twobears Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 My cottage in Yorkshire has always suffered from rising damp in some rooms because our water table is permanently high and some parts of the house are very old and were built without the benefit of foundations. My daughter and her boyfriend have just told me that the problem is getting worse with a water line now appearing almost at light switch level so I am wondering what I should do? A damp proof course had been put in on some walls before we bought the place but it had failed, although whether that was from age or if it simply never worked in the first place I'm not sure. When we renovated the cottage one room was extremely damp and the carpet that we took up was wet in places and the skirting boards had rotted away slightly at the bottom. The damp has now appeared on the same wall but on the other side of the wall and I am slightly worried that it might start to affect the electrics if the water comes into contact with the wiring? Even if there's no real danger of that I obviously need to do something as I don't want to return to a damp, smelly house that is crumbling away!! Does anyone have experience in this area? The wall in question is an interior wall but it used to be one of the old exterior walls and so the only possible solution I can think of, and I've no idea if it would work, is to have the bottom part of this wall, and maybe others, removed and replaced with different bricks/damp proof course? The upheaval from that would be massive though and I am scared to think about the expense. Am I thinking along the right lines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I loved Leonard Rossiter in that programme.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 I was thinking of that too Leonard Rossiter was great and so was Frances de la Tour and Richard Beckinsdale. Weirdly, Frances de la Tour doesn't seem to have changed one bit when I see her in Big School, in which she steals the show 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Light switch level :scare: in all my years as a surveyor - I have never seen damp rise that far where you have a dense material sitting in water, it usually only rises a couple of inches but then the chemicals in the material react and show higher up - nut not usually that high. as this wall used to be an outside wall - is there still some part of that wall that is outside at a higher level ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 I know, it is worrying me Andy. I haven't actually seen it this bad before but it was getting progressively worse 12 months ago before we moved out. I'm not quite sure what you mean by another part of the wall being at a higher level outside? The house is built on a level piece of land so there aren't any walls or earth banks or anything above it, just the rest of the same wall, if that makes sense? The land forms part of a salt marsh that was drained by the Dutch a few hundred years ago and there are still dykes criss crossing the land all around our cottage. All my friends in the area have the same problems with their old houses but mine seems to have got worse and worse over the years and I think I need to do something now before the whole place falls down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I think Andy means is the wall in question exposed to outside higher up allowing penetrating rather than rising damp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Ah, thank you, I understand. No, it isn't exposed anywhere. I am starting to wonder if there could also be damp coming from the roof? What sort of expert would I need to employ to find out where the problem is coming from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 As Hugh says - does this wall project outside the building forming a gable at all - this is the most common point of water ingress and the thing with water is that it may come in at one point and not appear until many metres away you could start with a surveyor to give you a report of what might need to be done but you could just as easily go to a reputable builder to start some destructive investigation - its not a s bad as it sounds............ making a few holes, lifting the odd floor board, having a look at the roof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Thanks Andy. No, this formerly exterior wall is right in the centre of the house now and doesn't form a gable at all. That's why I am wondering if water is coming in from the roof now, especially if the ingress and egress points can be so far apart like you have explained. I have had builders in to look before but no-one has ever found the source of the problem. Since it is getting worse though I think I must try again. How do I find a reputable surveyor in my area? I have had the misfortune to deal with a few cowboys since buying this house and I am anxious to avoid getting conned by another one. It would be so much easier if they actually wore stetsons and spurs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 word of mouth is king in these situations - especially as your fairly new to the area surveyor wise - check out the RICS website - http://www.rics.org/uk/find-a-member/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Not sure if they operate in your area, but as an estate agent we have cases of damp coming up in surveys and we use these guys. Kenwood Plc Clarke's Preservation Kenway If you Google them you should be able to get their contact details. Usually they do a free survey and then will give you a quote for the remedial works. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Not sure if they operate in your area, but as an estate agent we have cases of damp coming up in surveys and we use these guys. Kenwood Plc Clarke's Preservation Kenway If you Google them you should be able to get their contact details. Usually they do a free survey and then will give you a quote for the remedial works. Hope this helps or these guys https://www.petercox.com/in-your-area/yorkshire/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 (edited) My cottage in Yorkshire has always suffered from rising damp in some rooms because our water table is permanently high and some parts of the house are very old and were built without the benefit of foundations. Yeah, my cottage is old, originally built in the late 1860's and extended and almost totally reworked (some parts had to be left mainly untouched for planning permission regulations, in other words it still has at least one stone wall) in 1969 and 1970. I too have a very high water table and the damp course installed in 69 or 70 failed in the mid 80's. Only went about 18" high though and not every inside wall had rising damp. I did get a quote from Peter Cox but they were much more expensive than the other quotes I had and I eventually had it done by Rentokill. Peter Cox wanted to knock a metre of plaster off and leave it for several months to dry out but Rentokill said that the plaster was in good shape, just needed to dry out and then be treated and they were right.The problem is now cured but we get mould high up on the walls in a couple of rooms due to condensation and the fact we have very tightly fitted double glazing throughout the house. The mould usually requires some anti mould about once a year so it's nothing too serious. Pete Edited November 8, 2014 by JetSet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 word of mouth is king in these situations - especially as your fairly new to the area surveyor wise - check out the RICS website - http://www.rics.org/uk/find-a-member/ +1, but google maintenance of period homes as there is much mis-information about dealing with damp issues in older properties. Have a look at the info on this link for starters: http://forums.moneys...ad.php?t=266785 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 Thank you to everyone who has commented I have a plan now so let "Operation Damp Removal" commence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.