sliemasteve
New Member
Any person of average intelligence can do what follows, if it interests them.
.
Defeating conmen is best done by rational comment and observation that persuades interested parties that your view is reasonable or more probable than an opposing one. Anecdotal evidence based on experience no matter how valid doesn't have the strength of an investigation supported by testing and data.
.
If there is a need to mount an effective challenge to con men and have a better understanding of moisture within building materials get a probe type moisture meter. Cheap ones used to be available for £20. Forget about claims that they don’t work in plaster etc. You will be using one to get a comparison of areas of wall and associated readings.
.
The first and an important observation is that wherever there are no readings the wall is dry and free from salt contamination there is no need for remedial works.
.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Assumming you are in a house where the plaster is the original, the ground floor of the house is 150 mm above the external levels and there are no building defects such as leaking pipes or gutters or rainwater penetration. Accept for the benefit of this test that there is such a thing as rising damp and it is the only defect affecting the walls of this house.
.
USING A MOISTURE METER
Insert the probes of the moisture meter into the wall plaster just above the skirting, note the reading and repeat every 75 mm up to one metre or until the readings stop. Rising damp readings typically start with high readings near the skirting and reduce as measurements are made higher up the wall and then stop abruptly over a short distance of 10 or 15 mm. Above this height the readings are much lower and trail off to zero. This is the profile of rising damp it is a consequence of ground salts and moisture that rise from the ground and often moisture from the atmosphere; if this type of profile is absent deny that there is any evidence to require remedial works.
If there are other defects within the building which affect moisture within walls these added complication require repair and wait solutions and or more sophisticated investigation. Mostly damp-proofing companies only use a moisture meter.
.
Defeating conmen is best done by rational comment and observation that persuades interested parties that your view is reasonable or more probable than an opposing one. Anecdotal evidence based on experience no matter how valid doesn't have the strength of an investigation supported by testing and data.
.
If there is a need to mount an effective challenge to con men and have a better understanding of moisture within building materials get a probe type moisture meter. Cheap ones used to be available for £20. Forget about claims that they don’t work in plaster etc. You will be using one to get a comparison of areas of wall and associated readings.
.
The first and an important observation is that wherever there are no readings the wall is dry and free from salt contamination there is no need for remedial works.
.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Assumming you are in a house where the plaster is the original, the ground floor of the house is 150 mm above the external levels and there are no building defects such as leaking pipes or gutters or rainwater penetration. Accept for the benefit of this test that there is such a thing as rising damp and it is the only defect affecting the walls of this house.
.
USING A MOISTURE METER
Insert the probes of the moisture meter into the wall plaster just above the skirting, note the reading and repeat every 75 mm up to one metre or until the readings stop. Rising damp readings typically start with high readings near the skirting and reduce as measurements are made higher up the wall and then stop abruptly over a short distance of 10 or 15 mm. Above this height the readings are much lower and trail off to zero. This is the profile of rising damp it is a consequence of ground salts and moisture that rise from the ground and often moisture from the atmosphere; if this type of profile is absent deny that there is any evidence to require remedial works.
If there are other defects within the building which affect moisture within walls these added complication require repair and wait solutions and or more sophisticated investigation. Mostly damp-proofing companies only use a moisture meter.
