Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Level 3 RICS survey: rising damp diagnosed, £7,500 to fix?!

60 replies

jmo1981 · 05/10/2022 15:12

Hi,

I'm grateful for any advice, thanks for reading. I have just received the results of a level 3 RICS survey for an end terrace built around 1908. The only concern from that is 'evidence of rising damp to the majority of the ground floor walls' detected using 'a proti-meter'. When I viewed it I had no concerns about damp, the building seemed sound to me. No visible damp patches or damaged plaster. No smell of damp.

Since the only evidence the surveyor could offer came from this meter, and I've reason to doubt their accuracy based on the reading around I've done, it seems off to me. I live very close so have been round today as it was raining heavily, to check the guttering and roof. Everything looked fine. The walls even looked very dry. I've come to disbelieve this diagnosis of rising damp detectable from inside the house. However, I did see something that concerned me -- see pic, by far the worst one I took.

The house did have DPC injected around 2008 and I suspect the cement (? sorry if wrong, I'm no expert on this!) below the injection holes was applied at that time. It is now clearly flaking off and vegetation is growing there which is obviously not ideal.

My worry really is the soundness of those bricks under the cement. They look damp and mossy to me. What the surveyor told me feels wrong, and he never mentions this issue in the report.

My tentative conclusion is if something is wrong, it might be this and perhaps the cement can be removed with potentially the bricks replaced? I really want to buy this house but am afraid it's clouding my judgement.

Level 3 RICS survey: rising damp diagnosed, £7,500 to fix?!
OP posts:
BlueMongoose · 07/10/2022 20:01

PigletJohn · 07/10/2022 12:12

And it does look like you have cavity walls with ventilation. Rare for a house so old but does look like a high quality build.

Wider photos of the wall to show the brick pattern will help.

The silicone injections were ignorant vandalism.

We have some cavity vents- 1920s house. Maybe they were added later. It's certiainly well built, not a crack anywhere in the old lime plaster. And the wall ties are massive things, not like the weedy wires you get today. You could lay out a charging rhino with one.

Original poster
jmo1981 · 08/10/2022 07:55

BlueMongoose · 07/10/2022 19:56

They stopped making the Accrington Bricks once or twice in recent years I gather, but you can get them again. Not cheap, but if you're only patching a few in her and there and not building a house, it doesn't make a huge lot of difference. They do them in two sizes, one the modern size, one nearly but not quite *😕the old bigger size.
They are wonderful bricks, I agree pigletjohn, but they are as tough as heck to cut or drill into.😉And darn heavy to handle for an amateur when you lay the things. We found some under the floor from the original 1920s build when we cleared it out under there, with NORI moulded into them.

*makes repairing brickwork annoying but not impossible

I think they're lovely - am enjoying learning about all this!

OP posts:
Original poster
jmo1981 · 11/10/2022 18:21

Just to finish this off, I viewed the house again today. No sign of damp to me (though I admit I didn't bother with a protimeter). Going ahead with purchase. Thanks all, for advice.

OP posts:
Blossomtoes · 11/10/2022 18:32

earsup · 05/10/2022 17:03

Oh the damp meter con...!!....those bricks need the render removing so bricks can breathe and allow damp to escape....look at heritage house website about damp....tells you all the myths and cons of the meters and surveys.

This. Real damp experts tell you to discount anything that someone who talks about “rising damp” says. Essentially there’s no such thing. They also say that it’s extremely rare for any house more than 100 years old not to have some damp somewhere.

takeaflight · 11/10/2022 18:34

I think you may find the concrete as bridged the damp course, chip off and allow the bricks to dry out.

BlueMongoose · 11/10/2022 19:47

jmo1981 · 11/10/2022 18:21

Just to finish this off, I viewed the house again today. No sign of damp to me (though I admit I didn't bother with a protimeter). Going ahead with purchase. Thanks all, for advice.

Hope all goes well for you. : )

PigletJohn · 12/10/2022 00:36

takeaflight · 11/10/2022 18:34

I think you may find the concrete as bridged the damp course, chip off and allow the bricks to dry out.

Nothing wrong with taking off the cement plinth and dealing with the wet ground, but if those bricks are Accrington Reds, they are impervious and form their own damp course.

Original poster
jmo1981 · 12/10/2022 11:05

Blossomtoes · 11/10/2022 18:32

This. Real damp experts tell you to discount anything that someone who talks about “rising damp” says. Essentially there’s no such thing. They also say that it’s extremely rare for any house more than 100 years old not to have some damp somewhere.

Show quote history

Exactly, need to be realistic!

OP posts:
Original poster
jmo1981 · 12/10/2022 11:05

@BlueMongoose thanks!

OP posts:
Original poster
jmo1981 · 12/10/2022 11:07

@takeaflight @PigletJohn thanks, I plan to remove the plants and broken concrete, and monitor the situ over time.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page