Woodworm & Rising Damp

I have just received a building surveyors report that says there is "heavy woodworm infestation in the plates beneath the floor especially the plate set in the masonry of the walls and also to a lesser degree in the joists and boards". The report then goes on to say that the floors themselves do not appear unduly springy !!

I also have a "fundamental rising damp problem in the original external walls" The dampness is "very high".

The house is 1880 Victorian semi-detached and there is a Garage extension to the left of the property and the Kitchen has a conctrete floor. it seems that if I can improve the ventilation to the floor that I may be able to sort-out the damp and woodworm problems.

I am a first time buyer and would dearly appreciate any help or advice on this. The surveyor has referred me to a timber specialist who will charge 45.00 to tell me what's wrong. I would like to know what my options are if anyone can help.

Thanks, Jog

Reply to
jog
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Oh dear. A few issues there but I'd recommend asking somewhere with a bit more expertise about this one. You can really get led up the garden path otherwise.

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Reply to
meow2222

You have three basic options

1/. Live with it till it gives away and claim on the insurance..could be years..

2/. Take it all up and replace with extra ventilation and have your self a typically unpleasant but *authentic* draughty chilly Victorian house.

3/. take it all up and realise that we can do better now than the Victorians, and start by injecting the walls that are now beautifully exposed by the floor removal - and if necessary underpinning them.

Then lay a solid concrete floor in the cavity, and some insulation and a DPM that will run up the walls above injection level, and, if you fancy it, some underfloor heating pipes pipes in the 3" off screed you will top off with.

It is completely pointless laying a raised wooden floor over and into walls that have no damp proofing, in the 21st century.

Unless you WANT to live in a museum, rather than a home.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

snip

when i googled this subject about ten years ago i found a couple of sources that stated that woodworm dont attack timber that is over about 40 years old

heres a quote from this page

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"The problem with woodworm is that when they leave the wood they also leave holes, and the holes are used by chemical salesmen to convince householders that they have a problem with insect infestation. But the truth is that the holes are probably 100 years old, and spraying them with chemicals is one almighty case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. "

you may want to check it out

Reply to
h

thats one of the twists and turns, hence a more expert forum is wise. There are several here who think themselves expert, and sometimes it is so, and sometimes not.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Indeed!

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Yellow pages is full of timber specialists. Start by getting one or two out for free, if only to get an opinion. Take everything they say with a pinch of salt but, you never know, they might draw your attention to things you hadn't noticed. If you have the time and the appetite for heavy duty d-i-y, there's probably not a lot you can't sort out yourself over time. Then again, you may want a life, in which case I'd look for a more suitable property.

whence you came

Reply to
Stuart Noble

Unfortunately far too many "building surveyors" don't have a clue about what damp really is, and simply take a damp meter reading as gospel. Do yourself a *big* favour and spend 30 mins or so looking at this site

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you get a damp/infestation survey (which I would strongly recommend) make sure it's going to be one that is actually worth reading in the first place! Remember even if there is an issue it can be fixed and probably with a lot less fuss and expense than you might imagine, and chances are you'll be able to negotiate a nice discount from the vendors to more than cover the cost of the survey and any remedial costs.

Good luck!

Reply to
Mary Hinge

and even fuller of chemical salesmen calling themselves damp & timber specialists, and offering you inappropriate remedial work at inflated prices.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Although very good for books on fly fishing I hear.

Bernie The Bolt

Reply to
Bernie The Bolt

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knowledge that you would hope a building surveyor offering advice on Damp to be familiar with.

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Reply to
Mark

I agree, but what I'm saying is don't pay for such a survey.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

You want to pay to avoid a salesman dong the survey.

The best surveys I have had were from structural engineers who are very unwilling to recommend ANYONE to do the work, for professional reasons.

In my case there was a lot of cheek sucking and a sort of 'wel teh specific probelm you called me about could be solved this way, BUT you should be aware that if there is that much evidence of rot showing, there is generally a helll of a lot more that you haven;t spotted' how right they were. It wasn't worth even trying to fix the house. We started again..over 50% of the wood frame had wet/dry rot, beetle or worm.

I could have saved myself a fair bit of dosh not even taking it apart slowly to establish that..

Repair work is ALWAYS more expensive than replacing..its just a question of how much you replace..but 'when in doubt, rip it out'

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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