Hello

While looking around a good number of the 3 bed terraces in these postcodes, I've noticed a lot of them suffer from damp (probably rising) and so wondered if any of the experienced LL's in these areas could offer any insight as to how you have remedied the problem?

One's I've looked at seem to have an injected DPC but there are still tide marks and the windows seem sound; does adding a ventilation brick or two front and back (there seems to only be one as standard) have an impact?

Michael

Firstly there is no point putting in a DPC if the plaster is not replaced as well, as plaster that has been wet for a long time soaks up any water from the air it can get.

Then be very careful about deciding between rising damp and condensation, as the bottoms of walls are often cold, so you can get condensation on them. If there is block mould it is very unlikely to be rising damp. Most damp surveyors are injected DPC sales people at the end of the day, so be careful who you trust.

I found the information on http://dampdecay.co.uk/ very helpful.

We had damp on the bottom of our walls, after a few people tried to sell us injected DPC, I decided to install a Whole House Heat Recovery ventilation system (HRU ECO 4) as we clearly had condensation and ventilation problems. I did not know if we also had rising damp, but decided to deal with what I understood first. Within days of the ventilation system being turned on, all of our damp problems were gone…

(23-07-2012 02:37 PM)ian2128038772 Wrote:  Firstly there is no point putting in a DPC if the plaster is not replaced as well, as plaster that has been wet for a long time soaks up any water from the air it can get.

Then be very careful about deciding between rising damp and condensation, as the bottoms of walls are often cold, so you can get condensation on them. If there is block mould it is very unlikely to be rising damp. Most damp surveyors are injected DPC sales people at the end of the day, so be careful who you trust.

I found the information on http://dampdecay.co.uk/ very helpful.

We had damp on the bottom of our walls, after a few people tried to sell us injected DPC, I decided to install a Whole House Heat Recovery ventilation system (HRU ECO 4) as we clearly had condensation and ventilation problems. I did not know if we also had rising damp, but decided to deal with what I understood first. Within days of the ventilation system being turned on, all of our damp problems were gone…

Hi Michael
Likewise I have noticed this in L15/L18

My take on it is that the problems are mainly condensation. You will no doubt be aware that this is a major student area and lifetyle of occupants can cause condensation problems. Also re ventilation, you will have noticed that some of the opening windows are very small (and high) in comparison to the size of the window area/height of rooms so might be an additional ventilation issue.

Watch out for a salty appearance to give a clue as to whether moisture is coming through the brickwork (rising or penetrating damp) or merely settling on it (condensation).

Regards

Dave

(23-07-2012 06:02 PM)david_john_turner Wrote:  

(23-07-2012 02:37 PM)ian2128038772 Wrote:  Firstly there is no point putting in a DPC if the plaster is not replaced as well, as plaster that has been wet for a long time soaks up any water from the air it can get.

Then be very careful about deciding between rising damp and condensation, as the bottoms of walls are often cold, so you can get condensation on them. If there is block mould it is very unlikely to be rising damp. Most damp surveyors are injected DPC sales people at the end of the day, so be careful who you trust.

I found the information on http://dampdecay.co.uk/ very helpful.

We had damp on the bottom of our walls, after a few people tried to sell us injected DPC, I decided to install a Whole House Heat Recovery ventilation system (HRU ECO 4) as we clearly had condensation and ventilation problems. I did not know if we also had rising damp, but decided to deal with what I understood first. Within days of the ventilation system being turned on, all of our damp problems were gone…

Hi Michael
Likewise I have noticed this in L15/L18

My take on it is that the problems are mainly condensation. You will no doubt be aware that this is a major student area and lifetyle of occupants can cause condensation problems. Also re ventilation, you will have noticed that some of the opening windows are very small (and high) in comparison to the size of the window area/height of rooms so might be an additional ventilation issue.

Watch out for a salty appearance to give a clue as to whether moisture is coming through the brickwork (rising or penetrating damp) or merely settling on it (condensation).

Regards

Dave

Ian, thanks for the pointer to some expert tips and things to look for and consider. The HRU sounds like the ultimate way forward but quite a cost to buy and seems to require ongoing maintenance or at the very least monitoring, not ideal for a property that is remote.

Looking for the "salts" by touching is a neat one, thank you Mark.

Now for a really thick momnet, if it turns out to be condensation, is it simply a matter of drying the place out i.e. windows open, then making sure there sufficient airflow in future (I've found retrofitting trickle vents solves this) or do you still have to hack the plaster off?

