If you're looking for someone to provide an estimate for a damp or timber problem and you're absolutely sure you do need treatment, you may think this is the wrong place to be but, before you go, have a look at the photographs below - they may cause a re-think.  Both photographs were taken in the late summer and autumn of 2005 and both are examples of problems that were wrongly diagnosed; the first one by a damp and timber contractor, who thought it was 'rising damp' and the second one by a builder, who thought it was 'penetrating damp'.

 1: This was mis-daignosed as 'Rising Damp'

2. The same problem on a gable wall.

The first wrong diagnosis resulted in a bill for £1700 for unnecessary injection damp proofing works; and the second, in the rendering and re-pointing of a gable wall, which cost over two thousand pounds!  Both the problems were actually a result of condensation, requiring 'life-style' changes by the homeowners to effect a cure, and neither solution should really have cost more than the price of a couple of fans.

The fact that in both cases the root problem was missed is simple: both clients asked the opinion of companies, or individuals, who make their living using particular systems or methods and neither could look at situations outside their own experience, which in any case was coloured by their understandable desire to make a living. It was therefore only natural they provided 'solutions' within the scope of that experience. What's more: at the time, both of these suggestions were welcomed by the respective clients as being positive, logical and reassuring. Undoubtedly this was because someone was going to 'do' something; and anything seemed better than nothing at the time!

Damp and timber problems are some of the most mis-diagnosed and mis-treated areas in the whole spectrum of housing, simply because clients put their trust in others - usually complete strangers - who have a vested interest in selling treatments of one kind or another. Most people have no idea whether these treatment will actually work, although they expect they probably will, and often they are never told of the alternatives that may be available. What's more, they can be encouraged to contact unreliable companies by building society surveyors, who regularly advise mortgage applicants and others to consult a 'specialist' in the field.  Unfortunately they seldom clarify exactly what it is they mean by 'specialist' and people, very often in time-pressured desperation, contact anyone from Yellow Pages who offers them even a glimmer of hope, which almost invariablly contains a sweetner in the form of a free survey !

When homeowners use haphazard methods like this to employ people, they can easiy fall prey to those who are more interested in selling their own products and services rather than curing client's problems; and the irony of a chartered surveyor advising people to seek advice from these 'specialists' - notwithstanding the obvious conflicts of interest -seems to be completely lost on the profession; although I suppose those cynics amongst you would say it can absolve them of any blame should things happen to go wrong later on.

The same difficulties arise when timbers are the issue.  There must be thousands of homes in the UK  that have had more than their fair share of timber treatments. All because no-one took the trouble to examine them properly and  instead, decided that it was easier to just spray them; even though they'd been sprayed a couple of times before.  Not only is this an expensive way of going about the problem, it may also be in direct contradiction of safety regulations , in the form of COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) but probably worst of all, it may be damaging to the environment.  The problem once again is that people who either don't know how to look correcty, or worse still, do know, but would benefit from selling their own products, recommend spray treatments.  Good for them; not so good for you!

The solution is simple: always employ someone to carry out a survey who has absolutely no interest in providing any treatments that may be required as a result of that survey.  If you can't find an independent surveyor, then take a look at my articles here .  You could just save yourself an awful lot of money. safeguard yourself and your family's welfare and benefit the environment.