Damp proofing price

As replies above do a bit of checking around first and fix any problems.

My last house was a old semi and we had a new neighbour buy next door -First thing he did was take gutters off the roof above front door to do some sort of job then left it.
He came round one day and asked if we have water in lounge - seems he was flooded.
He then stripped the room -dug it out -put membrane down then filled it with comcrete. -Job fixed - I lated found in my house while removing a small wall that the damp course was sitting on a solid wall from footing and damp course was from front to inside - so taking gutters off let water run straight off and hit tamac which was 2" below damp course and splash up wall so it then ran over damp course straight into his lounge.
A very expensive job he really didn't have to do.
So just a silly little thing can cause a lot of problems.

Fix the major ones first and minor ones might just fade away.

Good luck - I am glad those sort of jobs are well in my past.:)
 
As others have said, this lot are conning you.

They want to (internally only) hack off all your plasterwork, and then "waterproof" it. Then add sub-floor ventilation. You've already identified that it's coming in externally so you'll have a wet/sodden wall (that will likely then show at the ~1.2m of them hacking about) and also a potential point of water to get into your sub-floor.

Tell them to do one and don't get another quote, they will be the same PCA "accredited" cowboys. The guarantee is worthless.

What age is the property?
 
As others have said, this lot are conning you.

They want to (internally only) hack off all your plasterwork, and then "waterproof" it. Then add sub-floor ventilation. You've already identified that it's coming in externally so you'll have a wet/sodden wall (that will likely then show at the ~1.2m of them hacking about) and also a potential point of water to get into your sub-floor.

Tell them to do one and don't get another quote, they will be the same PCA "accredited" cowboys. The guarantee is worthless.

What age is the property?
If they are filling the wall, that's already damp, wouldn't it actually make it worse as the water will just sit in there?
 
I think that is broadly the issue that everyone is talking about. Holding the water in the wall isn't going to fix the problem - so other measures should be taken first
 
If they are filling the wall, that's already damp, wouldn't it actually make it worse as the water will just sit in there?

No they are attempting to fake a DPC and then install a waterproof plaster above that, which will mask the damp for a time. The water will remain in the wall and eventually will show at the ~1.2m line as it is forced upwards due to the saturation of the wall i.e. the water has nowhere else to go.

TBH, more details are required - age of the building would be handy and some photos. It could have all been repointed in with cement and then painted over and that will strangle an older wall...

PEter Ward on Youtube (heritage house) is a good source of why you should not do this to your home...
 
We had similar work done in 1982 to a 100 year old terraced house up in Lancashire. So long ago that it was probably about £500 all in. It was damp before and it wasn't damp afterwards so it must have done something. Maybe workmen were more reliable then.

Edit, it had a slate dpc which had failed.

Just one thing, the thirty year guarantee, such businesses tend to fold or change name every few years.
 
Last edited:
A slate DPC failing wouldn't be the cause of much damp I'd think, unless the whole slate layer had disintegrated! It's a bit of a tricky one as there's a mix of those who say it does work (the DPC injections into the wall) and those who say it's fairy dust.

I've seen a few videos which say to investigate the cause of the damp first before trying expensive treatments which makes sense. It might be clogged drainpipes, overflowing or damaged gutters and drainage around the external walls having an issue. In your case it seems like you need a bit more drainage around the affected areas being on a hill.

You should take a look at SkillBuilder channel on YouTube where they discuss this sort of thing, with quite a few videos on it. Their broad advice is to fix those small issues where the leaks or water is getting in (drainpipes, gutters, drainage, as well as the window issues where water is getting in) and it'll fix the issue.
 
Back
Top Bottom