To just want a non-cowboy damp specialist? Help!

[BoyMeetsWorld]

Im in Damp Despair. We've been trying to ignore our house's damp patches but can't anymore.

I've tried researching but just find cowboy after cowboy.

Please does anyone in the South East / Bucks / Berks have any recommendations of reliable, trustworthy, not rip-off expensive specialists to diagnose and treat damp???

Will be eternally grateful!

It's a minefield, isn't it. Could you try finding a surveyor? I think anyone with 'damp' in the company name risks being dodgy.

Do you know where the damp is coming from?

Will pm you, if I can work out how.

You do right getting someone in to diagnose and not a company who have a product to sell.

Is it an old house?

Common causes: condensation/inadequate ventilation, rising damp from cracked drains, altered grounds levels, penetrating damp from faulty/ineffective guttering.

Thanks sausage

I've no clue what's causing it. It's all around the back kitchen wall which admittedly is a fairly thin wall. Also all under the kitchen bay window but there is a small hole in the outer wall- no clue how I'd fix myself. Weirdly yday the walls were soaked on the damp patches, today the patches are still there but dry. There was no rain either day...don't get it.

Exactly as you say, they all seem to be salesmen. Just want the problem fixed

You could try cavity tech I have used them and they are very good

Is it a north facing wall? In the kitchen it could be condensation damp and a north facing wall would be coldest so attract moisture- is it black mould? Also check the guttering above that wall. If it is condensation it might be a case of cleaning it and drying it out with dehumidifiers and getting better ventilation - maybe an extractor fan.

Under the window sounds like penetration damp.

will have a look later but found a site when we were looking at our damp (old cottage) - it's a chap who is leading a crusade against incorrectly diagnosed damp by cowboys - he might be someone to contact for ideas.

Ummm no clue where north is! It's not black mould though. It's really weird- just dark shadow on the paint & white fluffy stuff that looks like frost all along the seal where the kitchen units fix to the outer wall. But yesterday it was so wet if you touched it the paint stuck to your hand

Ah so you have to pay them for a report & then you still have to find someone to do the work? It's the finding someone reliable to do the work that's problematic