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Simon December 14th 06 10:24 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
I have just had a Homebuyers Report on a property that I am buying.

Under the HBR layout items are rated in three categories. Most of the items
are 1, and a couple of small items 2 ( i.e ridge tile pointing etc).

However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness is
affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective damp
proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"

Is it acceptable to ask the vendor to remedy this? How would others handle
this?



The Todal December 14th 06 10:34 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 

"Simon" wrote in message
k...
I have just had a Homebuyers Report on a property that I am buying.

Under the HBR layout items are rated in three categories. Most of the
items are 1, and a couple of small items 2 ( i.e ridge tile pointing
etc).

However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"

Is it acceptable to ask the vendor to remedy this? How would others handle
this?


Ask for disclosure of any guarantees and invoices relating to the damp
proofing treatment. Ask if the vendor can invoke the guarantee (if there is
one, and if the company is still in business) which in practice means they
might inject the treatment again, free of charge. Failing that (and most
common) you should get an estimate for the cost of having the damp
rectified, and ask for the sale price to be reduced to reflect that work.

Most houses have some dampness. Have a look and see whether it is obviously
unsightly. And whether it looks as if the vendor has done a quick paint job
to disguise the damp. If they won't reduce the price, you might decide it is
still worth the money and that you can get the damp sorted out in a year or
so when you have more cash to spend.



Dave Plowman (News) December 14th 06 10:48 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
In article ,
Simon wrote:
However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"


Just about every report says this.

Are the decorations new? If not, any signs of damp? If the decor is new
and confined to the ground floor there might be grounds for suspicion.

The 'instrument' used for measuring water content in plaster is
notoriously unreliable and more so if not correctly calibrated for the
type of plaster/wall construction.

I'm not saying there can't be damp. Just don't take a cheap survey's word
for it. You need something like a structural engineer to give a true
picture.

--
*No I haven't stolen it , I'm just a **** driver*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

John Laird December 14th 06 11:46 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Simon wrote:
However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"


Just about every report says this.

Are the decorations new? If not, any signs of damp? If the decor is new
and confined to the ground floor there might be grounds for suspicion.

The 'instrument' used for measuring water content in plaster is
notoriously unreliable and more so if not correctly calibrated for the
type of plaster/wall construction.

I'm not saying there can't be damp. Just don't take a cheap survey's word
for it. You need something like a structural engineer to give a true
picture.


Well said. AIUI, the instrument only measures surface resistivity,
which is no reliable guide to the dampness in the structure behind,
they are calibrated for one material and used in others, and in this
respect most "users" (surveyors) are clueless.

The OP would be well-advised to visit http://www.askjeff.co.uk/ and
click on the rising damp link. There's also a report somewhere
documenting how a testing body actually built some walls in saturated
ground and failed to detect any significant rising damp, but I can't
find that right now.

--
"Say it with flowers - Give her a triffid."


Richard Conway December 14th 06 01:38 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Simon wrote:
I have just had a Homebuyers Report on a property that I am buying.

Under the HBR layout items are rated in three categories. Most of the items
are 1, and a couple of small items 2 ( i.e ridge tile pointing etc).

However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness is
affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective damp
proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"

Is it acceptable to ask the vendor to remedy this? How would others handle
this?


When we bought our house, the survey the building society did (which
claimed there was damp in one wall) conveniently came with a quote from
an "approved" contractor to rectify said damp. The cost of the quote
was around £400. We simply got the vendor to drop the price of the
house, bought it and did nothing as there was no noticeable signs of
damp anyway.

Nice to save £400 though!

[email protected] December 14th 06 02:10 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
John Laird wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Simon wrote:


However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"


Just about every report says this.

Are the decorations new? If not, any signs of damp? If the decor is new
and confined to the ground floor there might be grounds for suspicion.

The 'instrument' used for measuring water content in plaster is
notoriously unreliable and more so if not correctly calibrated for the
type of plaster/wall construction.

I'm not saying there can't be damp. Just don't take a cheap survey's word
for it. You need something like a structural engineer to give a true
picture.


