Damp proofing

[foxy]

Can anyone recommend a local firm who can do damp proofing treatments.

Many thanks

[jrpfinch]

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, don't bother with specialist damp-proofers. Find the source of the damp and fix that.

The causes of damp are:

i) Leaky pipework (get a plumber or roofer to fix leak)

ii) Ground level too high outside (builder/bricklayer to lower ground level and/or add drain)

iii) Inadequate ventilation/condensation (bricklayer to fit vents airbricks)

You can check for ii) using a tape measure (should be 20cm-30cm clearance between inside floor and outside ground level). Get a plumber/roofer to check for i), on a rainy day if necessary. iii) is easy to identify: are your airbricks blocked/is your chimney vented? Do you have airbricks at all?

You will save a lot of money this way.

Once you get rid of the cause, the damp will go away. DPCs do not "fail", even Victorian slate ones. Chemical DPCs are a waste of money. If you have any of i)-iii) above, a chemical DPC will not help and a brick/slate DPC will not help. I know this because my house has both and still has damp. The so-called 30-year damp guarantee passed over to us from the previous owners was worthless, and in any case, would you want somebody who had fitted a failed DPC to your house to do further work?

Once you have fixed the cause, if you have wood damage, get a carpenter. If you have plaster damage, get a plasterer.

I am having damp-related work done to my house and have concluded that I will avoid damp specialists in future, independent or otherwise, and especially if they are affiliated to the PCA. A specialist "damp industry" does not appear to exist in other old-world countries, certainly not to the extent it does here. It seems a uniquely English phenomenon and is thanks to the great PR and legal efforts of the PCA and its predecessor (the BWPDA).