On 9 Nov 2004 06:35:08 -0800, (xavier) wrote:


The strict answer to your questions is Yes. But it won't do it by
itself. An injection damp proof course is part of a system with the
other part being the re-plastering. If you need the injection, you
need the replastering!

You have to ask yourself whether you have 'rising damp' in the first
place and a good place to start is to look at your 104 year old house,
its 104 year old skirting boards and its 5?/6? year old decorations.
If these are ok then, even if you do have rising damp, it isn't doing
much damage is it?

The decor, the plaster and the skirtingboards have all ben replaced at
some point in the last 25 years. The damp is quite bad. And it'd not
condensation. It's definitely coming out of the wall. (the first four
feet off the floor).

Just because it's there as a phenomenon doesn't
mean to say you have to half wreck your house to clear it. If it's
not doing any harm, leave it be and let evaporation take care of it.

That has been my approach for the past 13 years, but even after
painting the walls with waterproof damp-block paint, it's quite bad. I
reckon it would scare off many buyers.

Having said that, if you really *do* have a visible tide mark at a
height of one metre or so and your wall paper is peeling then it's
time to look into it further and to consider an injection dpc and
replastering. (Why hasn't anyone else who's lived there before you
been troubled)?

Who can say? Maybe they were troubled but couldn;t afford to deal with
it.

If you've been using a moisture meter then check your skirting boards,
top and bottom. If they have a moisture content of less than 18% (20%
at a push), then the walls they're in contact with haven't got enough
moisture in them to cause you any problems, at least as far as rotting
skirtings are concerned. However, if you have a timber suspended
floor and the joist ends are bedded in the wall, investigate a little
further to see if they're at risk of rot.

They are. I had to repair some of the joists when I moved in, 12 years
ago.

(Your moisture meter is
calibrated to read moisture content in timber incidentally, not in
other materials). Twenty percent MC or above and you need to take
action - even though they may have survived intact for 104 years!

If it's a real problem for you I would suggest you contact an
independent Remedial Treatments Surveyor (if you can find one) and pay
the hundred pounds or so he'll charge you in survey fees. It'll
probably save you a fortune in the long run.

OK - Thank you for the suggestions.

Jake