Rising Damp

almostthere12

Hi all,

Have had a builder relation in along with a plumber and it looks like I have rising damp on the party wall of old terraced house I own. They have said that the damp proof injection is not an option as it is a solid wall.

What other options are available?

Thanks

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058282114/rising-damp

Get professional advice from á Construction Professional.

Damp proof injection can only be applied to a solid wall.

Ask the Plumber can it be injected in to a timber stud partition.

You could also look at :- Electro osmosis damp proofing systems. Perhaps your builder relation could explain this in detail to you.

chooseusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179653#Comment_120179653

"Ask the Plumber can it be injected in to a timber stud partition."

wtf are you on about? Had a few too many tonight ?

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179689#Comment_120179689

The OP stated that the plumber said that Damp proofing injection is not an option as it is a Solid wall. This is totally incorrect information.

Damp Proofing Injection can ONLY be applied to a Solid Wall.

I say the Plumber had a few too many.

Instead of attacking whatever I advise, perhaps you might offer some advice to the OP, as this is what the Forum is for.

almostthere12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179748#Comment_120179748

Thanks for the replies.

The house is over 100 years old so I think it was to do with what condition the wall is in behind the plaster and what it was built with that would be the issue??

C. Eastwood

There may not be a Damp Proof Course (DPC) in the wall. Although some houses in Ireland may have a DPC installed over 100 years ago. This may be 2 courses of Engineering Bricks or Slates or a course of Lead.

It is necessary to ascertain if there is a DPC in the Party Wall.

If there is rising dampness in the party wall, the other walls should also have rising Dampness. Rainwater would usually cause more rising dampness in the external walls.

If it is only in the Party Wall, it may be caused by a leaking pipe at either side of the wall. There is no rainfall at either side of the Party Wall.

You should retain a Construction Professional (CP) to carry out a Survey of the dampness. It is very important that the CP has Moisture Meters to check and mark out the pattern of Rising Dampness in the party wall, and to check for Rising dampness in the other walls.

The CP will also need to check the ground floor (assuming it is Concrete) for dampness.

The CP will give you an unbiased opinion / advice

The people selling rising damp solutions are sales people and will only give you biased advice to get money from you.

The CP will give you advice in relation to solving the dampness problem.

The CP will have Professional Indemnity Insurance and will be sure to give you correct advice.

Yellow_Fern

Very often these things are from a broken pipe, maybe a hidden boxed in soil pipe, or something similar or local flooding. I had the same in a party wall. Eventually found is was caused by two leaking pipes which has three leakage points. Make sure you see the other side of the wall before paying for an solution.

mickdw

9 times out of 10, rising damp is not rising damp.

Firstly, don't get in a damp proofing company as they will sell you 30k worth of their own rising damp solution.

Get a qualified professional to assess wall type, general layout, ground levels internally versus external, look for any obvious issues etc and go from there. Alot of these issues can be solved by proper maintenance externally and proper heating and ventilation internally.

What a plumber might see as rising damp could be a result of heavy condensation internally over a prolonged period.

chooseusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120184429#Comment_120184429

It's a party wall @mickdw so it really depends on what is on the other side of the wall, An unoccupied house, a derelict building, or the house maybe on an incline and next door floor level maybe higher. It might be something simple like it backs onto next door's bathroom which may be causing the dampness from poor sealing. Look there first before thinking about injecting a damp course which is more suitable for red brick walls, which this may well be. As for  Electro osmosis ..

almostthere12

Thanks for all the replies. To give a bit more information, this is only occurring recently and about 2 1/2 foot off the ground at its highest, the water pipes run under a casing against the wall and we opened the casing but no leaks. The house next door is higher as we are on a hill but I don't think there is a bathroom next door on the ground floor, as far as I know it is rented out but doesn't look in great repair. I think I need to knock on the neighbours door before I do anything.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120185022#Comment_120185022

If the floor of the adjoining house is higher than the ground floor of your house, then the ground dampness is higher in your neighbours side of the Party Wall.

Yellow_Fern

Would any of the experts have have thoughts on breathable paints? If the OP solves it, is there any gain from using breathable paints over the spot to reduce reoccurrence of blistering? Or even just regular emulsion versus gloss?