Well said. AIUI, the instrument only measures surface resistivity,
which is no reliable guide to the dampness in the structure behind,
they are calibrated for one material and used in others, and in this
respect most "users" (surveyors) are clueless.

The OP would be well-advised to visit http://www.askjeff.co.uk/ and
click on the rising damp link. There's also a report somewhere
documenting how a testing body actually built some walls in saturated
ground and failed to detect any significant rising damp, but I can't
find that right now.


Hear hear, damp on survey means as much as the paper ts written on.
Anyone can determine whether theres a damp problem for themselves
simply by looking up the symptoms of a damp problem and seeing if there
are any. If there arent, there isnt one. And this is frequently how it
turns out to be.

I believe it was the BRE that built various walls standing in water and
found no rising damp.

If OTOH there is a damp problem, its very unlikely to be anything to do
with the dpc, or absence of one, since most of what is diagnosed as
rising damp isnt, its generally condensation or penetrating damp, hence
retrofitted dpcs are rarely effective. And chemical injection doe not
provide a full dpc, despite what may be claimed.


NT


Stuart Noble December 14th 06 05:03 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
wrote:
John Laird wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Simon wrote:


However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"


Just about every report says this.

Are the decorations new? If not, any signs of damp? If the decor is new
and confined to the ground floor there might be grounds for suspicion.

The 'instrument' used for measuring water content in plaster is
notoriously unreliable and more so if not correctly calibrated for the
type of plaster/wall construction.

I'm not saying there can't be damp. Just don't take a cheap survey's word
for it. You need something like a structural engineer to give a true
picture.


Well said. AIUI, the instrument only measures surface resistivity,
which is no reliable guide to the dampness in the structure behind,
they are calibrated for one material and used in others, and in this
respect most "users" (surveyors) are clueless.

The OP would be well-advised to visit
http://www.askjeff.co.uk/ and
click on the rising damp link. There's also a report somewhere
documenting how a testing body actually built some walls in saturated
ground and failed to detect any significant rising damp, but I can't
find that right now.


Hear hear, damp on survey means as much as the paper ts written on.
Anyone can determine whether theres a damp problem for themselves
simply by looking up the symptoms of a damp problem and seeing if there
are any. If there arent, there isnt one. And this is frequently how it
turns out to be.

I believe it was the BRE that built various walls standing in water and
found no rising damp.


You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


If OTOH there is a damp problem, its very unlikely to be anything to do
with the dpc, or absence of one, since most of what is diagnosed as
rising damp isnt, its generally condensation or penetrating damp, hence
retrofitted dpcs are rarely effective. And chemical injection doe not
provide a full dpc, despite what may be claimed.


NT


[email protected] December 14th 06 06:32 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so


NT


[email protected] December 14th 06 06:33 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so
after all theres no possible question of you not having read up on the
subject.


NT


Lobster December 14th 06 07:24 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so
after all theres no possible question of you not having read up on the
subject.


It's pretty academic whether you believe it or not AFAICS because the
mortgage lenders do, and are likely to insist on remedial (or not) work
being undertaken as a precondition of the mortgage.

David


[email protected] December 14th 06 08:31 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Lobster wrote:
wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:


You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so
after all theres no possible question of you not having read up on the
subject.


It's pretty academic whether you believe it or not AFAICS because the
mortgage lenders do, and are likely to insist on remedial (or not) work
being undertaken as a precondition of the mortgage.

David


Grown ups can engage somebody with greater expertise who can report on
the real extent and cause of the problem, and the result is not
normally a dpc. In a lot of cases there simply isnt a problem in the
first place. The result is solution of the problem and saving most of
the cost of pointless work.

The real solutions to condensation and penetrating damp usually, but
not always, cost peanuts.


NT


Stuart Noble December 15th 06 10:31 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so
after all theres no possible question of you not having read up on the
subject.


NT


It's rocket science is it?

John Laird December 15th 06 11:09 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


I think the BRE's own estimate is that 90% of "rising damp" is some
other problem (most likely a leak, penetrating or damp, or
condensation).

The "old chestnut" is not that rising damp doesn't exist, but that its
diagnosis is widely over-stated, and leads to many house-owners having
expensive and unnecessary work done (which will probably not cure the
real problem either).

