Recent Buyer’s Damp Survey
8:00AM 18 September 2023
Initial Assessment
This is an initial assessment before considering responding to client questions and any follow-up data.There is no evidence of rising damp, which comes from groundwater in contact with walls. The risk of groundwater has been assessed very low. By contrast there is evidence of excess humidity and insufficient ventilation likely to result in condensation, especially on the cold metal socket covered by impermeable damp proofer’s plaster.
Reasoning
The property has been damp-proofed against rising damp, even though the risk was negligible. Additionally, it features an impermeable render on its exterior walls. Damp-proofing halts the movement of damp in walls through the use of chemicals and low-permeability plaster. This plaster not only prevents the absorption of moisture into a wall but also impedes its evaporation from the wall. Defects and breaches in the low-permeability plaster, especially around electrical sockets and wiring, can result in water being absorbed deep within a wall. Metal components inside sockets can exacerbate heat loss, increasing risk of vapour condensing on a cold wall. The absence of a kitchen vent, combined with the manual bathroom vent and the potential indoor drying of clothes, heightens the risk of condensation forming on the damp socket set in the cold flank wall. The visible corrosion on the screw head suggests that the property has endured condensation issues in the past.
Request prompting survey
The electrician noted the wall behind one socket seemed damp.