Damp specialist in London for free quotation

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend a damp specialist in London? I am in the process of buying a ground floor flat (c1848) and when the survey came back recently it said there were "high" and "moderately high" electronic damp meter readings in 2 of the walls.

I am interested in getting a free quotation on what the extent of the problem is and how much it will cost to fix, but do not want to outlay any cash until contracts have been exchanged (and may not want to buy the place at all depending on the results of a damp inspection!) Can anyone help? Also - what is bad about getting a chemical injection - if anything?

I am also going to go back and have another close look at the flat in the light of the comments on the survey. Does anyone have any particular tips on what to look out for, apart from the obvious?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone is good enough to provide,

Katie

 

[Anonymous]

Oooh, you've opened the gates with the question whats wrong with chemical damp proofing. Basically, it's a short term solution at best. There's too much moisture in the ground around the flat. Why is it there? Chemically banning it from your walls means it is just a problem waiting to return, and when it does you'll have the same issue, only this time with horrible holes in your bricks. You need to find the cause and deal with it if you're going to buy the place, which basically means, allow the moisture to escape and evaporate.

Damp course specialists have a vested interest, but will do a survey in the hope of getting the business. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who'll do it for free. But let's face it, a couple of hundred pounds spent helping you decide whether to invest tens of thousands is a pretty good return.

In our case, (in a terraced house with damp in most of the ground floor walls), the biggest visible problem was a concrete path that was higher than the original damp course. We removed the path and subsequently discovered that the foundations in two corners were missing, that the drain pipe in front of the house was emptying itself into the ground whenever it rained because its connection to the drain was snapped in two places, and the bricks were rotten (hidden under render, see). Also, inside the house, builders had plastered over cement on the walls, which trapped the moisture in.

We ended up replacing 600 bricks in the wall facing the concrete path and reinstating a physical damp course membrane. It is not as expensive as you might think. Bricks are very versatile and can be knocked out and replaced quite easily (use a builder if you have never done it before).

Without more information about the flat it is hard to say for sure, but if it is the external walls that are the problem, are there any obvious causes? Moisture needs space to evaporate. You may find the original damp course (they used slate on our house - it crumbled to the touch 100 years down the line) is no more. If you can, scrape the earth down a couple of rows of bricks to check it out. Are there wooden floors that aren't properly aired? etc etc.

Good luck. There are many better informed persons that myself on this site - more information regarding the flat and its situation means they can give you better advice.

Cheers

Robert

 

[Anonymous]

Just endorsing what Robert said. A free damp survey is only going to be available from someone who wants to sell you hundreds/thousand of pounds-worth of "damp-proofing" work. I'll leave it to you to decide whether you honestly believe that you're likely to get completely impartial advice via that route!
A couple of hundred pounds or so spent on genuinely impartial advice from a surveyor is a much better way to go. Ask your intended surveyor for assurances on his expertise with damp problems before you give him the job.

 

[Anonymous]

If your not prepared to pay for a damp survey then proceed no further!

There are plenty of companies who will carry out 'free surveys', but in reality the 'free survey' will probably cost you thousands generally in un-necessary works.

Be prepared to pay between £200-£300 pounds for independant survey and advice, it could the best investment you make.

PC

 

[Anonymous]

Weeeeeeeeeeeell.....

She might not actually going to be instructing them to do the work....just looking for a nice fat quote to knock a load of cash off the asking price. In which case she'll be looking for an expensive outfit to scam the vendor out of thousands of pounds.

Corruption for fun and profit?

Caveat venditor.

Matt Green.

 

[Anonymous]

Salve Matt,

Wash your mouth out with soap!

Vale.