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

youth_leader

I got caught out by damp caused by condensation in this bungalow.  A local had also offered, and when I said I'd been successful, she said 'congratulations - I hope you find the source of the damp'.  I had a L3 survey booked and thought if there was damp, he'd find it.  Unfortunately not - heavy furniture strategically placed and thick underlay and carpet hid the fact every floor was soaking and rotten.  Turned out the vendor had been 'advised' to have all floors replaced in 2016 - they'd replaced the joists with non-tannalised wood with a plastic bag stapled over the ends.  Huge disruption and £20K later I had to varnish the whole place, three coats, nearly killed me off.

dont_use_vistaprint

stuart45 said:

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.

This is very true. To say that rising damp does not exist in any properties is very naive , many properties are so old & will have no or ineffective damp proofing that has been breached. 

And where it does exist, especially on the internal walls, no one has a solution other than the chemical conmen  that mask over the problem for a few years and gets rid of the ugly appearance & reduces spores & moisture in the house, which does help. 

We know it can’t fix the underlying cause, but it helps deal with the effects, It’s the best solution there is currently. 

It’s good enough for insurance companies,  mortgage companies & charted surveyors but it’s not good enough for the ‘experts’ on here of course.

Your words ring true to me because finding a company to identify the root causes of my damp and propose solutions seems an impossible task. 

Lots of people replied to my post. No-one here was able to offer anything of any use other than telling me rising damp does not exist and ‘fix the underlying cause’ & that these people offering to fix it are conmen … thanks that’s very helpful but I still have my problem I’m still no closer to understanding the underlying cause but everything so far suggests it is rising damp on internal walls

dont_use_vistaprint

stuart45 said:

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.

What would make you trust this blog? I tried to send them an inquiry for consultation on the page crashes and exposes the internal structure of their database like it’s wide open to SQL injection. 

Why would you trust the words of someone who can’t even get the basics of a website and enquiry form correct

stuart45

Try giving Joe Malone of Malone associates Ltd a call. I only know him through diynot, but he seemed to know a fair bit about damp. 

koalakoala

I’d walk away

RAS

It very much depends. Is this an older house, with a hard surface meeting the walls?

Damp proofing companies love surveyors. My surveyor indicated damp in the front wall, over a metre above the surrounding ground.

Remove that hard standing.  Check the gutters, downpipe and drains. Consider leaving an open area adjacent to the house and watching what the water level does.

My surveyor indicated damp in the front wall, over a metre above the surrounding ground. Not likely. The drip channel on the sills has been over painted. It wasn't hard to solve.

Beeblebr0x

stuart45 said:

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.

Rising damp is a fact; what is contentious are the methods used to identify it.

babyblade41

I wouldn't pay service to the report, find where the ingress of water is coming in and sort it.... 10K sounds like a snake oil salesmen .

Wrong tools for detecting damp in the first place