--
"PI seconds is a nanocentury. - Tom Duff, Bell Labs"


Fash December 15th 06 11:56 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 

Richard Conway wrote:
Simon wrote:
I have just had a Homebuyers Report on a property that I am buying.

Under the HBR layout items are rated in three categories. Most of the items
are 1, and a couple of small items 2 ( i.e ridge tile pointing etc).

However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness is
affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective damp
proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"

Is it acceptable to ask the vendor to remedy this? How would others handle
this?


When we bought our house, the survey the building society did (which
claimed there was damp in one wall) conveniently came with a quote from
an "approved" contractor to rectify said damp. The cost of the quote
was around £400. We simply got the vendor to drop the price of the
house, bought it and did nothing as there was no noticeable signs of
damp anyway.

Nice to save £400 though!


I think the questions with damp should be:
1. Does it smell?
2. Is there mould on the wall?

If not get over it.

Fortunately the surveyor who did my place recognized that whilst there
was some damp, people had been living there quite happily since ~1750
so didn't make a big deal of it. My personal experience is don't get a
homebuyers survey done at all. The minimal valuation usually causes
less problems since they aren't looking so hard. Then if you want the
information from a homebuyers survey pay yourself to get it done
separately. The problem with a normal homebuyers survey is that whilst
you're paying for it the surveyor is not working for you. This is
madness. The basic valuation is often done for free by the mortgage
company and why would you want to give them more information than they
need, so that they can use it against you.
If the OP had had a private survey he could still use it to negotiate
with the vendor but the Bank/BS couldn't also use it to clobber him.

All house surveys are generally crap unless you own the place since
they can't move furniture, look behind the wall paper etc. This is also
why they're filled with caveats like "we were unable to ascertain
that..." "The purchaser should check that...". Waste of good money.

Fash


Tony Bryer December 15th 06 12:33 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On 14 Dec 2006 06:10:27 -0800 wrote :
I believe it was the BRE that built various walls standing in water
and found no rising damp.


I've done my own experiment: it's called my extension. Soft red bricks
on the quoins, now disintegrating from frost damage below dpc level
where they are wet and 100% sound above dpc level.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk


Richard Conway December 15th 06 01:00 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Lobster wrote:
wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


if you say so
after all theres no possible question of you not having read up on the
subject.


It's pretty academic whether you believe it or not AFAICS because the
mortgage lenders do, and are likely to insist on remedial (or not) work
being undertaken as a precondition of the mortgage.


Our mortgage lender did, but have so far not checked to make sure we
have (two and a half years so far). I know of at least two other people
who have done the same.

Stuart Noble December 15th 06 03:20 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
John Laird wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


I think the BRE's own estimate is that 90% of "rising damp" is some
other problem (most likely a leak, penetrating or damp, or
condensation).

The "old chestnut" is not that rising damp doesn't exist, but that its
diagnosis is widely over-stated, and leads to many house-owners having
expensive and unnecessary work done (which will probably not cure the
real problem either).


I have to agree. I've never seen a case of rising damp. The BRE 90%
sounds like a don't know but cover my arse kind of figure.
Maybe this would all be a bit more relevant if it rained as much as it
used to.

John Rumm December 15th 06 10:48 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

I believe it was the BRE that built various walls standing in water and
found no rising damp.



You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


My recollection of the report was that they found rising damp was far
harder to create than was expected. They did find some evidence of it in
walls built with very soft bricks and sandy lime mortar.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Maris December 18th 06 02:05 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:48:42 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Simon wrote:
However under "Dampness, rot" categories, this is rated as "3". Dampness
is affecting the ground floor walls. I suspect this is due to defective
damp proofing treatment and/or contaminated plaster"


Just about every report says this.

Are the decorations new? If not, any signs of damp? If the decor is new
and confined to the ground floor there might be grounds for suspicion.

The 'instrument' used for measuring water content in plaster is
notoriously unreliable and more so if not correctly calibrated for the
type of plaster/wall construction.

