Anyone know of a national company that does damp proofing?

[KenDodd]

That might actually show up and do the work?

I've had five different people come round to give me a quote, they all talk the talk about what they plan to do but then I never see or hear from them again. Fed up with it. We wanted a kitchen extension and tried for years (yes, really) to get a quote from a builder, we gave up in the end because we just couldn't get anyone to do it. Wtf wrong with these tradesmen?

We had our damp proofing done by Dampco, who I think are local. We later needed Rentokil for woodworm and that guy said 'you should have called us for your damp', so maybe Rentokil?

Is it the injection type you want?

Are you sure you need damp proofing? Pigletjohn gives good advice on this. Have you checked gutters and outside ground levels in case these are causing problems?

Peter Cox. They don’t just pump a load of plastic beads in your wall cavity and run off counting the cash. They assess your property and give you excellent advice as to what the problem might be and how to address it.

Thank you all so much! I've sent a couple of emails, hopefully someone will get back to me.

I'm pretty certain I need damp proofing. All the tradesmen who came over agreed. As I said they all talked the talk about a quote before the end of the week (now weeks ago) I don't think I'll see or hear from any of the five of them again. It seems in my part of the country there's such a shortage of tradesmen they can pick and choose the jobs they want. I even had to wait four months last year just for any kitchen fitter to be free to do it.

It’s a con - if it’s a period house anyway - you need to think about making it breathe. Cement causes damp issues. www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/types-of-damp-what-have-i-got/damp-problems-caused-by-cement-render.html

www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-ping-prong-meter-guilty-of-fraud.html

It is an old house, 300+ years, an old farmhouse style place. A couple of the damp proofers who came round did talk about letting it breath and lime plaster.

I'm pretty certain I need damp proofing. All the tradesmen who came over agreed.

Of course they agreed because all they saw were £ signs. Post about the problem here and I bet you will get some good advice.

Of course they agreed because all they saw were £ signs.

Except none of them have come back with a quote.

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Old buildings work on the principle that moisture comes in to the wall but then dries up. Modern plasters/renders/pointing/paint basically trap damp inside the wall so it never dries out, which is bad as it rots structural beams, causes decayed stone/cob/bricks or it moves up or sideways through the wall until it can find a way out.

OP, is that the outside wall? If external, what is the wall made of and is there render or pointing on the outside?

If internal, look at possible pipes or roof leakage. Also, is it an area that has low air flow? Could it be condensation settling on a cold wall? Even modern double glazing can cause issues with low air flow if not ventilated enough. The site i shared above has so really useful info - no connection I am using when renovating my old house.

I've contacted Rentokil , they want £300 to come and have a look. Does anyone know if Rentokil are expensive to do the work?

Have you had an independent damp surveyor take a look?
I have damp in my house and went straight to the contractors to get it done as that's what I thought you were supposed to do, but as others have said they just want to make money and won't necessarily fix the problem. I paid £2k for work which solved what appeared to be the issue but didn't tackle the root cause so now it needs doing properly!

An independent damp surveyor only makes money from.the survey, and they will give an expert opinion on what the real problem is and what will actually fix it.

Oooh, that sounds a bit steep!
I’m sure Peter Cox was free for the initial consultation with a proper chartered surveyor. He went through all the options, sent a detailed report and we agreed to let them do the work. He basically said start with the most obvious option (minor work to let air circulate) and then assess the situation further.
I have a friend who used to renovate old houses and she recommended them. The bog standard builder-contracted damp proofing we had done when we moved in had only added to the problem. As do all the things generally done to older houses, like double glazing, blocking up chimneys and sealant coatings for bricks.

OP, I reckon you might have a leak somewhere. What are those pipes? There is a poster called pigletjohn who is good at this sort of thing. Maybe repost in property/diy where I think he may be more likely to see this.

Peter cox - 20 year guarantee too

I don't remember paying Dampco for the survey. The work was £1200 in 2012, for the front and back room (and under stairs cupboard) in a two up to down house.