it is only an inch or two lower than the floor. I also wonder if the problem started last year when we started using the pool and emptied it into the patio surface drain which also takes the roof runoff and goes to the soakaway. The soil is extremely non-porous clay so could the soakaway become full? There is no sign of the water level rising in the patio surface drain trap. Another possible issue is with all the drainage work the patio has 'settled' in places so not all the surface water goes to the drain and some probably comes back towards the house where there are a couple of shingle holes next to the wall where the underfloor vent pipes mentioned above emerge.

The other possibility is the felt on the pitched roof of the single story extension is cut off too short above the gutter and water flows back horizontally along the fascia boards towards the wall, I am not sure if water could actually be making its way inside the fascia boards and actually into the cavity wall. There are no damp patches visible but it is recently painted.

Doozergirl

Pyxis wrote: »

Michaels, go to the RICS website (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).

http://www.ricsfirms.com

Enter your town and what type of surveyor you need......there is a Damp option..... and they will give you your nearest firm of surveyors. They will be totally independent.

A RICS surveyor will take his little meter and suggest getting a damp specialist out. RICS surveyors are often the jack of all trades, master of none. If it obvious, they may strike gold.

There are completely independent specialists that you can pay for and I would certainly much rather Michael do that than have any kind of free survey from anyone that provides 'solutions'.

I'd be happy to look at any photos, as would any of the guys on the In My Home board.

Doozergirl

Your patio should have a shingle border to be safe, not butt up to the house. You should also have a 150mm gap between ground/patio level and your damp proof membrane, which should be ever so slightly visible as a line of black plastic.

The patio should also be angled at a slight gradient away from the house so that water does not run towards it.

I'd be very surprised if a soakway filled up.

If it were the roof, you could be right, but I'd expect some evidence on water on the outside walls. It would be unusual not to have spills elsewhere.

If nothing is visible, perhaps one area of wall is colder than others?

Pyxis

Doozergirl wrote: »

A RICS surveyor will take his little meter and suggest getting a damp specialist out. RICS surveyors are often the jack of all trades, master of none. If it obvious, they may strike gold.

There are completely independent specialists that you can pay for and I would certainly much rather Michael do that than have any kind of free survey from anyone that provides 'solutions'.

I'd be happy to look at any photos, as would any of the guys on the In My Home board.

I wasn't suggesting a General Surveyor or a Valuation Surveyor, but a Chartered Surveyor who has specialised as a Building Surveyor.

ivyleaf

silvercar wrote: »

council tax mess.

Students are exempt from council tax.

What generally happens is that the students start renting a house and a council tax bill arrives. They know they are exempt so ignore it. Sometime in the Autumn term the university lets the council know the names and address of all students. The council see that there is no one in the property liable for council tax and cancels the bill. The end.

What actually happened. Council tax bill arrived. Students ignored it. University told council that the students were at the address and that their masters course started in September. Council reduces the bill to only covering the Summer months before the official course start date. No one notifies the students that they weren't actually classified as students between the end of the degree and the start of the masters. Council starts enforcement proceedings. Council takes students to court. Students unaware. Bailiffs turn up. Mum gets phone call.

Oh my goodness

ivyleaf

chris_m wrote: »

You need a damp surveyor who DOESN'T work for a damp-proofing company.

Note - I don't mean one on whom you turned the garden hose as soon as he arrived, that would be a wet surveyor

:rotfl:

GDB So glad to hear the good news

Generali

silvercar wrote: »

I'm home.

Trying to argue that the council started enforcement action before issuing a revised bill ie they started proceedings chasing an amount that wasn't actually due.

Go to this forum:

http://boards.fool.co.uk/legal-issues-practical-51110.aspx?mid=13382011

Post your woes clearly and succinctly. Hopefully clitheroekid will take up cudgels on your behalf. He's blimmin' amazing.

Wheezy_2

michaels wrote: »

I started three threads last night to say why I am voting the way I will.

I voted the other way.
Can we still be friends? :grouphug::grouphug:

michaels

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'd be very surprised if a soakway filled up.

For scale, the pool is about 5 cubic metres or the equivalent of about 2.5 inches of rain falling onto the roof and patio area that drains into the soakaway.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

I hope that, if I'm ever up before the beak, ... that you're not on my jury!

I'd look and see if I thought you "looked like the sort of person that did it"