Wet patches in new build

The_B_Man

I'd be tempted to send in my photos, just to see what he says!!

I'm getting seriously depressed over this sh*te now. That slab of concrete that was done in the corner seems to be bringing some water up. Not sure if its condensation or the damp from below.

These photos were taken 24 hours apart. The first one had lots of water so i wiped it down to see if it would come back, and u can see in the 2nd photo that theres some dampness. The 2nd photo is taken a few inches closer.

This is the "radon barrier". The right side was making contact with the wet cement as it dried and it was slightly stuck to it, which is why there seems to be the perfect shaped discolouration. Not sure the implications of that.

Also, i noticed the whole concrete rectangle had sort of dew crystals. It was like there was water in it that was getting frozen. I'll have to check it again tomorrow. Maybe coz its fresh concrete but its not looking good. The boss is laying low so I've only seen the odd worker here and there so haven't managed to have words with the boss. Gonna have to ring him next week and have words.

10-10-20

In fairness, new concrete takes some weeks to dry/cure off fully and you'd expect some moisture coming off it if a plastic sheet was left on top and it being cold outside. I wouldn't go complaining about that just yet, leave it to dry/cure a bit longer.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120137070#Comment_120137070

Hi The_B_Man.

Sorry to hear about your depression.

I can only imagine the mental strain that you are under at present.

I told you some time ago, that you should not be dealing with this Langer of a builder.

Your depression and mental stress will only get worse. Your family will also suffer from same, by continually having to deal with Delboy.

I have advised you previously to retain one of the following Construction Professionals:-

1. Chartered Building Surveyor
2. Architect
3. Chartered Civil Engineer
4. Chartered Building Engineer

All of these are capable of dealing with all the defects in your new build.

You must retain one of the above Professionals, to liaise with the builder on your behalf, and you and your family must cease dealing with Delboy.

Otherwise you are on a highway to nowhere.

The sooner you do this the better for you and family and costs in arriving at a proper resolution.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120137070#Comment_120137070

The_B_Man

Let me explain about Radon Gas Membranes.

A Radon Gas Membrane is not required in all buildings In Ireland. This is ascertained by visiting www.epa.ie

Every new build must have a Radon Sump.

Radon Membranes are usually red in colour or black in colour.

A DPM prevents the passage of moisture, but cannot prevent the passage of Radon Gas.

Therefore in some areas a Radon Gas Membrane is Compulsory.

I do not know if this applies to your address.

However a Radon Gas membrane must be 100 % sealed, and Must terminate at the outer edge of the external rising walls. See sample photo:-

DC16E3D6-932C-4F0C-8334-BC01E4A43A35.jpeg

The white patches in the photo is a special Radon Barrier tape material for sealing around all cuts, joints and pipes etc in the Radon Barrier.

The black membrane in your build may have been purchased as a Radon Barrier, but because it is is not continuous with the DPC in the wall, and because it is cut at floor level and not lapped with the DPC - it cannot prevent the passage of Radon Gas passing up in to the building between the cut membrane and the rising wall around the perimeter of the floor and it cannot function as a Radon Barrier.

DPM is made from a plastic (HDPE) which is Polyethylene which is impervious to moisture and salts. But Radon Gas is capable of passing through this plastic membrane, so therefore a DPM is not a Radon Membrane.

In your floor is a DPM which MUST now be bonded to the DPC, to prevent rising dampness.

All to this is very complexed, technical, scientific and complicated, and you need a Construction Professional to represent you and your family.

Delboy cannot solve your problems and conclude your building.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120137838#Comment_120137838

Just for clarity any of the professionals you mentioned do not have to be chartered in order to deal with the OP's issues. Oh, you forgot to include technicians in that list.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120138223#Comment_120138223

I am very aware of all Professions in the Construction Industry.

I was giving advice to The_B_Man, who finds himself in a very difficult legal Contract with a totally incompetent Builder.

The OP has enough problems presently, and the last thing the OP needs is a graduate just out of college with a Degree, working as a Construction Professional.

A Chartered Construction Professional will be qualified by Examining, Experience, Knowledge etc and be certified by his peers.

I would therefore advise the OP to ensure that the Construction Professional he retains is Chartered.

Still stihl waters 3

In the op the op said they have no money and all this talk of hiring chartered professionals to oversee the repairs is nonsense talk, how does he expect pay for such services if they have no money, anything from this point on is damage limitation so I'd advise running the current builder and using the 2 grand you owe him to get a competent tradesman to come in and see what they can do with limited resources.

A chartered professional will charge top rate to put a solution on paper and op will still have the same problems, they're great for advising but in the real world are are useful as chocolate fireguards once the mistakes have been made, you don't need a guy with letters after his name you need a tradesman with experience in remedial work

You could go down the legal route and see what happens but I'd prefer to put the money into sorting the problem than making solicitors richer

The_B_Man

I'm exploring my network first. I know some engineers and architects through family and friends but ultimately if I'm gonna pay for someone, I'd want to be sure what they're saying is right, so I'd agree about them being chartered. However, that's assuming they'll charge around 500 euro and not several grand!!!

Btw I've already sent photos to a civil engineer friend, who does BIM stuff as well. Not chartered but he will be next year, from what I gather. Waiting to hear back his opinion.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120139827#Comment_120139827

That is a good decision.

If you do not take action now, it will cost you a lot of money to rectify all the problems in your new build to stop the Rising Dampness and ingress of rainwater.

The_B_Man

Another annoyance is that I've had the previous sheds contents under a tarp for 6 months. Initially it was meant to be a month, but because this has dragged on, I've had to leave the stuff there as I have nowhere else to put it. Last night, I saw a big rat coming from under the tarp! This is a knock-on affect of the builder being so slow to fix the issue. There's some valuable stuff under there that I don't want covered in rat urine!

muddle84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120143565#Comment_120143565

Look into short term storage in a self storage. Might give you peace of mind for that at least!