Removing damp

A question about : Removing damp

Damp in Master bedroom - it's a window on one side of the room that turns a corner - ie the window is across one side of the room and then on a corner (big)- mould on the walls - wipes away... based in Essex... A,B and C refer to the corner wall part - so there's like and indent in the corner.

For the below they quoted a total of Ј430. They've gone down to Ј350. Bear in mind

01 Attend site and place protection to the floor of the master bedroom,
carefully remove and set aside skirting boards for re-fixing at
completion and cover all furniture within room Inclusive of rates. 1 Item Ј-
02 Hack back to brick wall A, B and C and clear all spoil from site
2.5 m2 Ј
03 Drill .100mm deep bore holes at .200mm centres to walls A, B, and
C and inject all holes with damp treatment. At completion coat
walls A, B and C with Damp Solvent 1 Item Ј
04 Place a waterproof bonding coat to walls A, B and C
2.5 m2
05 Plaster skim walls A, B and C so that they feather in with existing
2.5 m2 Ј
06 Re-fix skirting removed at works commencement and leave walls
A,B and C ready for painting by others 1 Item Ј
07 Supply and apply 1 number mist coat of white emulsion paint to
walls A, B and C 1 Item Ј
08 Rake out existing sealant to the external face of the master bedroom
window and replace with new water tight sealant 1 Item Ј

Anyway, Ј350. Fair?

Best answers:

• Fair if the work actually needs doing. Has the cause of the damp been established properly?
• Whats causing the damp? And us it actually penetrating or ingressing damp or is it condensation?
• What the above says!
  What is causing it?
  I'm presuming this is a ground floor bedroom? Do you have three external walls?
  Other than that, it's ridiculously cheap. Scarily so. My labourer couldn't do it for that. a) because anyone would run out of time on near minimum wage to do it and b) he literally couldn't do it all properly.
  How are they getting rid of what must exceed 9 square metres of plaster back to brick? A skip is Ј100 without thinking about it.
  Are the skirting boards in good enough condition to be relaid if you have genuine damp?
  Again, why replace window sealant if problem is apparantly rising damp, which is what the other treatment is?
  Insurance backed guarantee??
• It's not rising damp. It's in the master bedroom upstairs and has come from the windows not being sealed properly when put in three years ago - or at least that's what I suspected.
  The windows are guaranteed but the company has gone bust, hence I needed to get a quote or two.
  It's not 9 square metres of plaster - the window takes up the vast majority of that wall. It's 2.5 square metres.
• Flimsier,
  It reads like they are going to install a damp proof course? (item 3)
  IF this is the case and it is a 1st floor bedroom then I suggest you don't have anything else to do with them as they are obviously completely and utterly stupid, in fact beyond stupid. You cannot get rising damp in a 1st floor bedroom (assuming you're not built into a hillside or similar).
  If the main problem is mould growing and there is no damage to the plaster then why are they suggesting replastering?
  Obviously i havent seen the property, BUT this smells like someone who has a bit of knowledge and they are trying to bamboozle you with technical diarrhea!
  Any chance you can post a picture of the offending wall?
• Actually, I was a bit worried because I found two different addresses in different parts of Essex for the company. I also found only two (positive though) reviews for them despite their claim to have been going ten years.
  This is really interesting and helpful feedback.
  Just to be clear: it is definitely the case that their meter reading showed damp in the walls. Do they not need to do something about that? I knew there was no rising damp, but assumed they had to treat the walls.
  Thanks for your help you two. I better find someone else.
• I've not given them the job. Thanks again.
• Good. Glad you didnt give them the job. Almost comical what they suggested.
  You have to find the source of the damp and fix that. Replastering or injecting DPC into bricks will do absolutely nothing to stop the damp.
  In the meantime get a decent dehumidifier. The De'Longhi DEM10 (Amazon sells them) is excellent. It will give you enough time to see where the water is really coming from.
• 'Damp' meters simply measure electrical resistance. Different media have different base resistances, natural salts in plasterwork, especially with a little humidity, can give high readings - especially if pressed firmly to get good contact. They are qualitative, not quantitative tools - they can compare two areas to see which is damper, but cannot say an area is authoritatively damp or not.