Rising damp - long term problem recurs

[dave]

Is there a product on the market a diy'e can use to help fix a rising damp problem? Or do I have to get some firm with special kit do do it? Background. (caution: long'ish) Our house circ 1954. It was cavity wall ? but only just. Very inadequate gap which is probably filled in most places by falling rubble.

It had rising damp treated in 1994 which involved a layer of bricks (two layers above the damp coarse) drilled and some silicone based ?stuff ? pumped in. Also the plaster in all the downstairs was hacked off to 1m about the skirting boards and re plastered with ( I was told) the appropriate plaster!. The firm gave us a guarantee for 30 years (yeah I know), but we thought at the time it may be of little real value. The guarantee however had the name ?Triton? on it ? I presumed it was the firm who supplied the chemicals used. It was not the name of the (?approved? Co) who did the work anyway)..

In 1997 the problem came back ? but nothing like as bad, BUT amazingly, dry rot was also there now! We were told this by the same company that did the initial work as we wanted it fix under the guarantee. (Aside: I wondered if the first round of treatment had somehow brought this about). I'm pretty sure it was Dry rot and did see what was actually there and while no expert (obviously) it did actually look like the real thing (Central fruiting body etc etc. Do we had to go through it all again for them to treat that and of course more cost because the guarantee didn't cover DR. It was a horrible experience because we had to have the kids stay with relatives and we elsewhere due to the toxic chemical treatment they used.

Always, that was 11 years ago. Now (sigh) I can see (and smell) damp in one corner of one of the rooms -again. It's an unmistakable smell. I'm just at a loss about how to fix this now. I think the firm may have vanished anyway (I'm looking into that). But if it's ?just? damp again, is there something these days I can do myself to treat it? I can use an SDS drill and I can fix floorboards and skirting boards back myself. Can't do plastering but I could get someone to do that. The real problem is, I have no idea if there are treatments I can inject into the wall myself.

Thanks for some help with this ? I could really do with some knowledgeable advice.

[stuart noble]

I'm not going to be of much help, but I think you should keep an open mind about whether the damp is (or ever was) "rising", especially in a relatively new house. Are there similar houses in the road that have had problems?

[meow2222]

Good starting point:

[RobertL]

....

personally, i'd suspect a water leak or blocked underfloor ventilation.

Is there a void under the floor or is it a concrete floor. I there is a void an you get down there and take a look?

Is there a water leak dripping into the void from a radiator for example, especially if it is an older CH system with a header tank? With a header tank a leak will go on leaking for ever without you noticing anything exccept perhaps that the rads need bleeding from time to time.

Is the underfloor void ventilated adequately? Has the outside ground level been raised at some time in the past overing the airbricks?

Does it smell 'damp' if you stick you nose down into the underfloor void?

Robert

[The Natural Philosopher]

Need more info.

1/. Is this an outside wall? or an internal wall. Is it on the cold or warmer side of the house?

2/. You mention timber, and yet you also mention a cavity wall..I cant quite understand what you have construction wise.

3/. If its an outside wall, what is outside, especially guttering, water stains or earth piled up?.

4/. Despite what people say, rising damp certainly exists and will go a few inches above soil level. If its higher than that, its likely to be something else. This may be good news. The reality is that rising damp is less common than many people realize, not that it doesn't exist.

5/. Apart from the smell, is there any other symptoms like e.g. blown plaster or efflorescence?

The good news is that in most case something can be done relatively easily.

Though not necessarily 'under guarantee'

[dave]

Thanks vm for all the follow ups and as there a several q's I I'm not sure of the answers tt, I'll do some digging around and post the results. I have some a pics so will add them.

[terry]

Lack of ventilation 'down there'???????????????????

There's always a tendency for some dampness to come from somewhere; either condensation during rainy/damp weather, or from warmed (and therefore humid and human) house air getting into a cool space, or a leak from somewhere. Or through brickwork?

That (even a slight amount of) moisture combined with lack of or inadequate ventilation can breed so called 'dry rot'.

Saw something like that in the late 1940s and 50s in an old house in Liverpool that had been modified by the military, who had heated it adequately, then after WWII occupied by civilians (ourselves and couple of other families) who couldn't afford to heat it as adequately and closed up all the ventilation spaces we could find to try and keep out the cold. Brrr was that bathroom chilly!

[mail]

Dear Dave I have the requisite knowlege to advise you on our pro bono terms - no fee you indemnify us I will need more data. I will need photos of the alleged dry rot the external part of the house where the alledged dry rot is scans of the plans supplied by the contractor a copy report for dry rot

If it is a 1954 house - is is solid or cavity? make a difference

Triton are a manufacturer of chemicals the guarantee normally only covers the materials costs It does not require a huge technical compentence to get to be a manufacturers aproved contractor as there is clearly a vested interest

I quit Triton as my supplier in the early 80s as they were damned rude to me and cut off my firm's account for no reason and did not appologise They then sent a salesman around a couple of years later to get me back again (I had gone over to Safeguard) so I told them precisely where they could shove it

It is not chemicals that cures dry rot but a general curative process the most important elements of which are remove water and ventilate followed by isolation of timber from masonry Chris