Damp on survey

ScottishKev17

Hi,

Had an offer accepted on a house it’s a 3 bed end of terrace in Scotland, the home report was not available until after the short closing date. The report states high moisture readings in localised parts of the kitchen wall near to patio doors and a damp/timber specialists advice is sought.

The owner has has a damp survey and it has come back with rising damp and a chemical DPC will be needed, the owner is paying for this.

I spoke with the owner and asked more about the damp, the company suspects it’s a cold wall as there is an unheated, old conservatory which is failing that leads off from the patio door where the damp is evident. I noticed today that half of one of the air bricks is covered by the conservatory substructure.

I have been stung before with a timber frame house having damp and the smell was horrible, although this was not picked up on the survey.

Im looking for advice on the information provided so far, does a chemical DPC sound like the best option, will it resolve the issue? I intend to pull the conservatory down in the summer, if I do this would that help with the ‘cold wall’ experienced?

I’m very nervous and considering pulling out of the sale.

Slithery

ScottishKev17 said:

does a chemical DPC sound like the best option, will it resolve the issue?

No. In the majority of cases it just makes things worse.

FreeBear

ScottishKev17 said: does a chemical DPC sound like the best option, will it resolve the issue? I intend to pull the conservatory down in the summer, if I do this would that help with the ‘cold wall’ experienced?

All that will happen with the injected "DPC", is you'll end up with a series of ugly looking holes in the wall filled with globs of cement. The bricks (or stone) will be damaged in the process and the work will do nothing to cure the damp. Fixing the under floor ventilation will help the general health of the house... The conservatory, if it were in good condition, may actually help improve matters with the wall. Sunshine would heat the wall up, act as a thermal store releasing the heat during the night - Not a great deal, but enough to keep the wall dry.

If the damp is localised around the patio door, I'd be looking at cold bridging and/or debris in the cavity before wasting money on injected anything.

Van_Girl

Agree with Slithery, generally injection DPC's are not required as the Damp & Timber "Specialists" are anything but, and often incorrectly diagnosed the cause. They always recommend injection DPC's! Not sure where the high readings are, but could there be a leak from the conservatory? Could the actual DPC be bridged, therefore allowing moisture over it? 

If it's a timber framed property, you definitely don't want an injection DPC

stuart45

How old is this timber framed house?

FreeBear

stuart45 said: How old is this timber framed house?

The OP said he had a timber framed house in the past. Nothing about the construction of the current property - Most of us are assuming a brick or stone build.

davidmcn

ScottishKev17 said:

the home report was not available until after the short closing date

Uhh, what was going on there? They shouldn't start even marketing the property without the Home Report, never mind have a closing date.

ScottishKev17

The house is a brick house with cavity wall insulation.

Im assuming the damp has got a lot to do with the extension due to the wording on the reports.

if the extension is taken down and repointing or rendering is completed should this stop any water ingress and solve the damp or will the area always be affected each time it rains etc?