Troubleshooting Surveyor

Independent Damp Survey Call: 0800 2465668 or Request a Survey HERE

TROUBLESHOOTING SURVEYOR DAMP & TIMBER SURVEYS FOR HOMEOWNERS THROUGHOUT THE UK .(No paper work issued)

We carry out independent damp surveys and accurate diagnosis for rising damp, condensation, woodworm, wood rot decay, wood boring insect attack, & fungal decay ( wet & dry Rot ). We offer chemical free, eco-friendly cost-effective sustainable solutions. Therefore, avoiding unnecessary, costly & disruptive chemical treatments offered by many remedial damp proofing & timber treatment companies & contractors.

Adept UK Damp & Decay-Independent trouble shooting damp surveyors. We undertake damp and timber surveys and inspections for damp mould together with chemical free, cost effective environmentally friendly solutions for controlling condensation rising damp, timber decay & damp mould.

Our approved damp specialists & timber surveyors are accredited damp-proof specialists & Certificated Surveyors in Remedial Treatments (C.S.R.T ) (C.T.I.S.) qualifications recognised by the Property Care Association (P.C.A) Formally known as the (BWPDA) (British Wood Preserving & Damp Proofing Association)

Our Troubleshooting damp survey special is most beneficial for:

Homeowners who have identified one small isolated area of dampness they are unsure about and need to obtain independent advice from damp-proof course & dry rot specialists.
• Homeowners who have had conflicting damp and timber reports from different specialist damp-proofing and timber treatment companies.
• Clients who maybe think they are just being SOLD A PRODUCT from damp specialists which they do not need and are not addressing the root cause of the damp problem.
• For those who simply don’t know what to believe or who to turn to and require independent damp advice from one of our specialist damp proofing and timber decay surveyors.
• For those clients who have had a damp problem “treated” two or three times by damp specialists only to find it has returned, as the damp problem was misdiagnosed in the first instance.

Physical damp-proof courses

Ninety five percent of the properties that we survey have had a physical damp-proof course installed at the time of construction. This will usually be slate for older properties and for houses built after the 1920’s it is often hessian impregnated with bitumen.

Physical damp-proof courses will still be very effective for controlling rising damp and there should never be any need to install a chemical damp-proof course but the vast majority of non – independent damp surveyors (who are usually paid on a commission only basis) will always state ‘rising dampness caused by the breakdown or lack of a damp course was found and we recommend chemical damp-proofing to all ground floor walls, in other words they try and sell you a product you don’t need!!!

In reality physical damp-proof course rarely breakdown and even if there has been some minor cracking of the damp course it will still be effective in preventing rising damp from the ground. Even if there is no damp-proof course present then ‘rising damp’ can be controlled by ensuring that the take up of moisture from the ground is less than the evaporation rate from walls by installing drainage channels etc to remove any moisture reservoir effect.

Adept UK, C.S.R.T. independent specialist damp-proofing and timber treatment surveyors (who are NOT salesmen) will go through the damp and timber survey with you, correctly diagnose, advise and guide you through the problem and explain the course of action to correctly remedy any damp & timber decay issues.

The troubleshooting survey in some cases can be a more detailed investigation that uses ‘invasive’ techniques to establish the extent of dampness and decay. For example, when surveying for timber decay and beetle infestation our damp specialists may have to lift carpets and floorboards, take off skirting boards and in some cases, use a speedy calcium carbide meter to determine rising damp and the total moisture content in damp masonry.

If you notice tide marks on your walls, peeling paint, wet patches or damaged skirting boards, you may have a rising damp problem, which most commonly affects older properties. Rising damp occurs when porous materials, such as mortar, bricks and stone, soak up moisture, and the dangers include timber decay, wet rot, various health conditions and more. Whether it’s due to the damp-proof course in your walls being ineffective, poor ventilation or a drainage problem, it’s crucial to resolve the issue promptly for the sake of your comfort, finances and home’s condition.