Michael

(23-07-2012 01:25 PM)michael_freer Wrote:  Hello

While looking around a good number of the 3 bed terraces in these postcodes, I've noticed a lot of them suffer from damp (probably rising) and so wondered if any of the experienced LL's in these areas could offer any insight as to how you have remedied the problem?

One's I've looked at seem to have an injected DPC but there are still tide marks and the windows seem sound; does adding a ventilation brick or two front and back (there seems to only be one as standard) have an impact?

Michael

This is very common. Every property I have bought in the L15 postcode has had sme form of rising damp especially at the bottom end of Smithdown.

In particular houses parallel to Smithdown Road suffer to some extent - I have heard it explained by an underwater stream but don't know for sure In fact it appeared On Homes under the Hammer and was explained by the stream that gave the Brookhouse pub it's name.

In my own experience if it's been injected and still damp it's down to the wrong materials (lightweight plaster or dot and dabbed) or it's bridged the dpc level. The other issue could be poor ventilation and the timbers rotting - pull up the floor boards and see if the subfloor is full of crap. I've got one in L15 that I'm doing this to at the moment.

Good luck,

Simon.
Topproperty Student Lettings
http://www.topproperty-services.com

The HRU is top end, but this is our home not a rental property! The air quality is now great with no stale air and no smells of damp.

For a rental property I would put in a continuous running fan with humidity or PIR boast in the kitchens and shower rooms – if you are paying for the electricity choose one with low running costs. And/or a “positive input ventilation” unit.

Then consider providing a dryer or somewhere well ventilated to hand up cloths to dry

And insulation/loft walls if possible, to reduce the number of cold services.

The problem with condensation is that you need to just remove the water vapour faster than it is being created by the users of the building - but you don’t know how much will be created and you don’t know how must is already escaping. Most solutions will work some of the time, in some buildings with some building users – but something like the HRU if installed according to the spec (with a little over sizing) will always work.

(23-07-2012 07:31 PM)michael_freer Wrote:  Ian, thanks for the pointer to some expert tips and things to look for and consider. The HRU sounds like the ultimate way forward but quite a cost to buy and seems to require ongoing maintenance or at the very least monitoring, not ideal for a property that is remote.

Looking for the "salts" by touching is a neat one, thank you Mark.

Now for a really thick momnet, if it turns out to be condensation, is it simply a matter of drying the place out i.e. windows open, then making sure there sufficient airflow in future (I've found retrofitting trickle vents solves this) or do you still have to hack the plaster off?

Michael

(24-07-2012 09:30 AM)ian2128038772 Wrote:  The problem with condensation is that you need to just remove the water vapour faster than it is being created by the users of the building - but you don’t know how much will be created and you don’t know how must is already escaping.

I think the above really summarizes the problem.

(25-07-2012 09:01 AM)john_corey Wrote:  

(24-07-2012 09:30 AM)ian2128038772 Wrote:  The problem with condensation is that you need to just remove the water vapour faster than it is being created by the users of the building - but you don’t know how much will be created and you don’t know how must is already escaping.

I think the above really summarizes the problem.

The original post was regard to rising damp, not condensation. Most of the terraces in the postcodes the op mentions suffer to some extent especially on refurb projects.

Student landlords do pull their hair out though over "damp" caused by tenant lifestyle habits!

Re Damp / Condensation

Check out the 'Damp and Condensation Information' on our free documents page. We request our Tenants sign to say they have been given a copy when we sign them in. They are told that we treat mould as damage and it is their responsibility to ensure it does not affect our properties.

http://www.polarpropertyservices.co.uk

(28-07-2012 12:47 PM)Simon Topple Wrote:  

(25-07-2012 09:01 AM)john_corey Wrote:  

(24-07-2012 09:30 AM)ian2128038772 Wrote:  The problem with condensation is that you need to just remove the water vapour faster than it is being created by the users of the building - but you don’t know how much will be created and you don’t know how must is already escaping.

I think the above really summarizes the problem.

The original post was regard to rising damp, not condensation. Most of the terraces in the postcodes the op mentions suffer to some extent especially on refurb projects.

Student landlords do pull their hair out though over "damp" caused by tenant lifestyle habits!

Simon, having said goodbye to a signifcant thatch, there's not much left to pull out but thanks for the warning anyway. :-)

(28-07-2012 09:37 PM)manc Wrote:  Re Damp / Condensation

Check out the 'Damp and Condensation Information' on our free documents page. We request our Tenants sign to say they have been given a copy when we sign them in. They are told that we treat mould as damage and it is their responsibility to ensure it does not affect our properties.

http://www.polarpropertyservices.co.uk

manc, that's a great resource and sound advice, thank you.