Pending purchase damp indentified

[perelytik1]

Hi,

I am a newbie to this forum so please be patient. We are in the process of buying a mid terrace cottage circa 1840 of stone construction with a stone slate roof. The surveyer identified damp, so we had a company to come and give an estimate.

Here are the findings form the company.

The accessible walls at ground level were tested with the aid of a protimeter and the readings obtained. These together with visual observations made, indicated the presence of rising damp and low level penertrating damp to certain wall.

He is to install a chemical damp proof course and tanking the wall up to 150mm then applying a Limelight to the rest of the wall.

From what I understand chemical injection doesn't work on solid stone walls. surely if he is tanking the base of the wall it won't be able to breath, is that correct? Also I read that the meter he used doesn't measure actually damp! is that correct.

Reason for posting is I would like to get a decent contrator who is sympathetic to old buildings and identify exactly what is causing the damp. could anyone point me in the right direct.

The property is near Huddersfield West Yorkshire.

I thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Easrow]

Afternoon. Our house is 1847 brick built. It has had damp injection and cement render and new plaster in the past (not by us) and I can tell you it doesn't work. Our bricks are soaking. If you drill into it you don't get dust you get paste. All it does is put loads of holes in your wall low down which surely is getting more water in. The tanking just moves the damp higher up. Do everything you can not to have it done. It will seem to work at 1st but will be worse later on. We are removing everything suffocating our walls and trying to dry them out as we speak.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Unfortunately you are experiencing what is almost universal practice and a huge legalised scam. I had a very similar report when I was buying my brick terrace. You may well have damp, but the methods suggested to combat it are not going to fix it, just hide it. I was determined not to have any silly remedial work done, and in fact found out that the cost of the works was just a devaluation of the house price in the eyes of the mortgage company, not actually required work, so I paid the extra (around £2000) as deposit and everyone was happy. If you can afford to do this and the mortgage company are not being subborn, then this is a very easy way to get out of it. Alternatively you could try and find a surveyor sympathetic to old buildings. Heritage house (search online) is in Shropshire somewhere and seem to specialise in cases like this, but I can't vouch for them as I haven't used them, but there is lots of useful info on their site.

The most common causes of damp are broken gutters or pipes, broken drains, poor underfloor ventilation (a lot of people block up the vents, or allow them to get blocked, and some unscrupulous builders throw spoil under the floorboards rather than getting a skip) or even a leak from old water pipes or heating pipes. Hopefully your house has a damp proof course in slate, but if not then lime plastering inside becomes more important as it acts as a "breathable" moisture sink.

 

[Flyfisher]

Welcome to the forum.

How much did the company charge for the damp survey, or was it a 'free' survey that meant the only way to recover their costs was to sell you an injected chemical DPC?

Whatever the problems the property may have and whatever the eventual best remedy, I'd say you're doing the right thing by asking questions and researching the whole issue, because there can be many causes of damp and many associated remedies. Fortunately, there is a lot of information online though you will need to sort the wheat from the chaff and it's important to consider the motives of those offering advice (as is almost always the case with the internet!).

SPAB has lots of useful information and their main vested interest is the preservation of period properties rather than the contents of your wallet, so they'd be a good starting point. You may also find a search for 'Rising Damp Myth' very illuminating. Here are a few starting points:

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/-rising-damp-is-a-myth-says-former-rics-chief/5204095.article

https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

Finally . . . don't panic and especially don't be rushed into expensive and inappropriate remedies without fully understanding things. The house is unlikely to fall down anytime soon just because of a bit of damp, so take your time. Best of luck!

 

[Abi Cott]

Have a look at my topic from a few months ago. Susie Smith is very local to you. I wasn't able to use her but she should be back from maternity leave by now. Matt is quite clear about his lack of professional endorsement but given his profession and understanding of damp issues in stone built properties, a nod in the general direction is probably worth following up.

https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15649&p=214389#p214389

 

[Gareth Hughes]

The accessible walls at ground level were tested with the aid of a protimeter

Then your surveyor is a fraudster, charlatan, mountebank and crook. The protimeter was designed purely to measure the moisture content of wood, in the timber yard. Any other use is about as reliable as sacrificing a goat and dabbling in its entrails.

 

[Damon]

Have a watch of Peter Wards videos on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/KuoKhF31hL8

Don't be bullied into get any "damp proofing" work.

 

[Flyfisher]

Then your surveyor is a fraudster, charlatan, mountebank and crook.

No need to be so reticent Gareth, just say what you really think. :wink: :lol:



PS: note to perelytik1, Gareth is one of the conservation professionals amongst us and a former CO so, all humour aside, his posts should be weighted accordingly.

 

[perelytik1]

Hi everyone,

What a wealth of information I have received, no worries on people being outspoken regarding charlatans. I am now in a quandary as we have revised our offer on the house to reflect the works that need doing as highlighted in the survey.

We have already spent money on surveys ie gas,electric and roofing and had quotes for the works required. The only one that may be an issue is the damp quote. We should know today whether the vendor is going to accept our revised offer, which is 2.6% below the asking price.

What I need to know is do we spend more money on a damp survey with another surveyor? ie (Susie Smith) to confirm what is causing the damp and still may be have to pay thousands in remedial works.

I know this is like how long is a piece of string. But my partner is willing to pull out of the sale if the vendor doesn't accept the new offer.

Once again thanks for all your help. :?

 

[perelytik1]

HI

Update I would like to thank everyone for your replies it is much appreciated. I have learnt alot about damp in older buildings.

We have now heard back from the estate agent and the vendor is unprepared to accept our revised offer in respect of the works required.

Well money lost, but will carry on the search for the right property.

 

[Bevmarley]

We are just in the middle of taking off our damp proofing in our kitchen and the state of the walls are appalling. We were told the same by a damp proofing company as you but we did lots of research and now hopefully doing the right thing for our house.