Correct - it is intended to measure the dampness in wood.
I have a similar damp problem here in the house I bought last
February. I knew about it but the price reflected it. Investigating
further I discovered that attempts had been made to damp proof the one
wall in question (from lots of holes drilled) but had clearly failed.
I had another go and the very expensive damp prooof liquid just
drained away between the mortar joints which had long turned to dust.
Most damp proof companies also rerender using damp proof render, which
is tantamount to an admission that the damp proofing exercise is a
waste of time and they are simply sealing in the damp. The only
problem is that the render is so dense that it encourages condensation
and so we are back to a damp problem!!!

Maris



I'm not saying there can't be damp. Just don't take a cheap survey's word
for it. You need something like a structural engineer to give a true
picture.



Maris December 18th 06 02:09 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 22:48:38 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

Stuart Noble wrote:

I believe it was the BRE that built various walls standing in water and
found no rising damp.



You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


My recollection of the report was that they found rising damp was far
harder to create than was expected. They did find some evidence of it in
walls built with very soft bricks and sandy lime mortar.


This may well be true. Where I have a damp problem, the bricks appear
to be very soft red stocks, which crumble into pieces when removed (as
I did when installing French doors where there was a sash window).

Maris

[email protected] December 18th 06 03:50 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Maris wrote:

I have a similar damp problem here in the house I bought last
February. I knew about it but the price reflected it. Investigating
further I discovered that attempts had been made to damp proof the one
wall in question (from lots of holes drilled) but had clearly failed.
I had another go and the very expensive damp prooof liquid just
drained away between the mortar joints which had long turned to dust.
Most damp proof companies also rerender using damp proof render, which
is tantamount to an admission that the damp proofing exercise is a
waste of time and they are simply sealing in the damp. The only
problem is that the render is so dense that it encourages condensation
and so we are back to a damp problem!!!

Maris


If you want to solve it try
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...wforum.php?f=1


NT


Maris December 18th 06 05:12 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On 18 Dec 2006 07:50:17 -0800, wrote:

Maris wrote:

I have a similar damp problem here in the house I bought last
February. I knew about it but the price reflected it. Investigating
further I discovered that attempts had been made to damp proof the one
wall in question (from lots of holes drilled) but had clearly failed.
I had another go and the very expensive damp prooof liquid just
drained away between the mortar joints which had long turned to dust.
Most damp proof companies also rerender using damp proof render, which
is tantamount to an admission that the damp proofing exercise is a
waste of time and they are simply sealing in the damp. The only
problem is that the render is so dense that it encourages condensation
and so we are back to a damp problem!!!

Maris


If you want to solve it try
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...wforum.php?f=1


NT

I'm not sure I saw any obvious clues as to how to solve it but lots of
comments backing up my thesis. Thanks anyway for a very useful
website. My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.

Maris

Ed_Zep December 18th 06 06:59 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


I think the BRE's own estimate is that 90% of "rising damp" is some
other problem (most likely a leak, penetrating or damp, or
condensation).

The "old chestnut" is not that rising damp doesn't exist, but that its
diagnosis is widely over-stated, and leads to many house-owners having
expensive and unnecessary work done (which will probably not cure the
real problem either).


Does anyone agree that living near the bottom of the hill can make
rising damp much more likely?


Stuart Noble December 18th 06 07:42 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Ed_Zep wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith

I think the BRE's own estimate is that 90% of "rising damp" is some
other problem (most likely a leak, penetrating or damp, or
condensation).

The "old chestnut" is not that rising damp doesn't exist, but that its
diagnosis is widely over-stated, and leads to many house-owners having
expensive and unnecessary work done (which will probably not cure the
real problem either).


Does anyone agree that living near the bottom of the hill can make
rising damp much more likely?


On clay soil quite probably

Grimly Curmudgeon December 18th 06 11:06 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Maris saying
something like:

My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.


That'll be it. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than that.
--

Dave

raden December 18th 06 11:23 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
In message . com,
Ed_Zep writes
Stuart Noble wrote:

You really must stop bringing up this old chestnut. If there's no such
thing as rising damp, then all dpcs are a waste of time and should be
removed from the building regs forthwith


I think the BRE's own estimate is that 90% of "rising damp" is some
other problem (most likely a leak, penetrating or damp, or
condensation).

