The impact of damp on your home’s value
Damp has a significant impact on all our lives. In fact, our homes are carefully engineered to circulate and remove humidity as much as possible.
If moisture finds its way into a building without any way to leave, you’ll begin to experience damp issues. These negatively affect your home’s value, making it less appealing to buyers and increasing the time it takes to sell.
In this article, we’ll explain why, here at GB Home Surveys, we believe damp surveys are the best way to counter the impact of this humidity and restore financial value to your home.
What is damp in a home?
We refer to moisture within a property as ‘damp’. At a base level, that’s all it really is.
There are two main types of damp which could affect your home. These are:
- Penetrating damp
- Condensation
Penetrating damp refers to moisture entering your building through the walls. For example, it might have old or improperly-applied mortar.
Condensation is… well, condensation. This form of damp comes from humidity within your home (showers, kettles, hobs, pipes, etc.) and doesn’t have a way to escape to the outside air.
How does damp impact your property’s value?
Damp itself is just the presence of water in the air (moisture or humidity). Alone, this isn’t a problem, but it can lead to more severe consequences in your house. Some of the more problematic things that are caused by damp include:
- Timber rot
- Mould
- Jammed windows and doors
- Cracking plasterboard or mortar
- Damaged wooden trim or furniture
- Insulation damage
- General ‘cold’ feeling
Of course, living in these conditions is far from ideal, especially when most damp problems can be easily remedied.
But the presence of damp will also negatively impact your home’s value. It’ll be worth less because of the humidity and the potential deeper issues it can lead to.
However, you could also look at it from the other side of the coin. Fixing your damp issues is usually a relatively cheap way of increasing your property’s market value.
What can you do about damp to restore property value?
The method you’ll use to ‘fix’ the damp problem depends on the root cause. There are many possibilities here, but some of the more common include the following:
- Obstructed ventilation in the loft space
- Leaking water pipes in the walls or ceilings.
- No kitchen or bathroom extractor fan (or a model that isn’t powerful enough)
- DIY shower-to-bath conversions without ventilation upgrades
- Poor quality construction techniques or materials
- Historic properties are much more susceptible to damp as they may have been altered over many years in ways which mean damp issues arise. Such as the use of plastic paints or cement renders on walls which were designed to breathe.
Whatever the root cause is, you’ll need to take steps to counter it. For example, a new extractor fan might need to be installed. You might need to contact a plumber to repair a leaking pipe or get a building contractor to work on a wall or the foundation.
These trades should prevent the source of the damp from re-emerging. They should also remove any damage caused by this moisture. For instance, mould should be removed by specialists, and rotted timbers need to be reinforced and replaced. Note that some things, such as plasterboard, come with an extra waste disposal fee.
We always recommend getting these jobs done by a professional (of course, that might include you for certain tasks). That way, you can rest assured that the issues won’t return and that your home will remain damp-free.
How a damp survey can help you
A damp survey is the most effective way to understand the location from which your damp problems stem. A trained, experienced chartered surveyor inspects your home, taking thorough notes (and photos) as they pinpoint the exact cause.
They’ll then draw up a report and send it to you. This will contain their observations and advice. Specifically, you’ll understand how to remove the damp in your home and prevent it from returning. This will increase your home’s value and make it much easier to sell.
GB Home Surveys offers damp surveys in South Wales, the West Midlands and the South-West. Our staff of dedicated RICS chartered surveyors are all vetted, knowledgeable, adept and insured. We’ll even get your report back to you within seven days (far quicker than the industry standard).
Interested in whether a damp survey could help you improve your home’s market worth? Why not send us a quick message using the contact form below? We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