Troubleshooting Survey is kept verbal, with no written paperwork, therefore keeping damp-proof inspection costs and damp timber & dry rot surveys to a minimum. If you think this Troubleshooting survey is what you require, or you would like independent advice about any rising dampness / timber decay issues, then contact Our senior specialist independent damp-proofing and timber treatment surveyor direct on 0800 246 5668 or please fill in our SURVEY REQUEST FORM

MONEY SAVING CASE HISTORIES.

Bridged damp course causes ‘rising damp’- Manchester Old Road, Bury BL9 -January 2019.

Many damp-proofing surveyors have a default setting to recommend chemical damp-proofing and water proof plastering as a solution to any dampness that may be at the base of the wall, a Manchester based Property Care Association member damp-proofing and timber treatment company recommended this treatment at this 1910 built terraced house even though it had a perfectly good slate damp-course and a band of blue engineering bricks at the base of the wall which also stops rising dampness.

Our damp survey found that the dampness was due to partial bridging of the damp-course by raised external ground levels which was allowing water to pond at the base of the walls leading low level water ingress and induced rising damp internally. Rising damp can be controlled without any damp-proofing work being required by ensuring that the evaporation rate from the wall is greater than the water uptake and we therefore recommended the installation of a ventilated drainage channel which will allow water to drain away and also let moisture evaporate from the brickwork. Our client carried out this work himself and saved over £3,000 by avoiding unnecessary, expensive and disruptive chemical damp-proofing.

Troubleshooting, Heywood Avenue, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL4 4AZ -November 2021.

This semi-detached house in Oldham was built with a slate damp-proof course and like most houses in Lancashire had a band of blue engineering bricks at the base of the wall which are almost impervious to water and act as a further barrier to dampness. An electro-osmosis damp-course, chemical damp-proofing together with waterproof plastering had also been installed during previous renovation works yet a Heywood based PCA member damp-proofing and timber treatment company said that over three thousand pounds worth of damp-proofing work was still required.
We checked all the walls identified on the PCA members’ damp report and found that there was no rising dampness and no damp-proofing works were required. We checked all skirting boards abutting potentially damp walls and these had an average reading of less than 5% which is too low to sustain decay and indicates that the background wall is free from damp and there was no justification for another injected damp-proof course. The only work that was required was reduction of ground levels to prevent any low-level moisture ingress and some gutter repairs to prevent any penetrating dampness.

Kirkstead Road, Cheadle, Greater Manchester, SK8 7PZ -November 2022.

This 1930’s house was built with a slate damp-proof course which will still be effective in controlling rising dampness but a Stockport based damp-proofing and timber treatment firm carried out a free survey and said that rising damp was present throughout the ground floor and damp-proofing and waterproof plastering costing around £5,500.00 were required. We inspected all the walls noted on their damp report and found that there was no rising dampness and no need for a chemical damp-proof course. The only damp we found was on a rear wall near the door to the back garden where there was some water seepage at the base of the door frame which was alleviated by applying waterproof mastics to the door frame and coating the wall with a silicon water repellent. Internally the only work that was required was the replacement of a damp section of skirting board with pre-treated softwood. These works were carried out by a local builder for less than£150, saving our client over £5,300.00

Bridged damp-course and blocked sub floor air bricks causes ‘rising damp’ – Tomkinson Street, Hoole, Chester, CH2 3BX-May 2021.

The buyers’ mortgage survey said that there may be damp in external walls so the estate agent arranged for a free survey from an Cheshire based damp-proofing company. They said in a typical standard damp report that ‘This rising dampness is most likely to have been caused by the absence of a damp proof course or the breakdown of the existing damp proof course’ and recommended damp-proofing and water-proof plastering costing around £6,500.00. The property was built around 1900 and a slate damp-course was visible at the base of external walls but this has been partially bridged where ground levels had been raised when a concrete patio base was laid causing water penetration into the brickwork and ultimately induced rising damp internally.

