Damp

olgadapolga

I posted this on the "in my home" section but it was suggested that I post here as well. If anyone has any suggestions as to what we do next, I'd be grateful.

Just purchased a house which we are decorating prior to moving in. We have discovered a large damp area in one part of the house. This is floor to ceiling of a ground floor extension, around a corner of the room (on the external wall) which extends along one side by 5' and along the other side by 8'. The internal plaster and bricks are soft, wet and crumbly.

Pretty devastated as this was not mentioned on the survey (if it had been, we would not have purchased the house - the survey actually states that, "The rooms are free from visible movement, damp or condensation and my moisture meter confirmed that they are dry.") however, we aren't sure as to what to do next. I guess that we need to get someone out to take a look at it and give an opinion on the issue? Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this as we've not had to deal with damp before?

Slithery

Is it obvious from the outside where the water is coming from? Leaking gutter, slipped tiles etc. If so then it could be an easy DIY fix.

Post photos (internal and external) otherwise we can only guess

Steve_Kilgore

I'm sorry you found that sort of thing. Water problems can sometimes not be such a big deal, but they're often very stressful to wrap your head around. Currently dealing with water problems as an old patio is funneling the rain into our basement. Not great.

Mr.Generous

Rising damp doesn't get much higher than 1 meter, if its floor to ceiling its probably penetrating damp or even a leaking pipe. Look for the cause. Blocked or damaged gutter really common reason.

coffeehound

I suggested the OP post the question here as, if the wall needs replastering or worse, is there any scope for recovering costs from the surveyor?

G_M

yes if it's floor o ceiling then the source is not at ground level.

Could be poor external pointing (the cement between the bricks crumbling/falling out). Very easy to look and diagnose!

Could be the gutters are blocked, or not adusted so water flows to the downpipe.

Could be the downpipe is blocked so water pours out at the top (and then down the external wall).

Or could be missing /broken tiles on the roof.

Most of this you can detrmine yourself by looking closely, and being prepared to go out and get wet to look when it rains!


But yes, I'd also be contacting surveyor and asking for an explanation, and insist he comes back out (at no cost) to look and explain.

Doozergirl

What kind of survey was it?

olgadapolga

It was a Level Two Survey (HomeBuyer Report/Survey and Valuation).

I think that there are several possible points of water ingress but I will take photos tomorrow and post them here.

We aren't sure yet if the concrete floor is also involved as it's covered in wooden flooring (which has been put on top of carpet).

Possible problem areas:

1) There was a solid fuel burner with a flue that went out through one wall next to the corner that's affected. The burner had been taken out and the internal wall blanked off. My husband is worried about removing the boarding but I say that we have to remove it to see what is there. The flue remains insitu but has holes in it (rusted away) and the point at which it exits the external wall is badly fitted as there are gaps between the wall and the flue. We are going to have the useless flue removed anyway as it's an eyesore, is completely useless and may also be a point of entry for the mice discovered two days ago in the loft (also not picked up by the survey but very much in evidence).

2) There is a very badly fitted/positioned air brick near the damp patch (the damp surrounds it).

3) The walls were covered in climbing plants (clematis, virginia creeper, wisteria, brambles, etc). We've removed these now.

4) Blocked gutters, caused by the plants (now cleared).

5) Not sure if this is relevant but we had a cavity wall survey carried out on Tuesday and we were told that the insulation had all settled in the lower part of the cavity (which I read could be a problem?).

6) The downpipe at that corner is botched together - lots of black electrical insulating tape and a couple of sticks holding the upper and lower sections together (this wasn't visible until the plants were removed)

The tiles on the roof of the extension look okay to me (from the bedroom windows which look out over the extension) although they are covered in moss and some dead plants. This will be removed as soon as we can; we were concentrating on getting the interior habitable so we can move in and then worry about the external issues.

The pointing looks okay to my layman's eyes!

As things are, there is no way to access the roof space above the extension, short of cutting a hole in the ceiling and making an access point but if this is necessary then so be it.

Doozergirl

I think you've got enough clues to be working on!

I would be in contact with the surveyor. If the wall is actually wet to the touch, they haven't done their job properly.

What about all of the contributing factors you've listed? Were those raised by the surveyor?

olgadapolga

Doozergirl wrote: »

I think you've got enough clues to be working on!

I would be in contact with the surveyor. If the wall is actually wet to the touch, they haven't done their job properly.

What about all of the contributing factors you've listed? Were those raised by the surveyor?

To be fair, we did not realise that the wall was damp until we removed a bit of board that was sitting proud of the wall about twelve inches above the floor (the badly-fitted air brick was behind this board) and the skirting board at the bottom of the adjoining wall just fell over. That's when we noticed the damp, crumbling walls. There are, however, very noticeable darker patches on the wallpaper. There isn't a damp odour at all.

Points mentioned on the survey:

Blocked gutters (clearing of) Moss (removal of) Tiles/bricks - in good condition Climbing plants (removal of)

The flue is not mentioned at all, nor is the badly-fitted air brick and botched-together downpipe (but the pipe was covered by plants).

I will contact the surveyor tomorrow. That's not a conversation I'm looking forward to!

Doozergirl

Do you mean they'd built a false wall in front of the actual bad wall?