Trying to buy our first house, in Bristol. The one we like has had extensive rebuilding work done, including replastering. It is an end terrace house and the wall exposed to the elements has an issue with salt coming through to the interior on the ground floor (in multiple rooms). The vendor says there was no damp previousl y and it is a common issue with replastering, which he will “sort out” before it is sold. Am I right to be wary, or worried about nothing?

ta,

thebunk

worry.

the wall is wet*, and salts are being leeched out of the plaster and bricks.

(*rain, rising damp, both, etc.)

my house is riddled with this stuff, ace.

dried out salt in cement or plaster………efflorescence. 😀

It certainly isn’t “rising damp” so you can cross that off your list of possibilities.

How long ago was it replastered?

Not my specialist subject but either moisture evaporating from pretty recent plastering or there’s another source of moisture, I would think.

I’d be worried enough to get someone who knows what they’re doing to look at it either way.

If, as they said, it’s just drying out, what is it they’re planning to do to sort it out? I can’t think of any solution except waiting.

Not really a big concern, don’t be too concerned. Though interested to know what vendor proposes to do about it, as not a lot that can be done really…

I think I’d want some sort of written guarantee from the seller that remedial work had been completed before signing on the dotted. Then if it comes back to bite you it’s their problem rather than yours.

I’d do the opposite to Cougar – get an independent esatimate for the qwork and have it knocked off the price. Be easier for you to chase someone you’ve employed than try and do it via the vendor.

I’d do the opposite to Cougar

+1.

sounds like a cowboy to me.

hes not a builder by chance is he ?

coat of paint will hide it long enough to get you to sign 😉

be aware !

Salts are only mobile when carried by mositure.Normal remedy is to hack off plaster and to use a stipple coat ,then replaster.
I`d get the dpc checked too.

Its not necessarily expensive,Im having this work done next week in my lounge,total cost will be £600 including the dpc.

Rising damp is a myth, having a Chemical DPC will be a complete waste of money.

Salts are only mobile when carried by mositure.Normal remedy is to hack off plaster and to use a stipple coat ,then replaster.

This,

We initially cleaned and repainted and the paint came off. WE tried a damp proof paint and that just came off in bigger bits. We had bits replastered and it was fine.

What is an issue is where the water is coming from. It often isn’t a case of it coming through the walls without another issue. Pointing, drains, ground level, cracks, damaged bricks etc.

PErsonally I’d get a builder to look at it and quote for repair and knock this off the price. In my experience this isn’t a problem that will solve itself.

Go to your local hire shop and get a damp meter, they are very easy to use and will give you a good idea of how much moisture you are talking about. If you are at the higher end of the green zone on the meter it is probably as the seller said plaster drying but if it go’s into the red there is some other moisture sources and i would be concerned until this was investigated. Hope this helps.

Cheers seahouse, sounds sensible.

Rising damp is not a myth, BUT it is not as common as salesmen will tell you.

Don’t bother with a damp meter. The salts will give a false reading anyway. There’s been some good advice already here. He wall sounds damp and you would need to rectify where this is coming from, is it a solid or cavity wall? Check pointing, blocked gutters spilling onto wall face etc.

Rising damp isn’t a myth, but it is over stated. Damp won’t usually rise more than 1m above ground level, so if it’s damp above this, look elsewhere for explanation.
If he walls are damp, look at the floor too, damp timber floors lead to wet / dry rot conditions, if they are timber and you can’t get to inspect them due to carpets / laminate, have a good bounce on them to see if there’s undue movement.

Jeff (Building Surveyor)

Ta jeff/ffej, though that scuppers my initial plan. Are you saying that it’s likely to be actual damp that I need to look into, rather than from the plaster drying?

Given that I don’t have to buy this house, I think I’ll just leave it…cheers everyone!

I wouldnt let it put you off.It isnt necessarily expensive to fix,assuming the rest of the house meets your buying criteria.

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising_damp.html

I don’t see any evidence in that link, its really just an attempt to get you to buy the guys book…

He is the same bloke who doesn’t believe in condensing boilers from memory claiming they were no more efficient I seem to remember.

He makes bold claims to sell books and to promote himself.

Yes some of what he writes is true but he seems to be stuck in the dark ages on some aspects of building, maybe he panders to his Telegraph audience?

To add to what Jeff was saying in new build you quite often get salt or sulphate coming out of new brick work.
If the wall is a solid wall the damp could be penertrating from the outside particularly if the external wall is exposed to the elements.

it could also be a poor mix or quality of plaster, which is start to breakdown due to the damp conditions.

thanks

alllan (bsc hons construction management)

@nealglover
Interesting link that.. There’s actually some good info mixed with outrageous simplification and bs. Quite true though that electrical damp meters don’t actually measure damp. To get an accurate reading I’d be doing a calcium carbine, or “speedy” test.. but as this required removal of plaster and drilling into the brickwork, it’s not a usual test on a potential purchase.

@thebunk
It doesn’t sound right to me.. but without actually looking myself I’d be reluctant to call it. If you really want the property then I’d recommend a qualified surveyor look at it – either as part of a full survey or what I would have called (if I still worked in private practice) a specific defect inspection. I’d be charging you 300 quid plus vat for an inspection and report. If it’s nothing, you’ve wasted 300 quid, if it is then it’s evidence to either beat the vendor with, or walk away.

Regards
Jeff (Not the Jeff from that website!)

@nealglover
Interesting link that.. There’s actually some good info mixed with outrageous simplification and bs. Quite true though that electrical damp meters don’t actually measure damp. To get an accurate reading I’d be doing a calcium carbine, or “speedy” test.. but as this required removal of plaster and drilling into the brickwork, it’s not a usual test on a potential purchase.

Yep, was probably just a bit of lazy googling really, I just posted the first link that appeared.

But there are loads more. And lots of other well qualified people saying pretty much the same thing.

I don’t see any evidence in that link, its really just an attempt to get you to buy the guys book…

He’s not the only person saying, lots of other well qualified people have the same opinion.

If you are bothered, the evidence of this is easy to find.

This has happened to our wall 🙁

A damp meter reading didnt show anything but the house started to smell a bit musty.

After a bit of investigation found out that it is a solid wall (I assumed it was cavity as the house is 1950s) and that when the neighbours built their extension their builders broke our guttering off which is very hard for us to see due to the position of our house and their new extension.

So water was pouring straight out of the gutters onto the wall and coming through.

The gutter has since been fixed and the musty smell slowly has disappeared, so I’m hoping soon to be able to repair the enormous discoloured bumpy patches on the wall!

So in your case it is likely to be water coming through the wall for some reason. If its gutters, the same as us, its not an expensive repair. But you should definitely find out what is causing it before deciding if you are happy to proceed or not.

All you need now is sulfer and charcoal and you can make gunpowder.

Does it affect only outside walls? I assume they plastered partition walls too. If it’s only the outside walls then worry.

I had it on one outside wall and cured the problem by drilling out the mortar (most of it crumbled out) and replacing with a waterproof mortar (in short sections so the wall didn’t fall down).

Edukator – Does it affect only outside walls? I assume they plastered partition walls too. If it’s only the outside walls then worry.

This seems sound logic to me – the builders have plastered most of the walls and it is only this outside wall (which is the most exposed one) that the salt thing is happening to – suggests an underlying issue to my simple mind.

Bit more info about the house as you’ve all been so helpful – it’s victorian era, no external work has been done, but a fair amount of internal work, including knocking walls down etc. The salt stuff is quite high up the wall (so I guess it isn’t rising damp, not just because rising damp might be a myth or conspiracy).