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Damp - vendor/buyer survey

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  • Albala
    Albala Posts: 310 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I have damp on the wall in my understairs cupboard, and there's not a lot I can do about it. It's a Victorian terrace with no DPC, but had injection done a few years ago. The internal brick walls were generally laid on the subsoil - no foundation - and over the years moisture has penetrated the brickwork and is working its way up the walls.
    Can you /have you ventilated the cupboard?
  • spannerzone
    spannerzone Posts: 1,566 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 28 June 2019 at 7:06PM
    Those 'damp meters' are the biggest con ever... they measure electrical resistance not dampness... most things will make the damp meter squeal.... probe your hand gently and it'll say you have damp... probe a wall that has condensation on it and it'll say it's damp. Breathing causes condensation to form and that can allow a resistance to be measured by those meters.... Those devices are idiot proof tools that scare home owners into thinking they have damp when in reality they have something else causing condensation forming.

    Doozergirl sums it up perfectly - everything she's said I have to agree with. I once got had with damp proof repairs on my old house... then moving again I did my own research and found rising damp is mostly a massive money making myth / scam.

    It's no coincidence that damp proof experts always have a chemical based solution and a (worthless) guarantee.

    Never trust information given by strangers on internet forums
  • Albala
    Albala Posts: 310 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    We got one of those meters to monitor a new concrete floor drying out before we put down an engineered wood floor. It was fine for that job, and the readings did decline over time. We were able to check the damp levels until it was ready for the wood. A few years down the line, and the wood hasn't warped or moved at all.



    But for identifying damp in an old wall, you're right, they can't differentiate between things like salts vs. damp or other things like papers, paint, and other coatings. We've just used ours to compare different places on the same wall as a rough guide to 'possible' damp areas- so are using it only to look at relative levels and any changes over time as we alter ventilation etc.. Of course, the readings may not change if they are due to salts, or other things, so we won't be panicking if they stay the same, it will just be interesting to see if they change. (Just out of interest, the pattern of readings does correlate with staining patterns on the wallpaper, but the readings are mostly lower under the paper than on it!)
  • BeattieOG
    BeattieOG Posts: 29 Forumite
    Doozergirl wrote: »
    This is ridiculous. They've literally told you the problem - the ground level is too high outside.

    So take the ground level down and let the DPC do what it is supposed to do, instead of recommending another one that won't work either.
    G_M wrote: »
    Agree.
    If the buyer spends a weekend digging a narrow trench (there's probably a Building Regs spec) around the outside of the wall to reduce the external ground level (or removes that rockery up against the wall/whatever) the wall will dry out and the existing dpc will do its job.


    Thanks both. The survey report is talking about damp in walls all over, front porch, rear lobby, staircase internal walls - where do we try to lower the ground, all around the house? We actually have rocks all against the walls outside - is that causing it...?
    Doozergirl wrote: »
    The water staining on the ceiling isn't the DPC though. What's that?

    No idea! I 'll ask my partner to go into the loft and have a look as a first step.
    G_M wrote: »
    'stained' ceiling suggests a historic leak. Have you had roof repairs in the past?

    Not as far I'm aware - not the few years we've been here and nothing mentioned when we bought. The neighbours replaced their roof recently though, don't know if that may have impacted?
    G_M wrote: »
    I'd certainly not get a survey done myself. Yes, I'd allow the buyer to get one done but conditional on it being a proper independant survey - not a freebie by a dp company that is just touting for business.

    Thanks for that advice - good to know what others more knowledgeable and experienced would do!

    FreeBear wrote: »
    Oh dear.... Those things are only good for measuring damp in untreated timber. On plaster, countless things will affect the reading - Salt, paint, even the type of plaster will all give false readings.
    Those 'damp meters' are the biggest con ever... they measure electrical resistance not dampness... most things will make the damp meter squeal....

    That's really helpful to know and something I might say to the buyer!


    So the consensus is no to paying for a survey ourselves, and maybe try to lower external ground level...? I know he is going to come back and ask for money off!
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Albala wrote: »
    But for identifying damp in an old wall, you're right, they can't differentiate between things like salts vs. damp or other things like papers, paint, and other coatings.

    Wait until someone prods one into some metal-backed insulating wallpaper, it sounds like DEFCON 1.
  • Albala
    Albala Posts: 310 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Slithery wrote: »
    Wait until someone prods one into some metal-backed insulating wallpaper, it sounds like DEFCON 1.


    :rotfl:Will have to be prepared for that one!
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 29 June 2019 at 10:27AM
    "We actually have rocks all against the walls outside - is that causing it...?"

    With all due respect, you think? How big are these rocks? Are they touching the walls? If at all possible, I would move them away at once as, if they are touching the walls, they will be causing bridging.
  • BeattieOG
    BeattieOG Posts: 29 Forumite
    Smodlet wrote: »
    "We actually have rocks all against the walls outside - is that causing it...?"

    With all due respect, you think? How big are these rocks? Are they touching the walls? If at all possible, I would move them away at once as, if they are touching the walls, they will be causing bridging.

    Haha yes when you say it like that. I don't mean rocks up against the walls really, I mean like a path of small pebbles (that's not right either, but close enough) alongside the house. Yes touching the walls! Will get rid of them :eek:
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ah, pebbles as in a gravel path? I had envisaged more of a mini-Avebury stone circle type thingy holding your house up. Still, if the pebbly-gravelly stuff is touching the house above the level of the damp proof course, it could still cause bridging. It still sounds as if digging a French trench or whatever they are called could be a good idea.
  • BeattieOG
    BeattieOG Posts: 29 Forumite
    It looks like this:

    https://ibb.co/NxVjpXs

    https://ibb.co/cFbFJ15

    I'm guessing the DPC is the grey line......? Does this look like it's being bridged?
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