Damp issue in potential house...

Nile_E_Coyote

Building survey picked up bits of damp but thought it was probably condensation related but isolated rising damp 'couldn't be totally discounted.'

Got a PCA company in and they diagnosed an alleged rising damp issue and recommended works involved a chemical damp proof injection. I'm aware that these are a waste of time which is pretty much what the first building surveyor said about damp.

The PCA also said it couldn't see evidence of a DPC but as its a 1930s it will be present in some form. I find it strange when the digital surveyor said he could see it in certain places.

Quite unsure how to proceed from here because I'm not filled with confidence.

greatcrested

Hahahahaha!

No such thing as rising damp.

PCA company just wants to charge lots of ££ for pointless chemcals. They gave you a free sales inspection survey?

Find the source of the damp (if any) and resolve that instead.

If you want help here, tell us where the damp is, how extensive, how diagnosed, what's the other side of the wall, etc

and better still give us photos.

Doozergirl

greatcrested said:

Hahahahaha!

No such thing as rising damp.

PCA company just wants to charge lots of ££ for pointless chemcals. They gave you a free sales inspection survey?

Find the source of the damp (if any) and resolve that instead.

If you want help here, tell us where the damp is, how extensive, how diagnosed, what's the other side of the wall, etc

and better still give us photos.

This.  

I despair.  

Nile_E_Coyote

greatcrested said:

Hahahahaha!

No such thing as rising damp.

PCA company just wants to charge lots of ££ for pointless chemcals. They gave you a free sales inspection survey?

Find the source of the damp (if any) and resolve that instead.

If you want help here, tell us where the damp is, how extensive, how diagnosed, what's the other side of the wall, etc

and better still give us photos.

Don't have any real photos of the damp. The kitchen seems to have some old water drips but its fairly high up and the BS thought condensation. The other back room is seemingly where they've picked up the 'rising damp' though or maybe along the rear. Theyre sending the sketch over tomorrow (I will upload then). There is an external chimney breast at the back of the property near that location so I'm unsure if that is causing an issue. Other side of the wall is onto the back garden/patio.

greatcrested

Impossible to respond. I'll leave dooergirl to come back and answer for the clarifications needed to give sensible advice.

Doozergirl

greatcrested said:

Impossible to respond. I'll leave dooergirl to come back and answer for the clarifications needed to give sensible advice.

😬   you gave the best advice initially.  

Their picture is only really going to help in context with some outdoor (and indoor) photos of the apparently affected areas with nice wide photos of walls, ground levels etc, but I don't trust these people at all as far as their 'solutions' go.  

If the surveyor thought it was condensation, it probably is and almost certainly won't need anything luke that level of disruptive work.  

FreeBear

Nile_E_Coyote said:  The other back room is seemingly where they've picked up the 'rising damp' though or maybe along the rear. ... There is an external chimney breast at the back of the property near that location so I'm unsure if that is causing an issue. Other side of the wall is onto the back garden/patio.

Is the chimney in use ?

If not, has it been thoroughly swept and fitted with a vented cap ?

If the chimney is unused, unswept, and uncapped, rain will enter the pot, run down the inside and be absorbed by the soot. Over time, this damp will percolate down through the infill within the builder's opening and give the impression of "rising damp". Get the chimney swept, and light a fire to drive off the damp. Alternatively, clean out the builder's opening and install a log burner.

As for the patio - Check to make sure it does not come all the way up to the external wall and is 150mm or so below the level of the DPC - With a 1930s property, there will be one. Probably just below any air bricks (worth checking to make sure they are clear). The DPC is likely to be a poured bitumastic layer that will be difficult to spot unless you know what to look for.

If your foundations are anything like mine, they will be quite shallow, so getting a patio 150mm below the DPC may not be possible without exposing the footings.

Nile_E_Coyote

Don't really expect much feedback without pictures but safe to say I'm a tiny bit sceptical over the findings.


The alleged rising damp on the left seems to be the location of a window in a pretty ropey small offshoot. The one on the right has an external chimney on that area at the back.

Nile_E_Coyote

FreeBear said:

Nile_E_Coyote said:  The other back room is seemingly where they've picked up the 'rising damp' though or maybe along the rear. ... There is an external chimney breast at the back of the property near that location so I'm unsure if that is causing an issue. Other side of the wall is onto the back garden/patio.

Is the chimney in use ?

If not, has it been thoroughly swept and fitted with a vented cap ?

If the chimney is unused, unswept, and uncapped, rain will enter the pot, run down the inside and be absorbed by the soot. Over time, this damp will percolate down through the infill within the builder's opening and give the impression of "rising damp". Get the chimney swept, and light a fire to drive off the damp. Alternatively, clean out the builder's opening and install a log burner.

As for the patio - Check to make sure it does not come all the way up to the external wall and is 150mm or so below the level of the DPC - With a 1930s property, there will be one. Probably just below any air bricks (worth checking to make sure they are clear). The DPC is likely to be a poured bitumastic layer that will be difficult to spot unless you know what to look for.

If your foundations are anything like mine, they will be quite shallow, so getting a patio 150mm below the DPC may not be possible without exposing the footings.

I haven't looked at the rear chimney too much. It doesn't have an opening or fire on the inside of the property. But seems to be a chimney going down the back of the house. I've noticed next door also has one but it is a couple of metres higher and has been presumably shortened.

Doozergirl

Has your salesperson deigned to tell you *why* the damp exists and where it is coming from?  How do they suggest actually stopping any ingress rather than masking it on the inside?  Because that's all they're doing.  

It always comes from somewhere!  Freebear has set you on the right path.  If you need more help, then photos please.  The ball point pen drawing doesn't help much, especially if they've missed off the chimney breast, which is probably the actual source of any issue on that side!