D.I.Y and Trades

Are there any forum rules that would prohibit having a thread on here in which people can pose D.I.Y questions and tips?
Again same question but in relation to posting about reliable trades people and recommendations?

I can’t seem to find an existing thread and I think it would be useful but as there doesn’t seem to be one I thought it may be off the table?

Cheers

I can't see any reason why questions and tips should not be posted. However, to me, recommendations are more of a guarantee of workmanship, quality etc. When I had my business I never made any recommendations mainly because the onus is back on you for making the recommendation, for anything that goes wrong.

I suppose recommendations are a personal choice but I always edged on caution as I didn't want to get sued!

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Quoted from ginnywings

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Nice one Ginny-much appreciated thank you!

Quoted from ginnywings

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Now then mate have you ever used dry rods as a relatively cheap first port of call to remedy rising damp?
If so how did you get on? Any thoughts?

Quoted from Sandford1981

Now then mate have you ever used dry rods as a relatively cheap first port of call to remedy rising damp?
If so how did you get on? Any thoughts?

Afraid not, no.

Done a few injection damp courses years back, which is relatively easy to do and you can hire the gear.

However, you first need to make sure you actually have rising damp as there are other reasons why a wall can be damp. Bridged damp course, poor ventilation, blocked air bricks etc. Beware unscrupulous builders who will charge you a fortune to 'fix' a problem that may not even exist and may not be cured with a damp course.

You need to bear in mind that damp proof remedies don't always work and that the work involved is very messy and disruptive because of the need to remove all the render and plaster up to a metre up the wall.

An effective and cheaper solution can be tanking, where you remove the render, paint the walls with a liquid membrane and re-render and plaster, with a waterproofing agent added to the render.

Then there is the traditional method of physically removing a course of bricks and fitting a DPC before replacing said bricks. This is done in small sections for obvious reasons.

I had quite a bad wall in my own house and I tackled it by covering it over with panelling made from water resistant MDF and painted. The damp is still there but you can't see it and it was done in 2 days.

Quoted from ginnywings

Afraid not, no.

Done a few injection damp courses years back, which is relatively easy to do and you can hire the gear.

However, you first need to make sure you actually have rising damp as there are other reasons why a wall can be damp. Bridged damp course, poor ventilation, blocked air bricks etc. Beware unscrupulous builders who will charge you a fortune to 'fix' a problem that may not even exist and may not be cured with a damp course.

You need to bear in mind that damp proof remedies don't always work and that the work involved is very messy and disruptive because of the need to remove all the render and plaster up to a metre up the wall.

An effective and cheaper solution can be tanking, where you remove the render, paint the walls with a liquid membrane and re-render and plaster, with a waterproofing agent added to the render.

Then there is the traditional method of physically removing a course of bricks and fitting a DPC before replacing said bricks. This is done in small sections for obvious reasons.

I had quite a bad wall in my own house and I tackled it by covering it over with panelling made from water resistant MDF and painted. The damp is still there but you can't see it and it was done in 2 days.

Thank you for your reply.
I’m as certain as I can be it’s rising damp but obviously I could well be wrong.
I have used the rods this morning and I hope they work but if not I shall refer to your options and go from there. I appreciate it. Cheers.

As I could access the wall outside the rods were relatively speaking, an easy win without having to take kitchen units to bits. Very straight forward to be fair. Fingers crossed now to see if they’re effective.

It sounds like an outside wall which begs the question of how you got to the inner skin of brickwork, unless it is single skin, which would maybe explain the problem. Could be penetrating damp getting through the brickwork?

Damp behind kitchen units is quite common, especially if the units are fitted to an external exposed wall.

I’m a mould and damp specialist (not a tradesman) carrying out independent and impartial inspections for several agents across the area. If you have any questions, let me know! As Ginny says, there are many less than scrupulous contractors plying their trade in this area so please be careful.

Quoted from ginnywings

It sounds like an outside wall which begs the question of how you got to the inner skin of brickwork, unless it is single skin, which would maybe explain the problem. Could be penetrating damp getting through the brickwork?

Damp behind kitchen units is quite common, especially if the units are fitted to an external exposed wall.

I have a long narrow kitchen as I look into it with French doors leading into the garden. The units are fitted uninterrupted until about 10 inches from the far external wall which is where the problem is.
Typically this space is used for infil, towel rail or custom  wine storage or was when I designed kitchens.
For whatever reason it was left blank here and So it obstructs from gaining access to the offending wall from the inside.
I used a depth gauge to ensure I drilled to the necessary depth after measuring the thickness of the wall. It’s all in and I’ve filled in and re-pointed so it’s just a matter of waiting now.

Old Codger do you have any experience of these rods then?