Can anyone tell me if this looks like rising damp or penetrating damp? I am going to get a damp survey but would like other opinions first from the people who haven’t got something to sell!
Damp
- Thread starter Bucca
- Start date
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Have a walk outside next time it's raining heavily. See what's happening with the gutters, downpipes, drains and paving.
Check that the paving slopes away from the building with a spirit level.
Is it a solid or cavity wall?
Check that the paving slopes away from the building with a spirit level.
Is it a solid or cavity wall?
I’m not sure whether it is cavity or solid I will check. The paving is definitely not sloping away from the building as it is an enclosed path that comes down steps so any water or rain will have nowhere to go. The houses are all built in rows down a steep hill so the rain will run off the gardens above. The building is L shaped where the dining room and kitchen are and there is a wall on the other side opposite the kitchen. I can’t see a damp course because of the render but feel sure the path is higher than the kitchen as you have to step down maybe four inches into the kitchen. I will look at the drains and the guttering as you suggested. Thank you.
OP,
Without going into details - the floors & walls seem to be unprotected from the rising and penetrating damp thats present in the pics.
The house is at low level below the pressured water table coming down from "the steep hill" above the property.
Situations such as you show are usually fixable but without being on site there's no way I could put a cost on the work required.
Its probable that the D&T person you've called in will give you standard damp "remedies" but be lacking on providing detailed remedial works to deal with the ground water & the low level floor(s)?
There are injection holes from a failed historic attempt to deal with rising damp ref. pic IMG1026
Have you recently bought the house or are you thinking of buying?
Without going into details - the floors & walls seem to be unprotected from the rising and penetrating damp thats present in the pics.
The house is at low level below the pressured water table coming down from "the steep hill" above the property.
Situations such as you show are usually fixable but without being on site there's no way I could put a cost on the work required.
Its probable that the D&T person you've called in will give you standard damp "remedies" but be lacking on providing detailed remedial works to deal with the ground water & the low level floor(s)?
There are injection holes from a failed historic attempt to deal with rising damp ref. pic IMG1026
Have you recently bought the house or are you thinking of buying?
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Is there anywhere that water could go? E.g. could you lower the outside ground level, add drains that take it round a corner and away down the hill?
If the internal floor is lower than outside then you will always have damp, whatever miracle super-goo is applied.
If the internal floor is lower than outside then you will always have damp, whatever miracle super-goo is applied.
the property was purchased about 12 years ago by my sons then girlfriend, they married and lived there for ten years, she left he is sole carer for two children and now needs another bedroom so wants to sell the property. He has to decide whether to sell at a loss or get repairs done but that will depend on the multitude of possible problems. We are trying to help to identify those problems and costing for the repairs. would a damp surveyor be best or a general builder?
The damp is bridging the dpc via the render and possibly the path especially as the rain flows against it. Even if the cause is sorted you will have damp readings for some time to come.
If selling then I'd suggest doing exactly what someone else did about 12 years ago... paint the walls, stick heaters and/or dehumidifiers in and make it look presentable, sell it to someone else.
This sounds dodgy but honestly there isn't an easy way of fixing this properly. The house is partially underground, it definitely wouldn't be built like that today.
This sounds dodgy but honestly there isn't an easy way of fixing this properly. The house is partially underground, it definitely wouldn't be built like that today.
Poster #6,
You claim: "If the interior floor is lower than outside you will always have damp" -
that is definitely not the case; there are well known ways of preventing damp conditions, even in such locations.
In your post #10 you advise the householder to practice fraud.
BTW: "dodgy" followed by "honestly" is a contradiction.
You claim: "If the interior floor is lower than outside you will always have damp" -
that is definitely not the case; there are well known ways of preventing damp conditions, even in such locations.
In your post #10 you advise the householder to practice fraud.
BTW: "dodgy" followed by "honestly" is a contradiction.
Lots of people make their houses presentable then flog them. All used houses are sold as-seen, buyer beware.
Making a subterrenean room dry is possible but is a major task. It definitely can't be done with special plaster, injections or miracle liquids. It needs a separate internal structure building, together with drainage.
Making a subterrenean room dry is possible but is a major task. It definitely can't be done with special plaster, injections or miracle liquids. It needs a separate internal structure building, together with drainage.
It's normally always better to carry out repairs before selling, as the costs will be less than losses from a reduced sale or the inevitable buyer late negotiation or withdrawal.
Get the advice of an independent surveyor or damp specialist. This person or firm should have no connection or interest in any of the remedial work that they may recommend.
A building surveyor could also advise on any other works that may be required.
There is a difference in making things presentable, and deliberately covering up major defects with the intention to mislead.
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