Slate damp-proof courses never break down and even if they crack slightly due to building movement they will still be effective in controlling rising damp and therefore no damp-proofing work s were required and all that was needed was the lowering of ground levels to expose the damp-course which would stop the bridging effect and also allow the brickwork to breathe and let moisture evaporate externally.
The raised patio had also partially blocked air bricks and tis was restricting sub-floor ventilation and allowed a build-up of water vapour under the floor which condensed on exposed brickwork causing further rising damp internally. We opened up existing air bricks and installed extra units so that the number and configuration of vents complied with current Building Regulations and these improvements provided a robust flow of air under the floor to purge excess moisture from the floor void which helps dry both walls and sub-floor timbers.

The reduction of ground levels and modification to the air-bricks/sub-floor ventilation were sufficient enough to remove any ‘rising dampness’ from the walls and no chemical damp-proofing works were required. The total cost of the work was around £3000,.00, saving our clients £3,500.00 as well as avoiding all the disruption that comes with damp-proofing and plastering works.

Diagnosing Damp

Building valuation Surveyors, when carrying out damp and timber inspections for Building Societies or mortgage companies, will check for dampness using an electrical conductance moisture meter most commonly manufactured by “Protimeter”.

Electrical moisture meters can only be used to accurately assess the level of moisture in timber as this is the primary task they were designed for. When used in other materials it can only record the presence of surface moisture and is unable to determine the true moisture content existing below the surface, i.e., within the wall. High readings (often mis-diagnosed as dampness) can also be obtained from plasters containing black ask mortar and also foil-backed wallpaper so the you should be wary of any surveyor or damp-proofing company relying solely on the use of moisture meters.

Chartered building Surveyors are therefore only able to detect surface moisture, and will often report: “there is evidence of rising dampness and remedial damp-proofing work in this respect is required”. Alternatively: “you need to instruct a registered damp-proofing and timber treatment contractor to carry out a full damp and timber investigation to investigate the full extent of the damp problem and determine the necessary repairs required, together with an estimate for any damp-proofing and timber treatments.

Purchasers or homeowners may then proceed to commission specialist remedial treatment contractors offering a ‘free damp and timber survey’’ found on Google or perhaps recommended by the Estate Agent to inspect and provide a report and estimate.

If you are a house-owner and invite a damp-proofing company to inspect your home for dampness problems, the damp surveyor will inevitably confirm that confirm that you do have a damp problem which can be cured with a new chemical damp-proof course.

Damp-proofing companies and surveyors, often members of the Property Care Association (PCA), also use electrical moisture meters and they are likely to solemnly declare the presence of rising damp in a report which usually states : “Random tests were carried out with a moisture meter to both internal and external wall at ground level. At the time of our inspection, high levels of dampness were obtained in the following areas… It is our opinion that these high levels of dampness found at the base of the aforementioned walls are attributed to rising dampness due to the absence of an effective damp proof course’.

The Property Care Association has published two leaflets with very similar titles. On is entitled ‘The use of moisture meters to establish the presence of rising damp’ and the other ‘Establishing the Presence of Rising Damp’ and both state that “moisture meters do not provide a percentage reading of the moisture content since readings may vary from material to material” and that “the electrical method does not give a direct reading of moisture content” but despite this guidance and proof that moisture meters are not calibrated for use on plaster most PCA members rely solely on the use of moisture meters to diagnose rising damp.

They then recommend the installation of an injected chemical damp proof course and associated internal re-plastering. This work causes a fair amount of mess internally as it involves chopping off plaster, removing skirting boards, re-plastering and also injecting a damp-proof course into the walls. After this the householder has to wait up to a year to allow the walls to dry before any redecorating can take place.

Damp and timber decay troubleshooting damp and timber surveys carried out in ….

Birmingham damp & timber survey, Cheshire damp & timber survey, Chester damp & timber survey, Lancashire damp & timber survey, Liverpool damp & timber survey, London damp & timber survey, Manchester damp & timber survey, North West damp & timber survey,
North Wales damp & timber survey, Shropshire damp & timber survey, West Midlands damp & timber survey, & Wirral damp & timber survey.