rising damp problem

[dustie]

Hi there

I bought my house in October 1998 and it came with a 20 Year damp-course guarantee (the work was performed in 1992) . This was failing and this problem was noticed on the survey and it recommended I pursue the matter. Well, I was lot younger, very naive and didn't worry about it too much. About a year after moving in, it became obvious that the fresh paint job that was done before the house went on the market was done purely to cover up the problem that was manifesting.

After a few months of chasing I finally got the people who installed the course in to have a look. The bloke was here for all of three minutes, poked a gadget in the walls, said "yep, there's a problem", said that there should have been documentation left along with the certificate (that should detail what work was done) which I would need to get hold of and get back to them. Well, there was no documentation - I checked repeatedly with my deed-holders and the solicitor who handled the house purchase - nothing.

This was years ago. Unfortunately, some bad personal stuff happened to me around the same time and I entered a very long depression which lasted years and, to be honest, I couldn't summon up the energy to pursue the matter and I stupidly let it slide. Of course, I've now been here over five years and ALL the lower ground walls are a complete mess and they need sorting.

So.... What should I do about this? Have I left it too late? Should I have this so-called documentation"? It seems a bit odd that a company would do some work on a property and not keep a back up of what work was performed in case of dispute later on...

Any help would be muchly appreciated.

cheers

Daz

[Nick Brooks]

You solicitor would normally ask if damp work has been carried out and if so, for certificates to be provided. He (or she) should know if these were handed over to you or not, even if they don't know where thay are now.

Without the certificate I don't imagine you have much chance of getting the original company to do any remedial work.

Given that the last time they did it it only lasted 6 years do you really want them to do it again.

I'd look for reasons why the damp is getting in and deal with that instead

Nick Brooks

[dustie]

Sorry Nick, I should have made it clear. I DO have the certificate but I don't have any additional documentation or plans that came with it...

[G&M]

I'd get your solicitor to fire off a letter at them demanding remedial action to the work done listed in THEIR files.

[Lobster]

Has anyone on this ng ever actually managed to get remedial work done covered by a damp guarantee? IME there are so many ways of wriggling out of liability that it never ever happens. Apart from the usual reason (ie, the firms concerned going out of business) you usually find the company who injects the gunk is different from the one who does the building/plastering work; even if the former subcontracts the latter, they'll still pass the buck.

David

[Andrew Gabriel]

Usually the treatment was for something you didn't have in the first place (like rising damp), and the guarantee is against this same something you didn't have in the first place happening in the next ~20 years, which is rather unlikely. So when the original damp comes back because it's cause wasn't fixed, that isn't what the guarantee is covering.

In my experience, the real common causes of damp are not actually something which is going to be cured by anything a damp treatment company normally does. A significant number are cured simply by providing adequate ventilation and even heating, and most of the remainder by fixing blocked gutters, leaking seals, etc.