A few weeks ago we were contacted by a young couple who were first time buyers who had recently purchased a property in Beighton,Sheffield as they had concerns with some discolouration to the decor within their brick built 1930’s terraced property.
The couple had only had a very basic home buyers survey so an in depth damp and timber survey was not carried out.
We made an appointment with the couple so that we could visit the property at a convenient time to see if we could diagnose any potential issues.
On arrival our surveyor carried out an external survey of the property which revealed the fact that no previous damp proofing works had ever been carried out to the property other than the installation of the original bitumen/felt damp proof course which would have been installed at the time of construction almost 100 years ago.
Felt damp proofing was thought to last between 30 and 60 years, as this type of DPC would become brittle and break down, occasionally causing defects and moisture bypassing.
- Damp tidemark on the wall.
- Hygroscopic salts on the wall plaster.
- Wallpaper peeling and paint flaking from wall.
- Damaged timber on skirting board.
- Damp smell
Our surveyor diagnosed the issues as rising damp and drew a detailed plan of the ground floor taking measurements of the areas requiring treatment – verbal advice was given at the time of the visit discussing potential works required and associated costs.
A detailed report was then created by our office staff and emailed over to the client within 48 hours.
After the client had discussed the works they contacted us a couple of days later to agree the works to be carried out.
A convenient time to carry out the works was arranged and the work booked in.
Information was forwarded to our client advising of what works would be carried out and what preparation works were required prior to works commencing – this mainly consists of removing / protection of furnishings and belongings.
On arrival our technicians also discussed the works to be carried out and prepared the areas for treatment.
The skirting boards and door architraves are removed from the affected areas.
Sometimes dependant on condition existing timber work can be refitted – on this occasion the timber work was found to have started to rot.
Plasterwork
Plasterwork to damp areas was then removed to remove salts that will hunt for moisture even if the source of the original dampness has been cured.
These salts are classified as hygroscopic and absorb moisture from the environment, thus giving the area a damp appearance.
The plaster must be removed back to masonry to a minimum height of 1m or 300mm above any salt contamination.
A chemical damp proof course (dpc) was then installed to the affected internal and external walls.
Once the damp proofing cream has been injected into holes drilled in damp walls, it forms an internal barrier consisting of damp proof thixotropic silane/siloxane.
A vertical damp proof membrane commonly referred to as tanking was then installed.
The type of damp-proof membrane used was a cavity drain membrane that is fixed to the wall by plugs.
Plasterboards were then fixed to the wall by mechanically fixing the boards by using plugs or plasterboard adhesive where required.
The plasterboards were skimmed.
Timberwork
