Damp In Walls

Verb

I'm having an ongoing issue with damp despite having a survey done and a chemical dpc installed 2 years ago.

I have a few questions if anyone has the answers to help clear a few concerns in my head.

1. When I pointed out 2 areas of concern (hall at bottom of stairs and front room in the corner) should the damp surveyor have looked beyond these areas and investigated the rest of the ground floor?

2. Should the plaster have been removed on the walls that where treated?

3. How should the walls have been plastered / treated?

4. In the event of damp / tidal marks reappearing on walls where the chemical dpc was installed (but no plaster was previously removed) is it an acceptable practice to remove only the plaster in small effected sections, essentially do patch repairs?

5. Can salts continue to come through where the plaster was not removed 2 years on?

FreeBear

Since posting the same question* a few weeks ago, what steps have you taken to identify the root cause of the damp ?

These "free" surveys are just sales pitches for ineffective and expensive work. A proper survey should have looked in depth to identify the cause of the damp and not just whack a sticky plaster over it.

Oh, and injecting the chemicals 200-250mm above the original DPC is going to do diddly squat - If you paid by credit card, time to start reclaiming that money.

*) https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6341050/walls-still-damp

*) https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6335942/wet-water-tidal-line-on-wall

*) https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6176253/chemical-injection-dpc/

Verb

I've now got the relevant British Standard “British Standard (BS6576:2005+A1:2012) Code of practice for diagnosis of rising damp in walls of buildings and installation of chemical damp-proof course”

Off the back of reading the standard several times I firmly believe that the company who did the work in my home has fallen well short of satisfying the minimum standard set out in the British Standard.

Off the back of me raised this to the company about the British Standard and falling short they sent there Regional Manager to inspect there work (without me paying the £195 asking charge) I think this in its own right tells me they know they have failed on the standard. But despite this they are still trying to cloud the situation in damp talk jargon and offering to do works where they have fallen short but I don't believe they are offering to do all the right areas they should be doing and are saying as a good will gesture they will supply the materials if I pay the labour, but this is still only in a small part of my home.

That is the reason for the 5 questions above (which is part of the damp jargon) so I can make sure I have as much information as possible. I believe I already know the answers but I'm after taking others people advice before I go back to them next week.

FreeBear

In my opinion, there is only one demand you should be making - A refund, in full, of the money paid out. Clearly, the work done to date hasn't cured the damp, and slapping a bit of waterproof render/plaster is just going to mask the problem for a few years.

Verb

FreeBear said:

In my opinion, there is only one demand you should be making - A refund, in full, of the money paid out. Clearly, the work done to date hasn't cured the damp, and slapping a bit of waterproof render/plaster is just going to mask the problem for a few years.

That is the problem. The quote they gave was only £700 and only included the chemical injection (I'm no damp expert, I trusted the survey). No other advice or works came from the survey which according to the British Standard should of. The information should have been clear and unambiguous including everything from full home survey not just 1 small area to plastering.

I've spent thousands on decorating my home...

dutchcloggie

Rising damp is a scam. Look at the brickwork in a canal, for example. Is that brickwork crumbling due to rising damp? Despite being only just above an actual waterline? Nope. 

I had a problem with wet walls on an internal wall in the middle of the house. "Damp expert" said I should rip up the tiled ground floor, put damp course down and re-tile. Then I read more on the internet about damp and I realised it was not rising damp but condensation. The coldest part of the house was along the bottom of the walls around the tiled floors. I don't use the heating, to save money, but once I set the heating to keep the house at a minimum of 15c, the problem vanished entirely. Not rising damp but simple condensation on a cold wall. 

A house needs to breathe. 

Just something to think about. 

rob7475

As above, rising damp is very rarely the problem. Anyone offering a "free survey" is not a specialist, they're a sales person who will come in and tell you you have damp to sell you their product. A specialist would charge for the survey and usually give you sound advice around ventilating the area.

stuart45

Even so called experts in the trade can't seem to agree on whether rising damp in buildings exists. 
However in Venice a lot of money has been spent looking into the rising damp issue which would be the obvious city to have a problem.