The "old chestnut" is not that rising damp doesn't exist, but that its
diagnosis is widely over-stated, and leads to many house-owners having
expensive and unnecessary work done (which will probably not cure the
real problem either).


Does anyone agree that living near the bottom of the hill can make
rising damp much more likely?

Descending damp, shirly

--
geoff

[email protected] December 19th 06 12:31 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Maris wrote:
On 18 Dec 2006 07:50:17 -0800, wrote:
Maris wrote:


I have a similar damp problem here in the house I bought last
February. I knew about it but the price reflected it. Investigating
further I discovered that attempts had been made to damp proof the one
wall in question (from lots of holes drilled) but had clearly failed.
I had another go and the very expensive damp prooof liquid just
drained away between the mortar joints which had long turned to dust.
Most damp proof companies also rerender using damp proof render, which
is tantamount to an admission that the damp proofing exercise is a
waste of time and they are simply sealing in the damp. The only
problem is that the render is so dense that it encourages condensation
and so we are back to a damp problem!!!

Maris


If you want to solve it try
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...wforum.php?f=1

I'm not sure I saw any obvious clues as to how to solve it but lots of
comments backing up my thesis. Thanks anyway for a very useful
website. My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.

Maris


Lowering the ground level is a good move. Re the website, have to try a
bit harder if you want results.


NT


Maris December 19th 06 08:34 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 23:06:15 +0000, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Maris saying
something like:

My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.


That'll be it. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than that.


Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.

Maris

John Rumm December 19th 06 09:47 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Maris wrote:

My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.


That'll be it. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than that.



Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.


I would have thought there is less chance of it raining in the
neighbours front room though...


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Stuart Noble December 19th 06 10:11 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Maris wrote:
On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 23:06:15 +0000, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Maris saying
something like:

My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.

That'll be it. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than that.


Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.

Maris


This is where the argument against rising damp comes unstuck. On an
internal wall you can eliminate condensation as the source by increasing
heating and ventilation but, if that doesn't work, what are you left with?

Dave Plowman (News) December 19th 06 11:09 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
In article ,
Stuart Noble wrote:
Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.

Maris


This is where the argument against rising damp comes unstuck. On an
internal wall you can eliminate condensation as the source by increasing
heating and ventilation but, if that doesn't work, what are you left
with?


Installing a damp course to a party wall would involve disruption to both
parties since there's little point in providing a new one of any type if
it is bridged at one side by porous plaster.

Before accepting it *is* rising damp the obvious check is if it is showing
on the 'other' side.

--
*Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Maris December 19th 06 11:55 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:09:54 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart Noble wrote:
Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.

Maris


This is where the argument against rising damp comes unstuck. On an
internal wall you can eliminate condensation as the source by increasing
heating and ventilation but, if that doesn't work, what are you left
with?


Installing a damp course to a party wall would involve disruption to both
parties since there's little point in providing a new one of any type if
it is bridged at one side by porous plaster.

Before accepting it *is* rising damp the obvious check is if it is showing
on the 'other' side.


Unfortunately, my neighbour is not very au fait with building methods
but he seems to think it has been tanked on his side after he had lots
of problems with damp too. That would, of course, ensure that all of
the damp emerges on my side. Not sure about the legal situation there!
In any case, I have stripped back the hard render to allow the wall to
breathe and dry out.

Maris


Grimly Curmudgeon December 19th 06 03:00 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Maris saying
something like:

My only strategy will be to lower the ground level ouside,
which is above the level of the inside floor level.


That'll be it. I'd be surprised if it's anything more than that.


Unfortunately that can't be applied to the party wall, which also has
the problem.


Ask your neighbours to stop using it as a urinal.
--

Dave

Dave Plowman (News) December 19th 06 04:18 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
In article ,
Maris wrote:
Installing a damp course to a party wall would involve disruption to
both parties since there's little point in providing a new one of any
type if it is bridged at one side by porous plaster.

Before accepting it *is* rising damp the obvious check is if it is
showing on the 'other' side.


