Surveyor has found damp in a house that I have put an offer on

123maryb

Hi he used thermal imaging, I used an independent damp specialist surveyor for this .The original buyers survey only picked up one wall on the meter.

Section62

123maryb said:

Hi he used thermal imaging, I used an independent damp specialist surveyor for this .The original buyers survey only picked up one wall on the meter.

An actual surveyor with recognised qualifications, or a salesman for a damp proofing company?

The quality of the report isn't great - as a rule you'd expect a qualified professional to be able to spell and capitalise their reports correctly.

FreeBear

123maryb said:

Hi he used thermal imaging, I used an independent damp specialist surveyor for this .The original buyers survey only picked up one wall on the meter.

Oh dear..... A thermal imaging camera can only detect surface temperatures. It can not "see" in to a wall, nor can it measure moisture content. However, in the right hands, it can pinpoint areas that need closer examination.

Had one of those PCA accredited "experts*" doing a thermographic survey of my property. I got to see some of the images showing cold spots above a couple of upstairs windows - Not really that surprising as loft insulation is reduced under the eaves. And in a bathroom, that area is likely to be subjected to condensation rather than damp penetrating from outside.

I'd also expect a thermal imaging camera to show a slightly cooler strip around the perimeter of a room at floor level. This strip would be cooler simply because warm air rises cooler air collects at floor level.

If you want a definitive measure of damp in a wall, you need to use a carbide meter and not a protimeter or thermal camera. But then common sense and simple observation will often highlight if there is damp within a property - Look for flaking paint and/or peeling wallpaper along with high levels of mould. The fix for these problems can be as simple as reducing exterior ground levels, repairs to roof, guttering, and downpipes, and better ventilation.

*) I knew this "expert" was an idiot/liar/charlatan/con-artist as soon as he claimed to be able to put his hand down into the cavity of the walls up in my loft. Solid 9 inch brick wall up there, so no cavity !

Albermarle

123maryb said:

Hi he used thermal imaging, I used an independent damp specialist surveyor for this .The original buyers survey only picked up one wall on the meter.

Would it just happen to be that this independent surveyor is recommending all these expensive actions, because he is linked to a company that operates in this area.

What made you actually decide to have this more comprehensive damp survey? A buyers survey finding some damp in one wall is pretty typical. Nearly all older houses have some issue with damp, although often easy to resolve.

jimbog

‘Independent damp specialists’ aka damp proof salesmen. 

The ingress of water needs to be identified and halted - check outside ground levels are not too high and  haven’t breached the damp course. Consider a French drain. Look at gutters and drains. Tanking and injections don’t deal with the source of the problem but only hide it. 

Take a look at this:
https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

robatwork

123maryb said:

Hi he used thermal imaging, I used an independent damp specialist surveyor for this .The original buyers survey only picked up one wall on the meter.

How "independent" is this surveyor? One you're paying a separate fee for no matter what he finds? Or one attached to a company providing solutions for damp?

stuart45

jimbog said:

Take a look at this:
https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

The first paragraph of this site should really tell people he's making a lot of his info up.

The Fraud of Rising Damp

Rising Damp was invented by the chemical industry. In a particular chemical industry boardroom in 1962 actually. When the first damp meter was invented and some very astute con man realised they could make millions. I know, because Ive spoken to a man who was in that meeting. Have you never wondered why rising damp isnt in America? Or France, or Germany? You dont walk down the streets of French and German cities seeing ugly injection holes everywhere do you? No - because they arent so daft as to be conned by chemical fraudsters.

Albermarle

jimbog said:

‘Independent damp specialists’ aka damp proof salesmen. 

The ingress of water needs to be identified and halted - check outside ground levels are not too high and  haven’t breached the damp course. Consider a French drain. Look at gutters and drains. Tanking and injections don’t deal with the source of the problem but only hide it. 

Take a look at this:
https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

OP, you can also type 'damp' in the search box at the top of this page. Quite a lot of similar threads.....

stuart45

Rising damp is the most controversial one. Mainly on the correct diagnosis, and remedial methods of correcting it. In the 70's and 80s damp proofing firms had a free run at the work, but after a TV programme in the 90's, and Jeff Howell's book, people began to realise that a lot of unnecessary work was being carried out. 
However, some people's claims that rising damp is a myth has also had specialists debunk their theories as well. Finding a really good, independent damp surveyor is a minefield for many people.

louby40

We pulled out of a property last year that had damp. A friend of a friend who was a damp specialist looked at it and said he could sort it for us and it wouldn't be massively expensive but the house was at the very top of our budget and we decided we just didn't want the hassle and worry that it may come back.

 The vendor was also reluctant to drop the price and had been a pain throughout the whole process. We just walked away.