Damp survey - Conflicting advice.

Conflicting advice isn't unusual in our industry but that's hardly surprising when you consider where the advice often comes from.
This client recently purchased a property. Their L2 homebuyers report identified problems with damp and attributed the cause to a 'failure of the DPC' cop-out. It's pretty clear when you look at the damage that this simply isn't the result of DPC failure however, I guess there was no standard paragraph the surveyor could use that explained otherwise, so drag and drop it is then! The report did however recommend further investigation by a 'damp specialist' so their arse was covered.
So the client acted upon the recommendations and engaged the services of a 'damp specialist' who also happened to be recommended by the surveyor. Anyone spot a trend here......... This survey was undertaken prior to purchase to determine the cause of the problems identified. A report consisting of 2 pages, including the introduction and quote, suggested the damage was merely superficial the result of the wrong type of plaster being used and recommended simply removing the 'wrong plaster' and replacing it with an alternative.
Perplexed by the contradicting advice provided by both the pre-purchase surveyor who clearly spent minutes looking at very little and even less time describing his findings, and the advice provided by the so called damp specialist, the client chose to continue with the purchase (time and financial pressures) and investigate the issue further at a later stage.
Que, the real damp specialist. In this video I'm going to present to you just a fraction of what I observed during my survey. You make up your own mind whether you think this is a failed DPC or simply the wrong type of plaster.
There's so little to differentiate between a 'damp specialist' and a 'damp specialist' everyone's a specialist right?! Well no they're not, but that's hard to recognise when you've been given a recommendation.
This survey took me 5 hours to investigate, I've fully moisture mapped the building, removed skirtings and undertaken intrusive investigations to the walls, timber floors, sub-floors, drains and even taken samples for moisture analysis. Furthermore, until I take the time to collate all this information and then reflect upon what I've seen, I don't know. I have an idea but I let the facts and science prove this.
It's such a shame that in 2024 despite all the advice and guidance available that homeowners are still being let down and don't know how to recognise the specialists by profession and not by name only.
Apologies again for the long video, my stuff is rarely simple and I know I have a habit of rabbiting on! I'm also not comfortable being in-front of the camera especially with a mouth full of metal but I'm persisting with it.

[@samuelpearson-ts6yc]

Thanks for the video! Very helpful to see a diagnosis in action. The historic water escape was quite a critical piece of information in this case.

[@g.johnson3119]

Excellent video highlighting issues in some detail. I don’t think somehow I would have bought that place. Hope the remedials work out well though👍

[@CCCP16]

Cavity-walls must NOT be bridged with insulation(insulation touching the outer walls inside the cavity-wall); or else moisture will transmit from the damp outer wall, through the touching bridging insulation, and into the inner wall; making the inner wall damp inside the building. Injecting foam into the cavity-walls stops the property from breathiing: resulting in drastic condensation saturation of the inner-walls inside the property. Cavity-walls that are already built up can NOT have cavity-wall insulation added. Cavity-wall insulation batts(panels) can ONLY be installed from the very start of construction of the cavity-walls. If cavity-wall insulation is to be used, there must be a large air space gap in-between the face of the cavity-wall insulation batts and the outer wall inside the cavity-wall; this includes an air space gap in-between the face of the cavity-wall insulation batts and the cavity-wall tie drip-points(which must point downwards in the centre of the cavity). Cavity-wall insulation batts must touch ONLY the inner-walls inside the cavity-walls (of course touching the cavity-wall-ties and retaining-clips also). Ask City & Guilds N.V.Q. (S.V.Q.) BRICKWORK teachers for PROOF of this.

[@SME_Ste]

Whats the craic with full filled cavities that use say an Earthwool cavity batt?

[@user-ts2fx6iz8b]

And the remedy is…?

[@Steelcity321]

Excellent video!

[@CCCP16]

Cavity-walls must NOT be bridged with insulation(insulation touching the outer walls inside the cavity-wall); or else moisture will transmit from the damp outer wall, through the touching bridging insulation, and into the inner wall; making the inner wall damp inside the building. Injecting foam into the cavity-walls stops the property from breathiing: resulting in drastic condensation saturation of the inner-walls inside the property. Cavity-walls that are already built up can NOT have cavity-wall insulation added. Cavity-wall insulation batts(panels) can ONLY be installed from the very start of construction of the cavity-walls. If cavity-wall insulation is to be used, there must be a large air space gap in-between the face of the cavity-wall insulation batts and the outer wall inside the cavity-wall; this includes an air space gap in-between the face of the cavity-wall insulation batts and the cavity-wall tie drip-points(which must point downwards in the centre of the cavity). Cavity-wall insulation batts must touch ONLY the inner-walls inside the cavity-walls (of course touching the cavity-wall-ties and retaining-clips also). Ask City & Guilds N.V.Q. (S.V.Q.) BRICKWORK teachers for PROOF of this.

[@patrickvernall1553]

I would love to see the gravimetric results and your recommendations for a plastering system.. I would imagine it’s got to be something sacrificial with adequate drying times

[@Dampcureservices]

If you replaced the typical treatments of the damp proofing industry with traditional lime plasterers, you would a. Preserve our period properties b. Not have damp. In all honesty, a level 2 survey is as much use as asking Roy keene to mot your car.

[@jeffpoole8404]

*Promosm*

[@sam.p12345]

‘Escape of water’😂 Why do you people talk in riddles? You don’t eat a receptacle of compressed bodies of dehydrated maize in an aqueous lactose solution for breakfast, do you?