Damp Proofing - Ripped off?

Nurselayer

Hi folks,

A year ago a friend of mine bought a house. She had it surveyed for Damp and a report found evidence of damp in almost every wall. She then spent £6,000 on having the damp treated and the house damp proofed. This involved someone removing the whole kitchen so they could get to the wall.

A little while ago, she noticed that her skirting board was coming away from the walls, then some tiles in the kitchen popped away from the walls. She asked me if I had any clue as to what could have caused it and I said I thought it might be due to damp. She got the company who'd done the damp proofing to come round and they said that it definitely couldn't be rising damp as it was too high up the wall. So, she got someone around to do the pointing on the outside wall thinking that must be where the problem was.

Recently, some more tiles popped. I suggested she get a damp survey done. Guess what? The survey shows the wall are riddled with damp. The surveyor said that the damp proofing was not done properly and that he reckons the problem is exactly the same as it was a year ago (except worse).

The damp proofing company that originally did the work seems to be a fairly well respected company (9.5 on Checkatrade off 99 reviews.).

What should she do? Has she got any claim against the dampproofing company for the damage to her tiling etc? What if the dampproofing has been done badly? Will they pay for the kitchen to be removed and replaced so that they can get to the walls again? What are her rights?

TheCyclingProgrammer

Who did the second damp survey? Was it independent and paid for?

maninthestreet

Get a qualified surveyor to investigate - not yet another salesman from a damp-proofing company.

Doozergirl

maninthestreet wrote: »

Get a qualified surveyor to investigate - not yet another salesman from a damp-proofing company.

You can see it carrying on eternally if they don't get a genuine expert in! You could have an endless procession of damp proofing saleman coming theough and criticising the last work.

Hoploz

Sounds like the company who found the damp did the work - salesman rather than surveyor, is it a proper surveyor who has come back second time, or another salesman? It can be hard to tell the difference but generally speaking an independent surveyor will charge at a professional rate for the inspection and report whereas a salesman will be a 'free' survey and 'advice,' or perhaps a small charge to make it look genuine.

It's unlikely that damp will actually rise far up a wall. The pointing may have helped. Have the walls been given a chance to dry out? If they're really wet then plaster is often removed for this reason. Or there could be other simple causes such as poor guttering, or is it on a wall prone to lots of weather damage? Even holes in the roof causing water to find a route to trickle down. Internal factors such as condensation from poor ventilation is another big cause. Double glazing alongside steam from showers or tumble dryers without adequate ventilation can cause loads of damp and mould problems. Or simply a small leak from a water pipe. (A flat I own suffered a damp wall for over 4 years while the freeholder who'd converted the building umm'd and aah'd about the cause. In the end my first suggestion of the flat upstairs having a leak under their bath was finally found to be the cause. Yes I'm obvs a rocket scientist. A tiny leak that just dripped steadily caused my whole wall to be wet and mouldy in a room where kids were having to sleep!)

Some of these things can be found by a DIYer, but a damp surveyor might help if you run out of ideas. But after one experience of so-called damp proofing I hope they don't get fooled again.

BTW this sort of work usually has a 10 year warranty. If the symptoms remain the same then I'd be asking for help from citizens advice regarding a refund. Or perhaps a bank or card company if payment was made on a card?

Nurselayer

Thanks for your replies. Both surveys were done by the same company (one which offers a free damp survey). The work was done by a separate damp proofing company.

Should she get a proper surveyor in to have a look then? I do believe that this work did come with a 10 year guarantee, although I've not seen it, or its terms.

Thanks for your help so far.

Kynthia

Get a proper damp specialist, not a free survey by a company that are hoping to get work out of you, to do a proper report on the cause of the current damp and whether the damp proof course work was properly done. These are possibly two seperate questions for the specialist as I don't know if the cause of the damp could be unrelated and the damp proof course could still be fine. Then if you have evidence the company dud a poor job get advice from Trading Sandards or CAB about making a complaint or suing them for costs to rectify.

phil24_7

Nurselayer wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. Both surveys were done by the same company (one which offers a free damp survey). The work was done by a separate damp proofing company.

Should she get a proper surveyor in to have a look then? I do believe that this work did come with a 10 year guarantee, although I've not seen it, or its terms.

Thanks for your help so far.

You would only get a free survey if they carried out rectifications works to pay for them. The 'other' company was likely a subsidiary, or a second company owned by the same people to make them look unconnected.