Welcome to the UK Damp and Decay website where you get honest, practical and understandable advice on all aspects of the diagnosis and control of dampness and timber decay. 
 
UK Damp & Decay Control are members of the Property Care Association which is the premier trade body for the damp-proofing,timber treatment, structural water-proofing and flood remediation industry. 
 
We offer independent damp and timber surveys which will accurately diagnose any dampness or decay problems together with chemical free, environmentally friendly, sustainable solutions

 

You have no doubt trawled through several sites on damp-proofing and timber treatments and by now are familiar with the cause and cures for rising dampness, woodworm, dry rot and other forms of fungal decay.
 
Most damp-proofing and timber treatments arise at the behest of Building Societies and their Surveyors' reports during the buying and selling process or for re-mortgaging purposes. The mortgage market is very tight nowadays and the lending criteria is getting very strict and things have been made worse this year as the Financial Services Authority are now asking Banks and Building Societies to vet our spending habits before a mortgage is granted and an example of this is when a client of ours applied for a mortgage which was only granted on the condition that an outstanding loan on a car was paid off first.
 
The question is whether these treatments are really necessary.During the boom years (remember them?) Banks and Buildings Societies hardly worried about damp or timber decay but nowadays as we enter the fourth year of the Never Ending Recession it seems to be their number one priority when undertaking mortgage valuations or Building Surveys. Dampness and timber decay are nearly always highlighted in a pre-purchase survey by Building Surveyors working on behalf of mortgage providers. The surveyor, erring on the side of caution, will generally recommend that a damp and timber report be obtained from a specialist damp-proofing and timber contractor. Many Estate Agents have informal arrangements with lots of tradesmen and these usually include damp-proofing and timber treatment firms whereby the remedial company will carry out a 'free survey' on the property and submit a report with their recommendations. Damp surveyors (who are usually paid on a commission only basis) carry out most of these surveys and some defects will invariably be found and an estimate for carrying out the works will be included with your report.
 
Most of this work as well as being expensive and disruptive is usually unnecessary as rising dampness is often assumed to be the problem when it may in fact be condensation or penetrating damp, due to raised ground levels etc., and these two problems can usually be remedied at a fraction of the cost of remedial works.
 
Over 90% of the houses that we survey have had a physical damp-proof course fitted at the time of construction. This will usually be a horizontal layer of slate for older houses built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and for houses built after the 1930’s it is often hessian impregnated with bitumen . These physical damp-proof courses will still be effective on controlling rising damp and there should never be any need to install a chemical damp-proof course but the vast majority of damp surveyors seem to 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 reality physical damp-proof course rarely fail and even if there has been some cracking of the damp course it will still be effective in preventing most rising dampness 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 which is a much more effective method of controlling rising damp than resorting to an injected damp-proof course.
 
Woodworm and fungal infestations are usually treated in the same way and surveyors will recommend treatments with potentially toxic chemical preservatives as a precautionary treatment against any possible infestation by woodworm or wet and dry rot. However it is usual for beetle and fungal decay to be confined to damp timbers and they are easily controlled by the removal of the dampness without resorting to the use of toxic chemicals. Dampness in floor timbers can also be reduced by the installation of extra air bricks which will improve the flow of air under timber floors and this will purge excess moisture from the floor void, the result of this is that timbers will not be damp enough to sustain any fungal decay or insect infestation and there will be no justification for chemical timber treatments.
 
If there is no active woodworm or fungal decay then damp-proofing and timber treatment companies should not recommend timber treatment routinely as a preventative measure as any chemical timber treatment must be justified, targeted and applied in accordance with controlling regulations and legislation (COSHH-Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 1988, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, COPR-Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 and the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981)
The damp-proofing and timber treatment works recommended after the 'free survey' can often result in the withdrawal of a mortgage offer or a retention being imposed on the mortgage until the damp-proofing and timber treatment works are carried out which may lead to the buyer seeking a reduction in the price of the property or even withdrawing their offer.
 
Instead of waiting for a purchaser to have a 'free damp and timber survey' it would be prudent for anyone selling their property to have your own independent survey undertaken to find the real extent of any suspected dampness and timber defects.
 
We can provide a detailed report on any dampness and timber infestation issues, which may arise as an obstacle to the sale of your house.
 
Our fees for surveying a property and providing a report range can be found here, and vary depending on the duration and complexity of the survey and in approximately 90% of properties surveyed resulted in no remedial work being required therefore substantial savings compared to the average cost of damp-proofing and woodworm treatment to a house, which can easily exceed £4,000.
 
Usually the work involved to rectify any dampness or timber decay problems are fairly straightforward and may just involve reducing external ground levels and installing extra air bricks and can be carried out by a competent general builder without resorting to any specialist contractors but we can also carry out the works and deduct the survey fee will be deducted from the final invoice.
 
If any damp-proofing or timber treatments are required then this work will be covered by long term guarantees issued through the Guarantee Protection Trust. These are the only insured guarantees which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
 
Building Societies and other lending institutions accept all our reports and findings as a certificate of integrity of the house with regard to dampness and timber defects as a suitable alternative to previously obligatory guarantees.
 
We cover the whole of mainland U.K. and surveys can be arranged at short notice, usually 2 to 3 days and reports can be e-mailed within a day of the survey being carried out.
If you require an independent survey and assessment of any damp or timber related problems please phone 0800 028 1903 or contact us by e-mail on enquiries@ukdamp.co.uk
 
If you don't need a full damp or timber survey then we can still help with our 'survey lite' option. Our surveyors can carry out brief but comprehensive inspections to give you peace of mind from as little as £175.00. If any work is required this fee is deducted from our final invoice.
 
Please don’t contact us if you want a free survey or estimate as there are plenty of other firms who are willing to do this for you but if you want some advice over the phone regarding any aspect of dampness or timber decay then please call 07736 631527 to speak to a surveyor.
REMEMBER- If you can’t see damp and can’t smell any damp then there probably isn’t any damp
 

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