Damp Damp Damp

ST1991

We haven't bought the house yet, but are close to completion. We've had 2 damp companies around to quote us, and are aware the house has damp.
It has risen above the existing damp proof course creating a 'band' of damp around the house, with the back wall of the house being wet all the way up at ground level (which may be due to the ground level outside being even to the indoor ground, and it having concrete flooring)

Now... it's a pretty small 2 bed 1900's terrace, with 2 reception rooms downstairs (each approx 3.5x4.5)

1 quote we've had includes tanking... whereas the other doesn't.
Each state that the 2 outside walls (3.5 meters wide) need to be treated/re plastered to full height with DPC. All other walls need re plastering to 1.5M.
quote without tanking is around £5, the other with it is £6.5k

It seems a little excessive, although we do obviously want a quality job. Does anyone have any recent experience with DPC costs?

Help appreciated!

p.s we're too far along to bother with renegotiating the price of the house now... currently renting it pending exchange, been going on since January etc etc

Doozergirl

Why would it need tanking? Is the back wall below ground?

If you've read any posts about damp on these boards, you'll know what many of us think of damp treatment salespeople.

Is this damp visible to you?

G_M

ST1991 wrote: »

....We've had 2 damp companies around to quote us, and are aware the house has damp.

Let me gues - they provided you with a free 'survey'?

Now - what business are they in? How do they make their money?

Hint - by offering to do expensive remedial work which may or may not be appropriate/necessary.

Pay an independant damp surveyor who does not do remedial work himself, for an objecive report/

Hoploz

You need to eliminate the source of the damp. If the ground level outside is higher than the floor level then this needs addressing. Is it hard standing or soft eg garden soil? If its soft then it's easily altered. If it's hard surface eg patio then it needs digging out and a drainage channel put in.

Tanking would be accepting there is damp and hoping to insulate the inside of the house while letting the outside remain damp.

Once the cause of the damp is found it'll need to dry out or else you can chip away and replace the damp plaster

Katgrit

Wow that's expensive!

I just had my 2 bed end terraced tanked. Well not "tanked" exactly, but surrounded with damp proof membrane rather than having it slurried.

All 4 external walls (inside the house but still external if you get me!) and one internal wall taken back to brick full height, damp proof membrane applied with special fixing pegs, covered in dot and dab plasterboard with thermal insulation, 2 new ceilings, all plastered to full height including the stairwell wall which went right upstairs.

£950 for damp proofing man which was membrane to half height, but not the floor doing. Would have been £720 cash but I paid extra for it to have a 20 year guarantee.
£3200 for the plasterer, which included knocking off, thermal plasterboard, 2 ceilings, and all the plastering.

And I thought the £3200 was a bit expensive.

Hope that helps! If you're in the north west I can give you details.

Katgrit

My 2 downstairs rooms are approx 4 x 4 m and 5.5 x 4 m. ish.

Floor didn't need doing because that has been asphated at some point in past 30ish years

House is an old pit cottage built in 1875.

Just remembered, that price also included the adjoining kitchen wall in the little extension.

bmthmark

I wouldn't commit to those kind of quotes.
It sounds like you haven't moved in yet. Personally I would wait, move in and see how it goes.

It wouldn't surprise me if there was no damp at all. Is the property currently vacant?

Damp can be caused by something very simple like dodgy guttering.

As someone has already stated, the damp companies business is damp. They are not going to turn up and say the property is fine as they would be turning down potential business.

ST1991

Thanks for all of your replies.

It definitely does have damp, it is visible to us, and i walked around with the surveyor as they tested the walls.
Wallpaper peeling around the damp 'band' and where painted, you can see the paint/plaster bubbling off. The back wall which is the worst is very wet.

Outside is the same level, with hard-standing patio. Would you recommend digging down say half a foot, and replacing the patio there so it is not at the same level?

p.s we are living in it until the sale goes through (renting from the seller) which i've discussed in a previous thread.

Grenage

ST1991 wrote: »

Outside is the same level, with hard-standing patio. Would you recommend digging down say half a foot, and replacing the patio there so it is not at the same level?

Yes, any external ground needs to be reduced to ideally 150mm below DPM.

bmthmark

ST1991 wrote: »

Thanks for all of your replies.

It definitely does have damp, it is visible to us, and i walked around with the surveyor as they tested the walls.
Wallpaper peeling around the damp 'band' and where painted, you can see the paint/plaster bubbling off. The back wall which is the worst is very wet.

Outside is the same level, with hard-standing patio. Would you recommend digging down say half a foot, and replacing the patio there so it is not at the same level?

p.s we are living in it until the sale goes through (renting from the seller) which i've discussed in a previous thread.

When you say tested the walls was this the "damp expert"?
If so this maybe useful to read: http://www.heritage-house.org/the-ping-prong-meter-guilty-of-fraud.html

ST1991

Grenage wrote: »

Yes, any external ground needs to be reduced to ideally 150mm below DPM.

Would that be the same for the front of the house...?
It was tenanted long-term previously, and they had piled mud (YES, MUD) at the front of the house against the exterior wall for the living room... and wondered why it was damp in that corner...

At the front there is about a 2-3 inch gap between the paving slabs and exterior walls filled with what i can only describe as driveway pebbles/stones. No idea why..!