Unfortunately, my neighbour is not very au fait with building methods
but he seems to think it has been tanked on his side after he had lots
of problems with damp too. That would, of course, ensure that all of
the damp emerges on my side. Not sure about the legal situation there!
In any case, I have stripped back the hard render to allow the wall to
breathe and dry out.


What's the construction of the party wall? How much of it is below floor
level?

--
*Many people quit looking for work when they find a job *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Maris December 19th 06 07:01 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:18:11 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Maris wrote:
Installing a damp course to a party wall would involve disruption to
both parties since there's little point in providing a new one of any
type if it is bridged at one side by porous plaster.

Before accepting it *is* rising damp the obvious check is if it is
showing on the 'other' side.


Unfortunately, my neighbour is not very au fait with building methods
but he seems to think it has been tanked on his side after he had lots
of problems with damp too. That would, of course, ensure that all of
the damp emerges on my side. Not sure about the legal situation there!
In any case, I have stripped back the hard render to allow the wall to
breathe and dry out.


What's the construction of the party wall? How much of it is below floor
level?


It's a 13 and a half inch brick wall, built of mainly multi stocks.
It is, like most Victorian houses in London, built on brick spreaders,
which may extend to about 50 cms deep below lower ground floor level.

Maris

[email protected] December 19th 06 11:58 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Maris wrote:

the damp emerges on my side. Not sure about the legal situation there!
In any case, I have stripped back the hard render to allow the wall to
breathe and dry out.


That may well turn out to be enough, though it can take a long time to
dry right out. If it works, using a porous finish will enable it to
evaporate any traces of damp and keep dry.


NT


[email protected] December 20th 06 12:01 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
Stuart Noble wrote:

This is where the argument against rising damp comes unstuck. On an
internal wall you can eliminate condensation as the source by increasing
heating and ventilation


thats not a very satisfactory approach, and may or may not be adequate

but, if that doesn't work, what are you left with?


In 99% of cases, reducing RH to stop the condensation. In the last 1%,
salt contamination or rising damp.


NT


Stuart Noble December 20th 06 09:14 AM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:

This is where the argument against rising damp comes unstuck. On an
internal wall you can eliminate condensation as the source by increasing
heating and ventilation


thats not a very satisfactory approach, and may or may not be adequate

but, if that doesn't work, what are you left with?


In 99% of cases, reducing RH to stop the condensation. In the last 1%,
salt contamination or rising damp.


NT


And how do you reduce RH other than by heat and ventilation?

Maris December 20th 06 12:07 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
On 19 Dec 2006 15:58:13 -0800, wrote:

Maris wrote:

the damp emerges on my side. Not sure about the legal situation there!
In any case, I have stripped back the hard render to allow the wall to
breathe and dry out.


That may well turn out to be enough, though it can take a long time to
dry right out. If it works, using a porous finish will enable it to
evaporate any traces of damp and keep dry.


NT

In my previous house I used something called Limelite renovating
plaster for the first metre of brickwork that is usually hard rendered
by the damp proofing companies. It was lightweight and therefore there
was no condensation. It was also non-hygrospcopic unlike Carlite.
Sadly,the company don't seem to be around any more, although there are
similar products on the market, I believe.

Maris

Andrew Gabriel December 20th 06 02:47 PM

Homebuyers Report: Dampness
 
In article ,
Maris writes:
In my previous house I used something called Limelite renovating
plaster for the first metre of brickwork that is usually hard rendered
by the damp proofing companies. It was lightweight and therefore there
was no condensation. It was also non-hygrospcopic unlike Carlite.
Sadly,the company don't seem to be around any more, although there are
similar products on the market, I believe.


I have areas where the outside ground level is too high, and it's
not realistic to drop it. I removed the damp plaster back to the
brickwork. For scratch coat, I used 1:1:6 (cement:lime:sand) with
a waterproofer additive. This can breath, but won't wick moisture
through. For finish coat, I used regular gypsum finish coat, and
it's stayed bone dry for years now, in spite of the brickwork
behind still remaining slightly damp. Decorative finish must allow
wall to breath though (e.g. matt emulsion paint or paper-based
wallpaper).

--
Andrew Gabriel


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