Ex council house damp and solid walls

Azerjowey

Hi were having issues trying to sell our 3 bed semi ex council built on 1970s.

Some of the walls inside feel very cold .

We tried to sell it last summer and the surveyor came on a hot July day ( it had rained 5-7 days before his visit ) and in the report was written house has damp issues that would cost 15k to fix although I didn’t read the report this is what the agent told me . So I don’t know what the exact issues is.

We have repaired the roof and now use 2 dehumidifiers and the musty smell is mostly gone .

When the dehumidifier turns off the house can reach 81% humidity after heating gone off.

Any tips as were desperate to get out as it’s costing too much running these dehumidifier 24 hours a day
Would painting all the walls with damp proof Bostik cement one stop the damp readings ??

AdrianC

Azerjowey wrote: »

Would painting all the walls with damp proof Bostik cement one stop the damp readings ??

No... Painting the inside of the walls with glue might stop the moisture coming out of the walls, but it won't stop it getting into them - and it shouldn't be there.

You need to figure out where the damp's coming from. It's not mysterious - it's mostly really obvious.

You say you've fixed the roof. Well, that's a good start.
Gutters. Downpipes.
Cracked render.
High ground levels outside bridging the DPC.

FreeBear

Azerjowey wrote: »

When the dehumidifier turns off the house can reach 81% humidity after heating gone off.

What sort of temperature are you heating the rooms to ?
Has cavity wall insulation been installed, and is the house in an exposed location ?


£15K of "damp proof" work will mask the problem for a few years, but the next owner will be going through the same process and be cursing you as they try to undo the damaged caused by this £15K "cure".

ma15

I've come across a property with similar issues, the only solution seems to be to find the source of the problem, do a bit of digging there, and then add damp proofing layers to those areas.