Rising damp or new floor or both?

JSchoey · Post by **JSchoey** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:56 pm

I have previously put a post about the house that I moved into needing a new roof. I also have a problem with damp in the kitchen. Half of the kitchen has floorboards and the other half has a stone quarry tiled floor. There is evidence of damp on the 2 walls above the quarry tiled floor but not on the walls above the floor boards. I have been told by a building company that I need a full damp course all the way around the house. As there is only evidence of the rising damp on the 2 walls above the quarry tiled floor my dad said that I need to get the kitchen floor dug up and a visquine sheet put down. Do I need to get the new floor or the damp course or both?

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:20 pm

What are the walls like in the rest of the house- are they damp?

The kitchen floor that is solid- have you tested it with a damp meter?

Digging it up may not be the best option, perhaps installing a damp proof course to the walls and then covering the concretwe floor with asphalt would be a better option?

JSchoey · Post by **JSchoey** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:45 pm

The tiles do not show any damp readings when the damp meter is put on them but there is a lot of concrete around them and my dad reckons that the concrete is where the moisture is coming from and that is going up into the walls. The quotes I have had are very expensive and I don't know what to do for the best. One of the builders said that just a damp course on those 2 walls would fix the problem but I have heard that damp courses can fail and I wonder whether it would be best in the long run to get the floor done as well?

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:21 pm

Can you test the concrete with the damp meter- testing the tiles is not good as most tiles are moisture resistant.

I still think it would be easier to remove the tiles and then get an asphalt floor put down.

For the dpc for the walls you could get an electro osmosis dpc installed, like this-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/ELECT ... COURSE.htm

Telmay · Post by **Telmay** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:24 pm

Just a simple one, these effected walls do they have soil against them, and if so is it above the damp course?

JSchoey · Post by **JSchoey** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 11:00 pm

There is no soil against the wall and the original dampcourse is the one that was done when the house was built. It is a slate dampcourse (i think).

If I just got the walls damp coursed would that solve the problem or do I need to get the floor done as well?