Opinion Damp and Timber Surveys

[joey99]

Hello!

I am in the process of buying a late Victorian era house (built in 1900) and we are about to start our survey process in the next two weeks. The house was built with solid brick walls and when viewing the property I noticed that the entire place has been plastered with Gypsum plaster and appears to have issues with damp, so I expect that the mortgage surveyor will suggest a damp and timber specialist survey.

From what I have researched, the damp and timber survey industry appears to be full of people pushing for quick sales of chemical injection DPC. I have been recommended a firm called Peter Cox, and from what I have read, they specialise in pushing one size fits all solutions i.e. chemical DPC injections for all properties. Ultimately, my plan is to rip off all the Gypsum Plaster and either plaster using a breathable lime plaster or install breathable insulation and then a lime plaster. As I understand that the property needs to breathe in order to let moisture vapour out.

Given the wealth of knowledge on this forum, would people suggest finding a firm that specialises in damp and timber surveys for period properties? I am hesitant to use Peter Cox as I don't want them to suggest to me or my lender an expensive, potentially useless chemical DPC injection.

Keen to hear any and all opinions on the matter.

Also, If anyone could recommend any firms in the North West Covering the Merseyside that specialise in damp and timber surveys for period properties, I would be grateful! Im currently sifting through hundreds of firms that all push chemical DPC injection as their primary course of treatment.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

 

[stuart45]

You need to find the cause of the dampness. It's often caused by things like high ground levels, defective gutters, pointing, rendering, condensation, leaking pipework etc. A property built in 1900 will probably have a DPC.
Unfortunately, a lot of damp specialists don't assess the problems properly, and are too quick to diagnose rising damp, and chemical injection as the solution.

 

[Eric56]

I used Heritage House for a survey. I believe their HQ is Shropshire..

Sounds like you know what will help.
Would.also add "lower ground levels" outside to the list as well.

 

[aockenden]

Radical opinion: Don't waste your time on any surveys other than the bare minimum needed for your mortgage. And then take that and whatever recommendations come out of it and throw it in the bin. Look at the house yourself. Observe it. Test it. Knock on walls, look in the loft, look at wall straightness, look for cracks, look for bulges, water stains, find the mold, jump up and down on the suspended floors.

 

[alexander]

you have the right idea peter cox does really have a one solution fits all & is also a founder member of the property care association so tends to push the cover up method to damp solutions best bet live it it for at least 6month before doing anything, things have a habit of showing themselves main reasons for damp are,
roof/roofline, window/ door sealants, ground level, chimneys, condensation lack of air flow/ventilation, pipe leaks, poorly aligned or leaking guttering , plant growth,
good luck

 

[a twig]

I think I wrote a high level primer a while back! Ah yep - here we go:

Avoid an injected DPC and then tanking / re-plastering - it isn’t cheap and won’t fix the root causes, it will just hide the symptoms for a few years.

Broadly, no matter your house, the rules are the same. As a rule of thumb steps 1 & 2 are the cause of the majority of damp issues.

Stage 1 - External
1) Check and resolve any sources of external water ingress at the top (failed roof, gutters, gullets, roof valleys etc) - go out in the rain with a brolly and see what all your gutters and downpipes are doing, look for water sheeting down the walls.

2) Check exterior vs interior ground levels and sort as far as possible (exterior should be lower, preferably at least 200mm but not always practical, but definitely below your DPC if you have one) and make sure all services, waste water, guttering down pipes etc are behaving and going where they should with no leaks

If you find issues, fix them and then wait, houses can take months to dry out (one month per inch of wall thickness is often a good guide)

3) Renders - if your house is rendered - ascertain what it is rendered with and whether it might have failed - look for cracks, bubbling or blown paint etc. If it’s a cement based render then it is usually recommended to remove it and re-render in lime.

If all that looks as it should then take a look inside.

Stage 2 - Interior
If there are still problems then move on to tackle the inside

Floors:
If suspended are they properly ventilated? Are there service leaks in water/waste pipes underneath?
If solid, how are they constructed? Modern concrete floors may be forcing moisture into the walls, later coverings might be preventing earth or stone floors from breathing etc.

Walls:
Make sure that internal finishes are breathable - remove / replace gypsum or cement based plasters and vinyl paints where necessary

 

[a twig]

An enterprising mind might request an electronic copy of a survey report once completed and then think about the possibility of “adjusting” any recommendations for injected DPCs etc slightly before passing it on to the mortgage company.

Definitely no one springing to mind who has done that sort of thing…