Do the DIY Damp Proof creams work?

[Mark A]

My Dad was asking me if these damp proofing creams you can get from ebay work, but I have no idea so thought i'd ask here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DAMPSOLVE...034?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e6067bc52

They are very expensive, so I wouldnt want him to buy it and they don't work.

TIA

 

[Mark A]

Thanks, i'll let him know .

The other option he was considering was taking a couple of bricks out at a time and putting a DPM down. It's a lot of work though, so it might be worth giving this stuff a try first.

 

[Mark A]

http://www.heritage-house.org/pages/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

Hmm, the guy writing that article doesn't seem to know what he's talking about and the source is a guy trying to sell a book. Not saying it's not true as i don't really know. They have been putting in dpms since the Victorian era or maybe earlier? so there must be something in it.

That said, a lot of the time it is usually something else causing the damp, like a bridged cavity or even condensation. But the cowboys doing these dp injecting wont tell them that as they make a nice profit from doing the job, even if it doesn't need doing. I think that's why he's wanting to do it himself.

 

[Mark A]

I think the dpc was a bitumen one that has perished. In his bedroom he took a few bricks out and then put some dpm down and bricked it back up and worked his way along doing that and it seems to have solved the problem. It took him weeks to do it though, so he was hoping the creams would make it an easier job.