One wall damp proof membrane £3000+?

Beeboo23

We have a damp patch in our spare bedroom. We had a roofer come out and say we needed the chimney repointing and had flashing/cowl/ a few loose tiles fixed. One year and £1200 later there’s no improvement. 

Have had a damp company come out who have given us two quotes to install a damp proof membrane on the back wall. One quote is just for the membrane and then we can get our own plasterer to do the plaster board and replaster. The other quote is to do all works. 

FreeBear

Are you sure it is damp and not just a historical stain ?

There is no good sticking a damp meter in to the area, as you will not get a reliable reading from such a device - Any reading you do get will be affected by salts, type of plaster, and even paint.

To start with, I'd give the affected area a coat of a stain blocking primer, and then paint over. Review the situation in a years time. Don't waste your money on damp "cures" that just mask a problem - And for £3K+, I would expect them to clean up all their mess and completely redecorate. Or put another way, the quote is taking the proverbial.

Beeboo23

FreeBear said:

Are you sure it is damp and not just a historical stain ?

There is no good sticking a damp meter in to the area, as you will not get a reliable reading from such a device - Any reading you do get will be affected by salts, type of plaster, and even paint.

To start with, I'd give the affected area a coat of a stain blocking primer, and then paint over. Review the situation in a years time. Don't waste your money on damp "cures" that just mask a problem - And for £3K+, I would expect them to clean up all their mess and completely redecorate. Or put another way, the quote is taking the proverbial.

To be honest I was a little shocked at the price. They said we would need to rip out the fitted wardrobes so they could do the whole back wall and then get new ones done after, if we wish to replace. That also adds another massive expense on. 

The plastering in the room isn’t the best so we were going to have that redone anyway. Just a little worried about doing it all and then the stain coming back through. 

My dad’s a joiner and his friend is a plasterer so could get the room redone for about £400 inc materials. Don’t know if it’s worth trying this? I’ve also seen some people recommending an independent damp surveyor before getting anymore works done, is this recommended?

thanks. 

FreeBear

Beeboo23 said: My dad’s a joiner and his friend is a plasterer so could get the room redone for about £400 inc materials. Don’t know if it’s worth trying this? I’ve also seen some people recommending an independent damp surveyor before getting anymore works done, is this recommended?

It may well pay to get a truly independent report from an expert without any links to the Property Care Association (PCA) - That may not be easy though... You need to be aware that the PCA is the trade body for the damp proofing industry, so have a vested interest in pushing "cures" for a wide range of problems (along with other damaging products like spray foam insulation).

If your dad has a tame plasterer in hand, it certainly makes sense to do the work yourself - I suspect all you need to do is hack off the damaged plaster (assuming it is damp). Paint the affected area with a salt blocker, and then replaster. Total cost for materials, probably less than £50.

Beeboo23

Perfect thanks. I think this is worth a try, worst case scenario if it doesn’t work it’s a lot cheaper than the £3k the other company want. 

I’ve also drawn around the stain with a pencil so I can monitor if it’s getting any bigger. It doesn’t appear to have changed in size in the year since we’ve had the works done which is hopefully a good sign. If over the next few rainy months or doesn’t get bigger I’ll assume it’s just a left over water stain and hack away and replaster and use a good stain blocking paint. 

Thanks for the advice!