Surveyors fault?

Crazystar

Hello All,

Sorry for the long description...

I bought a 3 bed semi detached house in Nov 2015 and had a full "Buildings Survey" done by a RICS approoved surveyor(FRICS), and the survey report dint mention anything obvious. However now we see a rising damp in living and garage room(converted) and we are wondering why this was not caught in the survey.

I checked the survey report and it clearly states the house does not suffer from rising damp and the dpc is fully effective. We strongly feel the surveyor should have spotted this and should have mentioned it in his report.

I have now contacted the surveyor(by email) and he has not yet replied (more than a week now) to me. My questions are as below

1. Can the surveyor be held responsible for this and will he be liable to get the necessary repairs done?
2. If the surveyor does not take liability, can I approach the court via no win no fee solicitors firms who specialize in these type of claims?
3. How much does the repair costs? I had a damp company to look at it and they have quoted 4000 £ for the new DPC. Property is South west london.
4. I also read "rising damp" is a myth and can this can just be a condensation issue?

Appreciate your help in this matter as I have no clue what to do and how to fix it -

Thanks in Advance

steppevos

It could be condensation. Can you describe the damp (area, size, outside wall (cavity/double stones/?)? How much ventilation do you have in the house.

It looks like it wasn't there in November otherwise you would have seen it much earlier I assume. So I am not sure that the surveyor could have noticed it.

HouseBuyer77

What makes you think it's rising damp?

It could be the day the surveyor was there no damp was in evidence (perhaps the vendors, aware of the problem recently replastered/repainted to hide it).

eddddy

Are you only relying on the damp treatment company's assessment of the problem?

That might not be reliable.

G_M

1) a damp proof company will always diagnose damp, and quote thousands to fix it. that's how they do business.

2) you will need an independant damp survey, by someone who does not treat damp himself 9so has no vested interest).

3) the damp may not have been there in November. Or may not have been evident in November

4) to claim off the surveyor, you'll need an independant expert to state that
a) rising damp exists
b) it existed in november and
c) it would have been evident in november

If you can get all 3 proved, then you can make a claim. more likely, you independant report will say there is damp now but it cannor be proved what it was like in November.

6) what makes you think it's 'rising damp'?
* damp smell?
* mold?
* peeling wallpaper?
* water evident on the wall?
* a 'damp meter' reading?

7) where exactly is the problem?
* Base of a wall? which floor? How high up does it extend?
* top of a wall? which floor? How far down does it extend?
* middle of a wall? How extensive?

8) What is outside in the corresponding part of that wall? describe the exterior.

Crazystar

Thanks for your replies. Some information on the damp -

1. Damp is seen in living room and Garage room(converted). Living room is 26 feet in length 10.8 feet in width.
2. Skirting board in living room has watery bubbles and damp patches are seen just above the skirting board. Powdery salt deposits are seen in damp patches.
3. There is a tide mark seen just above the skiritng board.
4. Two companies who have looked into the issue have confirmed its a rising damp and their damp meters showed high degree of moisture in the affected walls.
5. The house has the plastic damp proof course installed and is confirmed in my survey report.
6. Its a semi-detached house built around 1975. The external walls are of brick construction. Ground floor is of solid construction.

eddddy

It's unlikely that a uPVC dpc would fail in a 40 year old house.

It's more likely that the dpc is being bridged - or perhaps something is leaking (or has leaked) into/onto the floor.

You say the garage has been converted. Were the internal walls plastered as part of the conversion? If so, is the plaster bridging the dpc?

(You could compare the level of the dpc outside, with the level of the plaster inside - although that's not 100% conclusive.)

An RICS building surveyor might give you a more informed opinion than a damp treatment company reps - who are esentially just salesmen.

Crazystar

Did some research on this topic and I have learnt there could be a number of reasons for damp issues. I agree an independent damp surveyor will be able to rightly diagnose the issue and can someone let me know how much a independent damp surveyor charges and where can I find a one in South west london?

Crazystar

Thanks Eddddy. Yes, the walls of the garage are plastered and I am not sure how the plastering can cause the bridging? I notice the floor of garage is slightly raised compared to the living room.

kingstreet

Try here;-

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

dc197

If the plaster covers areas both above and below the dpc this can be the bridge.