Q. My girlfriend is in the process of buying an 1890 terraced property. The valuation survey has stated that the property has dampness to ground level walls and unevenness to ground level floors.  Should she commission a damp survey? Or should request a quote from a damp proof specialist to assess the cost of rectifying the problem?

Q. We live in a terraced house about 100 years old. The downstairs wall, at the back of the house, where it joins next door has always had a damp patch on it, however recently moisture (appears to be clean water) is coming up through slight cracks in the asphalt floor, which seemingly was put down many years ago to cover the original flag floor. There are no water pipes in this area at all - is it possible for rising damp to actually do this? And to cure this would we need a damp proof course on the one wall and a new floor fitted?

Submitted by: JK
 

Q. Since we moved into our house over 3 years ago we have suffered from 'water ingress' into the first floor bedroom.  Subsequently we had the chimney lowered and the roof done as we feared this may have been the cause. Some, but not all of the plaster on the offending chimney breast was hacked off and replaced. Since then, however, it would seem that the plaster has remained wet and stained despite our assertion that the water leak has gone away. The stain manifests itself through the cornice and the ceiling too. I would be interested in your opinion as to whether you think this is a hygroscopic salts issue caused by the fact that the chimney breast was re-plastered too soon without being allowed to dry properly or whether an application of a primer-sealer type product will help. Would a solution be to hack off the plaster again, allow time to dry and re-apply a lime based plaster?  Would this preclude the use of an emulsion paint finish? Having suffered this stain/wetness problem for many years and having sought many people's advice it has become somewhat of an enigma. Can you advise please??

Submitted by: DA 

Q. Why do I have to remove the wall plaster if I am having a new damp course put in?

Submitted by: PH - Isle of Man
 

Q. I own a semi-detached house built around the 1930s.  A few weeks ago I discovered that there was a small damp patch just above the skirting board in the lounge - the wall paper had begun to peel away and some salty deposit on the plaster. The wall in question is an internal load-bearing wall dividing the lounge and the kitchen.  The kitchen has a concrete floor. The lounge has a suspended wooden floor - underneath the floorboards there is a void of about 75cm with concrete at the bottom (top of the soil). I removed some floor boards near the damp patch and on inspection saw water present (2cm depth) just around that area. I suspect this water is rising up the wall and causing the damp. There is no evidence of dampness on the other side of the wall (i.e. in the kitchen). Where has this water come form? I though that it may be the water mains leaking so I arranged for the water supply to be turned off from the stop cock on the pavement out site. It is now over 4 weeks since the water has been turned off, but the water under the floor boards is still present. Could this water come from a neighbouring property with a leaky water mains? A friend has advised that it may be spring or ground water that is causing the problem. How can spring or ground water be 'diverted' or moved away from under the property (e.g. by putting sand or something on the concrete)? What is the best remedy and the cost involved?

Submitted by: AL
 

Q. In a 1932 solid brick semi detached 3 bedroom house in the black country what would have been the separator at DPC level?

Submitted by: MW

Q. I have just completed on a flat and one of the walls that was previously hidden by a wardrobe has approximately 1sq metre of damp either side of the corner. Who should be responsible for this and what are the approximate costing?

Submitted by: Anon 

Q. We have a quote from a Dutch company (Schrijver) using a ceramic porous tube mechanism. Why is this not accepted by PGA for insurance backed guarantee?

Submitted by: BT
 

Q. I have recently purchased a house which has a 30 year guarantee for woodworm and damp treatment which was issued in 1994.  The contractor who issued the guarantee has subsequently been taken over by another company. The successor company say they will not honour the guarantee in the event of a claim (none has yet arisen) unless the survey report is also produced - and this is a condition in the guarantee.  There is no survey report and it would appear therefore that the guarantee is worthless. What options are available to me in these circumstances?

