Damp found in Level 3 survey but not by the DPC specialist survey

stuart45

kaboo said:

stuart45 said:

If a company that sells the treatment finds no damp in the wall then there probably is none.
Slate DPC's were set in lime mortar the same as bricks were and half bonded (2 courses), so there is no real difference there.
Are the walls solid or cavity?

Thank you Stuart45. The walls are solid brick, think 9". For just my own understanding, when ever I see pics of blue bricks, as in this property, it looks like they are laid same as red bricks with mortar between them. But slate based DPC looks continuous to my untrained eye. Of course they cannot be continuous like a modern DPC but may be there are fewer joints? 

There are usually a few less joints, although the slate does sometimes crack in places with any movement in the walls
.

lucypilates

Am I the only one with a suspicious mind here?

My first instinct, when I read that the vendors ‘specialist’ said no damp but 2 surveys said there was, was too question whether the damp specialist is a mate of the vendors??? 

The only report you can trust , and even then it might not be correct, is the one you commission yourself - certainly not one from the vendor as they are not impartial! 

gab3x

You might not have damp but condensation which is different and much easier to fix (but it takes time).

kaboo

lucypilates said:

Am I the only one with a suspicious mind here?

My first instinct, when I read that the vendors ‘specialist’ said no damp but 2 surveys said there was, was too question whether the damp specialist is a mate of the vendors??? 

The only report you can trust , and even then it might not be correct, is the one you commission yourself - certainly not one from the vendor as they are not impartial! 

Yes, your are right and I too have avery suspicious/cynical mind. The story here is with a few twists. Seller advertised, buyer1 won the bid and buyer1's homebuyer survey picked damp on his meter. Buyer1 commissioned a damp specialist survey, but on the day of survey pulled out of the purchase-variety of reasons we are told. Survey happened nonetheless and damp specialist received no payment. Sellers bought the report from the damp specialist to understand if this will be an issue. Property came back on the market and we became buyer2. Our level3 survey found damp again on the meter. We confronted sellers agent and found the damp specialist's report. This damp specialist is from Peter Cox.

This is the story we are told. I am ofcourse thinking of our own damp specialist's survey.

FreeBear

kaboo said: We confronted sellers agent and found the damp specialist's report. This damp specialist is from Peter Cox.

Peter Cox is a company that specialises in damp "cures", so they are in the business of selling expensive and often pointless & damaging treatments (and rarely fixing the source of the problem). If their surveyor salesman failed to pick up on any damp, I would consider that a good sign.

kaboo

Talked with the damp specialist/salesman, they confirmed their findings and absolutely stand by it (no surprise there). Can I ask, what sort of a protection or warranty is available with damp surveys. That is, if they say there is no damp, but later there is, then can I ask them to repair it for free? 

lucypilates

kaboo said:

Talked with the damp specialist/salesman, they confirmed their findings and absolutely stand by it (no surprise there). Can I ask, what sort of a protection or warranty is available with damp surveys. That is, if they say there is no damp, but later there is, then can I ask them to repair it for free? 

I don't see that they would accept any liability on future damp issues - how long until it is discovered and how could you possibly prove that it was there when the survey took place ... maybe you just need to bite the bullet and take a chance, knowing that if there is an issue, you can fix it accordingly. Just be prepared