How a sump and pump keeps a basement conversion dry (Type C waterproofing)

A Type C cavity drain membrane waterproofing system cannot hope to work without some means of taking water away.  If water builds up a head against the membrane – IT WILL FAIL. Gravity drainage works well, where it can be used, but for many occasions a sump is needed, with one or more pumps to […]

This council house has been damp for three years – why?

The other day I visited a local authority house in the North of England.  This semi detached bungalow is occupied by an elderly couple. I was asked to carry out a damp survey because of the persistent damp, which had defied numerous attempts to rectify it.  Various opinions had been expressed and much work done. […]

Quick wall tie survey – part 1 – The Boroscope

For those who wonder just what a boroscope inspection, for wall tie corrosion involves, here’s a short video I shot in North Yorkshire a few days ago. It is clipped to view the relevant bits – three wall ties are normally looked at when I survey a semi-detached house like this one. You may have […]

Damp – but not rising damp

Damp specialists like me make money treating damp problems.  So it’s good news when a domestic client asks for a survey to ‘quote for the rising damp that the mortgage surveyor has found’. With this open invitation to quote for work, the clients is lining him/herself up for a loss – this is why we […]

Free Damp and Timber surveys – I was wrong all along.

I’ve been a damp and timber specialist for 34 years – starting work with my Dad’s old firm in 1976. I actually started surveying houses for damp and timber infestation problems in 1980.  I don’t know how many surveys I’ve done since then, but I do know that it is considerably more than 10,000 and […]

Copyright © 2010 Preservation Expert. Legal Stuff: All the advice and information in the posts on my blog is made in good faith and is based on my experience and knowledge at the time of writing. However, nobody is infallible and whilst I’m confident that most of what I write about preservation issues is accurate, there’s a good chance there’ll be an error or two somewhere. I do change my mind about stuff, as I gain more experience. In view of this you must make your own decisions on whether to follow any advice I write and think about this; I could be wrong. No responsibility will be accepted by the author for any losses anyone may suffer as a result of any mistake or for the consequence of any action you take as a result of reading this blog. If you do suffer a loss, resulting from anything I’ve written, a verbal heartfelt apology will be your only compensation.