Submitted by: DT
 

Q. I have three questions if that is OK, as I think my house may have rising damp. Two years ago we decided to fit laminate flooring in a living room. On lifting the carpet we found this had become mouldy and damp, and the floorboard underneath had become rotten, as had the joist below. The plaster was slightly powdery for a couple of inches above the skirting board, but the skirting board seemed unaffected. The area affected was a corner of the room where two outside supporting walls met. As it was two days before Christmas, we did a temporary repair, replacing the joist with an untreated softwood replacement and the floorboards with chip board. This "temporary" repair had been forgotten until this past weekend when I noticed the floor in that corner had too much "give". I lifted the laminate flooring to find the chip board and the new joist was completely rotten and very wet. As well as being wet, the wood was covered in some places by a white rubbery fungus, and over the rest in a black slimy ooze. There seems to be a white powdery dusting on some of the bricks, but again, the plaster above floor doesn't appear to be effected apart from some flaking of emulsion as skirting board level. My questions are; 1. Do I have rising damp? 2. If so, I have read a little on the web concerning Dryzone and the way it is applied. In my particular circumstances, the mortar between the bricks appears very sandy and soft. Will Dryzone still work, or is some form of re-pointing necessary before application. 3. I am in two minds as to whether to attempt the work myself of get someone to do it. My main fear in employing someone else is getting a fair deal. Do you have a list of approved contractors? Thanks

Submitted by: TK 

Q. A company has given me an estimate to install a new damp course but wants my builder to do the re-plastering. What do you advise?

Submitted by: WR
 

Q. I bought a house recently which has a 30 year damp course guarantee.  It still has about 27 years to run. However, when carrying out some building work, I have discovered that the damp coursed walls have in fact been dot and dabbed, and then plastered.  Will this cause a problem for me later on, and with the guarantee?

Submitted by: D
 

Q. I have just had a damp & timber survey carried out by an 'independent surveyor' on a 1880 semi-detached house. He has said that there are high levels of damp on all external walls on the ground floor using a electronic moisture meter. He recommends using Dryzone and re-plastering at a cost of £5,600 for the work. The walls are solid 9 inch - this seems an awful lot of money. The walls to treat total about 20 metres. Does this sound right? I am a first time buyer.

Submitted by: J
 

Q. Hi. We are in the process of getting quotation for treatment of rising damp in our two bedrooms. The surveyor out today said that we they would have to strip back the wall and fit a membrane, re plaster then put injections into the exterior walls. Can you give me an idea of cost (roughly)? The total length of the course of work is around12m.

Submitted by: C
 

Q. Why do some companies charge for surveys and other will do it for free?

Submitted by: BC

Q. Have you come across the Frank Schrijver system? This has been installed in my 1930s bungalow 4 years ago by the previous owners. There appears to be a lot of wetness in the four corners of the property just above skirting board level it is also mouldy with salt deposits around it. I would like to know if this is just condensation or damp rising due to lack of damp course which apparently the Schrijver system is suppose to eradicate. Can you help and advise. I have rang the company but they require a change of ownership fee as well as re-check fee which is £160 it

Q. I have recently had a survey performed for a house I am buying, well a basement flat to be exact. The building is 120 years old but and has recently been re-decorated by a developer. The survey has highlighted damp within external and some internal walls. Could you advise on our next steps, as looking at the walls there is no signs of any damp and recently (2-3 months ago) they have been re-plastered. The developer is saying there were no signs of damp during redevelopment; however should we still get someone in for an expert

Q. We have recently bought a house which has some damp patches. We have contacted a couple of specialist damp companies to come and give us quotes. One company has suggested using injected chemicals and the other has suggested placing a plastic membrane in between the bricks which will work out very expensive. We intend to keep the house for many years however we are not sure which would be the best way to treat the damp. Do the chemical treatments really work? Which treatment would you recommend? 

Submitted by: S Williams

Q. We moved into a property in August which had a Damp Proof Course done in February this year. There are three recurring patches of wet that we're not quite sure are 'damp'. One being under a window - seals/ drains have been checked, the area has been covered with plastic sheeting but the patch of wet still appears. The other two are either side of the chimney breast about half way down. We have paid out for a roofer to inspect the chimney etc and all seems fine. All three patches dry out and reappear with the slightest bit of rain. If you think that this could still be a 'damp' problem from the information I have given you, what do we do next?

Submitted by: CO

Q. Does rising damp really exist??