Moisture and damp in a Victorian house

newfoundglory

Hi all.
Today I had a full building survey done for a Victorian house I am trying to buy.
(Vacant possession and freezing cold when I saw it a few weeks ago)

Still waiting on the full report but initial summary was basically all clear apart from high moisture found in hallway walls and just one wall in the receiption room.

Due to the age, I have been googling and found contradicting advice all over the place about damp in Victorian houses.

Everything from water is fine as houses of this age are meant to breath and absorb water and evaporate (suspended floors)

To the claimed fact that rising damp is found in all Victorian houses, and only penetrating damp should be a concern.

Right through to this is a potential major issue.

I'm beginning to wonder if the property even has a DPC due to its age, and if not as I suspect, how has it lasted this long?

dimbo61

Well it's still standing and the surveyor went inside ?
How is the roof ? Water pouring down the inside walls when it rains ?
Smell of damp, wet rot or worse dry rot ?
Did you have a full survey
Timber checks

Cakeguts

How high is the outside ground level against the walls?

newfoundglory

The house has new slate roof and guttering within the last 3 years.
Not sure about the ground but I don't think it's height has been modified.
I doubt the timbers can be checked due to the carpet?

[Deleted User]

I had a problem with damp walls in the hallway, and one exterior wall in the lounge next to the hall. I was told it was because airbricks in the lounge had been covered with plastic sheeting.

SG27

My house is 300 years old. It has no DPC in the original part of the house. There is no damp to see and no problems with damp. However I expect if a surveyor checked with his damp meter he would diagnose rising damp throughout. It works by keeping exterior ground levels low and allowing breathability.

Rambosmum

We also have some of this on our Vicotrian house, the wall of the bedroom has some signs of damp/ mould (white cloudy stuff settling on the walls) and the corresponding downstairs wall. ventilation/ heating isn't an issue so I'm assuming penetrating damp?

Mardle

When we had a full building survey done on our Victorian end terrace in August 2014 the surveyor found damp in the hallway and a couple of ground floor rooms. The house had been empty and unheated for months. The house didn't smell damp and there were no visible signs of damp.

We were getting work done on the house before moving in and asked 3 builders for quotes which included dealing with the 'damp'. 2 said it was condensation due to the house being unoccupied. The 3rd brought in a 'damp specialist' who quoted around £3000 for some sort of treatment to the exterior walls.

We went with one of the builders who said it was condensation. They did find damp in the downstairs bathroom but that was after they'd stripped it to convert it to a wetroom.

Three years on there are no signs of damp in any of the areas highlighted in the survey.

kingstreet

Get an inspection/report from an independent damp surveyor.

Pay for it.

Do not get a 'free' report from a firm which installs damp courses as this will greatly increase the likelihood of you 'needing' one!

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

KTD10

We are in the process of buying a mid terraced Victorian house and our home buyers report came back with high moisture levels everywhere including in the timber in the roof. The estate agent tried to fob us off with saying that all Victorian houses have this and that loads of 3s are normal in a home report for a house this old. However, we are getting a local independent damp specialist in for a proper report, yeh its another £300 but worth it to check things out.

We never expected things to be perfect in an old house but we want to check we aren't going to have to pay out thousands down the line!

Doozergirl

If damp were a major issue in a property then you would know about it.

The fact that the house is freezing is a good thing for your viewings as you would see the true extent of any condensation issues etc because unoccupied houses *will* have condensation in winter. Those rubbish ‘damp’ meters will pick up anywhere and everywhere on the surface. You need to get into the wall to find if the bricks are wet - but that would be even more obvious on the outside wall anway.

If you cannot see it and cannot smell it, cannot tap the walls to test for blown plaster, then it isn’t going to be a major issue. The only thing to wary of is a recently decorated house where they could be hiding something - again though, if the house is cold and unoccupied it won’t be hidden for long.

If there are issues then all these recommended chemical injections and rendering sold to you are awful for Victorian houses. They do not solve problems, they disguise them. Most issues causing damp are often obvious to those who genuinely understand buildings and can be resolved cheaply; high ground levels or patios and drives built up to walls than can be dug back, blocked air bricks (or high ground near air bricks allowing water to run in) that can be unblocked or more put in, cracked render, deteriorating brickwork, items attached to walls, fireplaces that have been blocked up...

In nearly 20 years of fixing period houses, it’s almost always basic maintenance. If there is a major expense problem because that maintenance has been left - it will obvious to the beholder in some way, particularly in an unoccupied house. And the resolution still won’t be a chemical DPC.