Hi all I'm in the process of buying a house that has what appears to be rising damp. Im no expert in this field and wondered how much of a problem this is going to cause me and how much it is likely to cost to put right?

I appreciate that this will be hard to gauge without seeing the problem with your own eyes but I'm just looking for a ruff idea and have included images to try and help visualise...

1. This is the worst effected wall. it is a very think solid wall and my guess is that it is without plasterboard (is that possible?)




2. This is a view from the outside, note the old pipe running over the soil.




3. View looking the opposite way, shows some kind of wall vent.




4. This is the top of the wall of the room upstairs from the 1st photo you will notice small amounts of damp bubbling behind the paintwork.




5. I've included this photo so you can see the thickness of the wall to the right of the building. Note that the house has two floors and isn't a bungalow.




If anyone has any thoughts or comments I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks,

Devs.

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I am no expert but that looks like water coming from the window to me. Is the window in pic 1 the same one in the York stone wall with the flat cill shown in picture 2? The cill does not appear to have much of a fall. The property is new enough to have a proper damp proof course built in and I feel it unlikely that this has been breached. I think your best course of action is to get a damp control firm in to give a quote for the work and then negotiate that in the price you pay.

Hi there and thanks for the quick reply.

I hadn't considered the damp being caused via the window as it appears to be in tact. The cill in the photo is the same window and like you say doesn't appear to have much fall. There is also patches of damp towards the top of the wall above.

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Loves to ask questions.

That could be a guttering issue, have a good look at the gutters along that stretch.

DWD

Devs[b] you say "in the process of buying" have you had any sort of survey done yet?? even a basic mortgageability survey should give some idea of where the problem lies. A full structural survey would almost certainly identify the problem, and give you some ammo regards negotiating the purchase price..

I'm with[b]DWD though...doesn't look like rising damp (Not that i'm an expert)

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Verwood Handyman
I Know it says I'm On-line, but I might have just left myself logged in, whilst I'm out....

Cheers guys I did take a look at the guttering (from the floor) and it appears to all be in tact.

I've already negotiated the price to a good level. I've had the basic mortgageability survey but they do not go into any details.

I'm just trying to convince myself that the problem isn't the end of the world and isn't going to cost £xxxx's to put right!?

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Loves to ask questions.

You can clearly see the DPC in the 3rd picture.

It looks like some of the house is below ground level, is that correct?

If so is the damp on the wall which is below ground level?

Looks to me like they might have a problem with the house being damp from water seepage, hence the drainage pipe above the ground.

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DIY | Donnas dream house

Hi, Yes that's correct it looks like a single story from the front but it double at the back. (I'm not even sure what you would call the style of build?)

With most of the front part underground.

The damp on the first pick is probably just on ground level maybe slightly under.

Do you think the over ground pipe a water drainage pipe? How do these work? Sorry for the Q's but I'm trying to get my head around things. ;)

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Loves to ask questions.

I'm not familiar with that type of construction myself to be honest. I have seen them before and that is about it!

I like the look of the house, but you would need a surveyor to advise you about the reason for the damp, it might be easy to fix, or it could be a major job.

It looks like a drainage pipe, but most people would of burried it and so it might just be a bodge !

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DIY | Donnas dream house

It looks very damp around the back, so maybe the soil pipe is broken, easy to change to plastic and 10 x better, but you need to clear the back.

The house is split level.

I rather like it. and if there's no sign of a problem anywhere else I wouldn't be too concerned.

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Thanks guys, when I get in I'll take a closer look at this pipe and try and get to the bottom of whats causing the damp. I'm not sure what this pipe is even being used for?

Glad you like the house, it really comes to life at the back with large windows and a balcony looking over a large south facing mature garden. Its been neglected and not lived in for a couple of years so I would like to return it to its glory.

On a side note and I suppose semi related to damp. The water and heating has been turned off for a couple of years as it hasn't been lived in. There doesn't appear to be any signes of burst pipes. Can this still happen with the water turned off and is there anything that I should consider when first turning it back on??

Thanks again for all the help guys.

Really appreciated.

Devs.

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Loves to ask questions.

I think what you have just posted is 99% of the problem, the house is damp/wet through not having any form of heating etc for a long time.

If the pipes have been drained and winterized you shouldn't have any problem refilling. There maybe a few maintainence problems like sticking taps etc, and a boiler/pump etc that's seized up, but you wont know until you try. Certainly a good service will be in order.

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it looks like the bridging wall between you and the neighbour could be a issue. if the wall does not have a vertical dpc to stop any ingress to the house wall. like said before rising damp is unlikely it will only rise to 2 feet, anything above that is a bridging issue or a leak higher up.

Hi chaps yes the house has been sat without any heat for a couple of years. As far as I know it wouldn't have been winterized but the water has been turned off. Hopefully everything will still be in order?

Prem, you mentioned the bridging wall maybe causing the issue. What wall is it that you are referring to and how could it be resolved?

Thanks! ;)

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I would get some air circulating and a bit of heat to dry the place out, and take it from there.

Get the back cleared as well.

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