In article ,
Chris Styles wrote:
A friend is looking to buy a Victorian Terraced house, and it doesn't
have a damp course.

Neither do any in this street in London.

After spinning her an elaborate story about having the entire house
sliced out of the terrace and lifted up on blocks while a damp course is
fitted, I promised to ask around to find out how much she should expect
to pay to have a chemical DPC done.

Not actually so silly - I've seen a mechanical damp course inserted by
'sawing the wall in half'. And it's likely to work rather better than a
chemical one which is a con.

I seem to recall someone else having the chemical DPC, and it requiring
a certain amount of replastering to be done after, because the plaster
had to be stripped back at the bottom of the wall. Is this normal (or
even anything to do with the DPC?)

Well, yes. If you have damp showing - for whatever reason - removing the
old plaster and replacing it with waterproof skim plus plaster will stop
the damp showing again - at that spot.

Any hints, tips gratefully received.

Do a Google and you'll find plenty advice. Suffice it to say true rising
damp is extremely rare - otherwise those houses would have been built with
one in the first place. Most causes of actual damp are cause by water
penetration - patios etc added afterwards not draining water away from the
walls.

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*Money isn't everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch *

Dave Plowman London SW
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