UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi,
My property that I let is suffering from bad rising damp, so much so that the tenant is temporarily moving out. I claimed on house insurance as I think the cause was long terms condensation from a water tank however the insurer has denied the claim. I have a quote of about £1500 to do one room but in reality I believe I might need to remove all plasterwork and start again.

Anyone have any experience of this? What is the best treatment for it? Seems the properties are well known for it. I'm reluctant to spend £4-5k on new plaster which may suffer the same issue long term.....

I would say, find 2-3 GOOD compan with lots of good referrals and personally I would say that WON'T go out of business in 10-20 years, call them up, come have them do their free assessment of the problem, what they propose to do about it and the cost. I would then look at the 2 or 3 plans, speak to someone else about it who is fairly knowledgeable then choose a plan that will eradicate the problem and fix the damage. I would, personally, NOT choose the one-man-band that will offer you the cheaper price and give you the guarantee but it is only him and in 30 years or less he might be retired, moved etc. I know they say it is a "trade union" or whatever guartantee and someone else will honour it, but what a hassle! Unfortunately, from my experience, you have to do a good job on the damp so people don't get sick etc. I hate problems like this. I have a ground floor flat and we had to spend 6k to get it free of damp. I chose a big company so when problems occur they can send someone out. They were more money, but the job is sufficient, they had good reviews and they have many branches so they will come back. Good luck to you. Don't skimp is my advice. Either that or sell the flat. If you can't fix the underlying cause and stop the damage from happening, you are probably better off selling it.

Dont concentrate on the plaster - this is just where the problem manifests itself.   Make sure the cause is sorted first.

I recently renovated a small terraced property which had rising damp and the problem turned out to be a long term leak from the CH pipes under the living room floor.  This needed the joists and the floorboards replacing and then (and only then) the top 1M of plaster stripping and replacing with damp inhibitor base coat and top coat.  Cost £2,700 inc VAT. Worth every penny, and as AJW suggests, dont go for a fly by night one man show. Find a repuatale business which has been around a while.  You should get a 20 or 30 year guarantee with the work. You must ask yourself what this is worth if you employ someone without any professinal history.