Damp proofing

I’m looking at buying a new house – YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!
It’s a 200+ year old grade 2 listed cottage and one wall has a bit of damp. The current occupier is living with it quite happily, but we’d be wanting to sort it if we bought it.

Anyone know anything about how to ‘get a man in’ to look at it and advise? The house goes straight on to the pavement so the council would obviously take an interest in it being dug up etc.
Will be ringing the council later to see what they say; do people (builder types) specialize in this sort of thing?

In Leics if that makes any difference.

Current occupier has the correct approach IMHO. Injecting a load of chemicals in the walls will do nothing. Ventilate properly, and you’ll have no bother; seal it up tight and you’ll suffer flaking paint.

Have a read of this (fairly early hit from google, but appears to contain what I’m trying to say): http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising_damp.html

Dave

ill bed if the damp wall is the pavement wall its one of two things …

pavement is above the initial level when the house was constructed 200 years ago.

or splashback from the pavement when it rains soaking the wall.

be careful for snake oil salesmen selling placebos

Take a look at this web site – Ask Jeff – regarding damp issues:

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

you could ‘black jack’ the interior walls and put in something like a British Gypsum Gyplyner system so that the plasterboard isn’t directly affected by the cold/wet wall.

Definitely see about the pavement levels and DPC level but at 200 years old I would reckon that the wall never had a DPC. You could put in a dpc externally but water will still find its way in from the bottom so you may be best of doing it from the inside especially if you’re going to renovate. Avoid licensing issues too

You might want to consider this
http://www.spirare.co.uk/Public/About

A colleague of mine is involved in the company and it’s just kind of launching in the UK. I can put you in touch (I dont think I get a kick back, but I might strong arm him 😉 )

I dont have any personal experience of it though.

Years ago I had an injected system installed in a wet house stuck on the side of the Malvern Hills – we continued to live there for a few years and it was fine, but I cant vouch for it’s longevity.

I wouldn’t try and treat the symptoms but find the cause as suggested above it is probably due to the ground level or the way the water flows off the pavement.

Talk to the council now to see what your options are.

As said earlier ,ventilation is the key ,as 200 year old walls were built straight on earth base,old houses i’ve lived in n had damp proofed were no better after few years.

If it’s stood for 200 years ,it will last a few more yet without damp proofing.

Is it definitely damp, as condensation issues look similar .. just an idea ..

As above. Lots of places suffer from damp because people dont ventilate.

The question I would be asking is why has one wall got damp as the construction would be the same as the other walls?

i.e Poor air circulation / pervailing wind / external wall condition / adjoining ground / leaking RWP or gutter / leaking underground pipe? (Had this recently)/ internal envirnoment (Shower room / tumble dryer), chimney etc?

I’d pay a building surveyor to have a look and report. Try and find a local who has a speciality/interest in damp.

Paying for professional, impartial advice is key here.

APF (former building surveyor. No, I won’t do it!)

I have always owned old terraces and just accept that damp is part of it. Occasionally it’s because of a leaky roof or gutter but mainly it’s condensation once it get cold. I just run a dehumidifier over winter.

We have systematically got rid of all the ventilation in these old homes.

APF (former building surveyor. No, I won’t do it!)

Oh, go on Alex! I’ll let you have a go on my bike 😉

Cheers guys, some decent food for thought; am investigating local conservation groups/council bods for further advice.

You’ll just have to accept it won’t be as cheap to keep warm as a new house, it needs ventilation.

We recently moved from a nearly new house into a Mill originally built 150 years ago, and then converted 20 years ago. Certainly got use to keeping my socks on and not just walking around in a t-shirt…

Plus the costs…

I have seen too many ridiculous claims on the Ask Jeff page to believe anything he ever writes.

Have a look on the SPAB website; loads of good info.

Rising damp is a myth, your solution is likely to be: Background heating + ventilation + maybe replastering with a non-gypsum plaster such as ‘Renovating plaster’ (Specifically desgined for older buildings, can cope with damp conditions without disintegrating)

Spab: http://www.spab.org.uk/

You’ll just have to accept it won’t be as cheap to keep warm as a new house, it needs ventilation.

Check. Have holidayed all my life in a freezing damp cottage 🙂
There’s a reason why they don’t build them like they used to.

I have seen too many ridiculous claims on the Ask Jeff page to believe anything he ever writes.

Struck me as a leaning towards loonyism

Good shout blurty

So if rising damp is a myth does this mean that there is no need to put a damp proof course in any wall?

No, however adding a DPC to an existing 150yr old building is unlikely to solve any problems.

wouldn’t you excavate the pavement to below original level, put in a barrier membrane and then link the path side to the nearest available drain? not my field. complete speculation before you go off and start hiring a digger and buying materials…

As well as the mill we’ve also three other stone buildings that are +100 years old. They back onto a road and originally there’d been a line of 10″ setts along the roadside, a yard from the walls. Over the years the road has been built up so its now level with the top of the setts, and the water just seems to ‘run’ over.

So I’ve put in a French Drain which runs parallel to the road (40m long by 1m deep), the buildings are slowly drying out.

wouldn’t you excavate the pavement to below original level, put in a barrier membrane and then link the path side to the nearest available drain?

Just the kind of thing I was thinking; I know of someone who did this all round his own property (all by himself, with no prior knowledge!) No idea what differnece it made, so will have to pursue and see if I can get to chat to him. Also no idea if this is a normal course of action, but if it could be done at not too great an expense it might be a solution.

If it works 🙂

So if rising damp is a myth does this mean that there is no need to put a damp proof course in any wall?

Most Victorian / Edwardian houses don’t have any DPCs or DPMs.

My kitchen is laid on 6″ of Victorian rubble on top of the earth and is perfectly dry…

Damp proofing(injection/physicalbarriers) in a victorian property is a con. I have a 150yr old house that is level with outside floor and it has hardly any damp problems.

When you invite a Damp ‘expert’ into your house to look at your problem don’t be surprised when they turn around and tell you you need £1000’s of work doing to remedy it!

We laughed when we got a quote for a cavity membrane system in an ABOVE GROUND room for £1700 – work that even I knew was completely the wrong remedy!