Damp not highlighted in surveyors report

[Jerry Built]

Erm, what is? I'm pleased for you of course, but what are you on about?

J.B.

[N. Thornton]

Not at all, but this is the next popular wave of thinking that is steadily replacing the equally unlikely notion that they directly read damp in walls.

Firstly they are calibrated to read moisture content in wood. Using them on walls wont give any sensible result. If youre testing for damp you need to test the woodwork. Moisture content in wood tells you moisture content in the environment surrounding the wood, so is a sound test method for damp.

2ndly surface condensation does not imply a damp problem, so 30 seconds with a hairdryer should be done if a high reading is obtained. This enables differentiation between damp and transient condensation.

if they give a low reading then the wood is dry, there is no damp problem. Such a result is accurate, and is indeed useful. With a high reading _on wood_ _after surface drying_ the result is over 99% conclusive. For a pocket device that gives a quick reading, which is what is normally needed for surveys, they do a very good job. If one comprehends their basic function! It is odd that surveyors that use them professionally every day dont.

It is only when they are incompetently misused - as they mostly are - that their readings are worth little. Even in such bad use, a low reading still can confirm the absence of damp, but a high reading is meaningless if misused, since there are other factors than damp that cause high readings in plaster.

Regards, NT

[N. Thornton]

reply posted under heading: Damp meters: the low down if youre interested.

Regards, NT