Cheque made out to me in sterling can i put it in my spanish account

are you first floor

is the problem just below roof, if so i think some tiles need to come off and concrete roof tanked/ flashed. the existing damp concrete will probably take longer to dry.

obviously it is a builder defect. i understand the buildings have a 10yr guarantee like nhbc. ask your solicitor to put in a claim, if its like uk this may cost 200e, and if their are other similar cases do it collectively.

gool luck

noddy

Does anyone know of a surveyor over there... I think its worth a full survey by an independant surveyor... then take it up with Interlarken...

They quite clearly have no intention other than covering up the problem... if they even do as much as that

Its bad enough that the places dont seem to be worth as much as we paid... without the shoddy finish, and now damp to put up with...

Ive actually though of handing the keys to the bank and walking... but im sure it would still haunt me then

Dear All

It has been reported to me that some walls have only a single scratch render coat applied to the wall blocks. With the result that all mortar joints can be clearly seen through the render. If this is the case and the construction is solid block rather than cavity then there is a direct path for rain to pass through via the mortar joints. If that is the case then the solution is to apply the second and finishing coats to the wall. Good luck.

Any results at all?

Norman

 

 

  There was damp in my appartment, they fixed it though, slapped on a coat of emulsion!, as a builder i should have known better. I build quality then go  abroad and buy a property that is very poor in most aspects. If you call me stupid, then i agree!

 

 

 

Dear Holis4,

please don't worry about being stupid we are all that, though some are sensitive about admitting it.

The big crime here is to state the true facts, lots are afraid that to advertise the truth is in some way very negative and not at all proactive.

In my view it is a great pity that the proactive do not act to get the official who granted habitation licences back to force the developer to properly put things right.

I would also like to see a list of all that is wrong and not the highest luxury specification that was promised. Are not the door locks etc, white goods etc, finishes, not the cheapest basic components available?

I am afraid the sun seems not just to burn people as it drys out the damp, it seems to addle their brains as well. Or is that me being stupid again?

Regards

Norman

 

Not sure if this helps anyone with the question of damp.  I live in Spain and am renting a villa in the Costa Blanca whilst my house is being built (6 weeks to go - hooray!).  I have been here since last June (keeping my eyes on it every step of the way!) and whilst we have the air con units that have heating, there is no other form of heating here.  I find that in the spare rooms, it gets very damp particularly in the wardrobes and damp does occur on the walls and furniture.   It does stay quite warm during the day in the Winter but becomes quite cold at night.  To try and counteract the dampness, I always have to leave the wardrobe doors slightly ajar and the bedroom doors open to enable air circulation.  My point is that is it not only a question of bad workmanship - from what I am told by my neighbours here I think damp is often a consequence of Spainish living - everyone suffers.  I realise that sounds improbable and certainly it doesn't happen in the Summer months but from November through to April (and we had a bad April here) it does happen.

As I said I would recommend not sealing everything up tight internally when you leave your apartment, unless you have a management company that are coming in on a regular (at least monthly) basis to check the property and open the windows for a while and do remember to try and give the apartment a good airing before you leave each time, leave wardrobe and room doors slightly open.

If of course there is a problem with the building and damp is occuring that is all together another question.  Our apartment is in Bloque 2 and is currently rented.  I have not had any reported problems with it - possibly because  there is someone regularly airing the place.

It is unfortunate that dreams are priced in advance and the sun seeking dreamers are not actually proactive in anything except dreaming. They cannot actually stop dreaming long enough to properly assess what little they have been given for their money. This is no doubt why selling to dreamers is so lucrative, making multi-millionaires of almost anyone.

It is also unfortunate that the standard apartment block being built here, is the cheapest possible construction available, using concrete frames and mortar connected hollow building blocks. There is no cavity and no insulation I fear, other than the hollows in the blocks.

Certain planning spaces between blocks have been imposed. making the construction and infrastructure a target for economies. It seems that whatever the planning constraints, one can still obtain habitation licences by the old methods.

It is of course possible to make single block construction weatherproof all the year round, but it is not easy, as with cavity construction, it requires good mortar in the joints and three good coats of strong waterproof render, plus a finishing coat of paint. Internally you require similar number of coats of good quality plaster.

It is easy to see where economies are made when the pressure is on, to hell with "carbon neutrality". I personally find it difficult to accept that non-insulated construction is actually permitted in this day and age.

With damp penetration the wall becomes cold and a target for condensation on the inside, adding to the damp.

There is a strong after market in alleviating the worst of the problem by external chemical application treatments to waterproof exteriors, plus additional painting. Internally special plasters and other methods can be used to keep damp in the wall and improve insulation for the rooms.

These treatments are expensive but it if it is kept after market, it is the dreamers who pay not the developer.

The extraordinary thing is that the public often believe that it is not a building fault but the responsibility of the climate or some such.

The developer gets off the hook yet again.

Keep the pressure up and leave the dreams till later.

Regards

Norman