prime example of what not to do then... if the job had been done correctly in the first place then it wouldnt be wet now... thats the reason after all, it just didnt get waterproofed, only plastered out..
thats also a prime candidate for a basement conversion... done with the plastic egg box membranes and a floor sump etc...
the doing of the job is the easy bit... its the identification of the problem, and the creation of the solution thats the hard bit..
in other words damp proofing is all theory... but its not rocket science..
once youve confirmed the presence of water/damp all you gotta do is decide how your gonna treat it, either leave it there and cover it with a waterproof substrate, or eradicate it from the substrate and prevent it coming back, or just prevent it coming back and replaster the area so the affected substrate be allowed to dry naturally etc..
timber wet/dry rot, woodworm, adequate ventilation etc... all related in one way or another and if you do a course youll likely cover all these subjects...
timber rot - remove knackered wood, replace with new wood, treat surrounding area of existing timber - job done, lotsa money please... you can charge lots cos you'll be offering them 30 year insurance backed guarantees... and youll do that cos youll do the job right first time and not have to worry about come backs..
when people come to sell their house, if theyve had damp treatment done then the buyer wants an insurance backed guarantee or the valuer will have to treat the house as though the damp treatment hasnt been done.
without a guarantee then you just have to hope any previous problems dont get picked up on a survey etc..
by taking on jobs like the 1 wall in the cellar and the back wall with the ground level discrepancy what youre basically sayin is that you agree to solve the problem...
if it then fails in 2 years time your gonna start to look a bit of a wide boy and the more you do the worse it will get...
however if you treat these damp jobs correctly every time youll get a reputation for being the 'man that can' and before you know it youll be sending out teams of lads with an sds drill and a garden sprayer full of gook and chargin good money for it... all in the survey... write the lads a list of instructions and check to see if its been carried out (the work isnt exactly difficult bar the plastering)... they dont have to be trained and insured, its you thats offering the guarantee...
whether or not you decide to increase your capacity to include damp proofing, the point is that with this type of work if your gonna cure it then cure it, nothing half arsed will do..
and if youre gonna be doing a lot of it, and doing it right, then why not have the paperwork that basically says you can charge more money because your work is worth that much more...
I normally refer any damp proofing work to a reputable damp proofing company, but i'll get the plastering...