Rot, Woodworm, Damp & Subsidence

There are several ‘ailments’ that may beset a property and strike fear into the heart of its owner, the most common being rot, woodworm, damp and subsidence. Each of these is addressed here, giving you full details of what each condition is, how to spot and how to fix it.

• In all cases, you are highly recommended to employ the services of a specialist firm to address each of these problems. Not only are they experts in their field, but also guarantee their work which can be of some considerable value when selling your property.

Woodworm &
death watch beetle

• Common furniture beetle
• House longhorn beetle
• Wood boring weevils
• Death watch beetle

Prevention &
cure of damp

• Identifying & eliminating damp & rising damp
• Successfully damp proofing your home
• Where does damp come from? What to check

Dry rot & wet rot

• Dry rot
• Wet rot
• Sub-floor ventilation

Subsidence & heave

• Identifying subsidence & heave

In some way, most property ‘ailments’ are related to the movement of water which is why two building regulations are particularly concerned with a property’s resistance to it’s ingress and with adquate ventilation to prevent condensation.

Building regulations

• Building Regulations Part C: Site Preparation and Resistance to Contaminant and Moisture
• Building Regulations Part F: Ventilation
• Full guide to the building regulations
• Making structural changes to your property

Painting & decorating

• Guide to paint
• Wallpaper
• Wall and floor tiles
• Paint stripping

Do be wary of ‘split responsibility’ wherein one firm removes the source of a problem, such as inserting a chemical damp-proof course, and another fixes internal decorative finishes, such as plasterwork. These arrangements inevitably leave room for guarantees not to be honoured or render them invalid.

• Before carrying out any treatment, you should carry out a full risk and hazard assessment as required under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations (2002).
• If the problem, or its repair, involve any party walls shared between your own property and an adjacent one, be sure to gain your neighbours’ written permission for work to proceed.

• Impact of the Party Wall Act 1996 (odpm.gov.uk)

Further information and useful links

• Introduction to wall insulation
• More walls and ceilings topics
• Building works topics