Damp in house - report inside

rash.m2k

Hi all,

I've had a report from a damp expert for free I might add and I'm not sure what to make of it, there is damp in the property. But it was only on one side near the front wall.

I'm a bit skeptical to be honest, but lets see what others on here think. The quoted price is just over 5k for this work.

rob7475

There's a clue in the first line of your post. The damp expert did a free survey. Did you really expect them to come out for free, look around your house and say everything is fine?

I sold a house a few month back. The buyers mortgage survey recommended a specialist damp and timber survey due to the age of the house so they went and booked a free survey. Guess what - they found rising damp. I then paid for a specialist survey that found nothing out of the ordinary for the age of the house.

What symptoms are you having. Anything that a dehumidifier or opening some windows won't cure?

sevenhills

You could buy your own damp meter from Ebay for £10/20 and see if all the walls are damp?
I assume there is some report filled in with the readings, not just a hand written note. What are the readings?

rash.m2k

There are no meter readings just a layout of the house walls (including internal walls) with a couple of crosses on every wall - crosses indicate rising damp.

And I thought as much, he'll be selling his own trade.

Is there somewhere I can find an independent specialist who knows what they are doing? I don't know anyone through recommendations, it'll have to be online.

I'm based in East Lancashire.

tonyh66

No point in looking for a damp specialist they will all say you have damp and recommend the same thing. Try contacting a property surveyor if he /she cannot do it they may know an independent specialist.

maisie_cat

A Kingfisher 7000 damp meter is designed for wood. It is a simple device that measures electrical conductivity between the prongs.
Many things conduct electricity, not just water and lime plaster used in old houses contain salt that does conduct. The "surveyor" will claim that the reading is evidence of "damp" when in fact it is only evidence of conductivity. That is unless there is obvious damp, does the house smell damp?
Even if there is damp, it could simply be caused something that's a simple fix. Common issues are blocked air bricks, raised outside ground levels and leaking gutters.
We had all 3 when we bought our house, the surveyor called it rising damp, the independent paid for damp surveyor confirmed no rising damp.
We are selling and the buyer's surveyor found "damp" on a small section of wall. I advised him that the wall was lime plaster and that I know the 2 prong meter gives false readings. The look on his face was priceless!

Mutton_Geoff

rash.m2k wrote: »

a report from a damp expert for free

:rotfl:
Search this forum. I bet it's nothing more than heating the property, leaving windows open for a while etc.


Is it an empty property or one where the current occupants dry their washing indoors or don't ventilate the kitchen or bathroom properly?


Damp and wood treatments are one of the biggest scam industries in the property business. Repair the source (gutters/flashing/blocked drainage) for damp then ventilate. Spray timbers with Cuprinol 5 Star for wood treatment. Or spend £5k and get a worthless warranty certificate.

rash.m2k

It's a 1930s bungalow and it does have damp, but only on one wall, I have followed the DPC layer which I can see from the bricks (or what I think is the DPC layer) and I can see that as it gets to the wall with the problem the ground level gets closer and closer because of the tarmac.

stuart45

Do you know if the walls are cavity or solid?

rash.m2k

stuart45 wrote: »

Do you know if the walls are cavity or solid?

Pretty sure they are cavity

Jackmydad

North wall that's damp by any chance?
Could be condensation.

Nice warm air inside + cold wall = Condensation.

I'd echo what the other's have said about "free damp surveys"