Damp...Meter please ?

[Sharon the Cat]

what on earth do you want to be running around your van with expensive damp meters for?...........when damp gets bad enough to be a problem, it will soon show itself with wetness on inside surfaces, or black mould arising...........thats the time to consider dealing with it when you actually got a problem to deal with......steve bristol

OMG just read this!

See below damp that was only spotted because van sat in full sun after a frost & we noticed a very small patch of condensation on the outside. Nothing whatsoever indicated this on the inside of the van. The wood is totally rotten. A damp meter went off the scale.

 

[Obanboy666]

OMG just read this!

See below damp that was only spotted because van sat in full sun after a frost & we noticed a very small patch of condensation on the outside. Nothing whatsoever indicated this on the inside of the van. The wood is totally rotten. A damp meter went off the scale.

Ordering a meter tonight. It just proves if you wait for signs of damp chances are the repair will be major and expensive.
Good luck with your repairs, are you going to tackle the repairs yourself or getting a professional to do it ?

 

[Sharon the Cat]

I think Phill will tackle it. He has already worked out what he needs to remove & will have no problem replacing the wood.

We had the professionals supposedly sort out a problem when we bought him. The whole thing was a complete fiasco from beginning to end.

Our damp meter is just a cheap one & gave us all the confirmation we needed to investigate.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Damp Meter

 

[QFour]

Just a thought

All a damp meter does is measure the resistance between two points the higher the reading the more damp is present as electricity travels through damp wood than dry wood. Did a search on Google and came up with this Woodgears Moisture Meter

Then I thought that's a good idea as you are finding two uses for something so its worth having one. Checking Electrics and Checking Moisture. But do you really want lots of little holes everywhere and how do you know how hard to press the meter tails in. You want consistent readings so what about very small screws in pairs where you need to check. Just touch the screws with the meter and get the reading. Will always be in the same place so less chance of an error ..

Just a thought

..

 

[Obanboy666]

I think Phill will tackle it. He has already worked out what he needs to remove & will have no problem replacing the wood.

We had the professionals supposedly sort out a problem when we bought him. The whole thing was a complete fiasco from beginning to end.

Our damp meter is just a cheap one & gave us all the confirmation we needed to investigate.

Agree regarding the ' professionals', I have no confidence in the report they give me after the hab check is carried out. Unfortunately my hands are tied as I have to have it done for 10 years for warranty reasons. I will order a meter tonight and do my own checks.
Regarding a few small holes from the probes, I would rather have them than damp.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Agree regarding the ' professionals', I have no confidence in the report they give me after the hab check is carried out. Unfortunately my hands are tied as I have to have it done for 10 years for warranty reasons. I will order a meter tonight and do my own checks.
Regarding a few small holes from the probes, I would rather have them than damp.

A watchful eye is handy. Our first hint was condensation in very small area on the outside of the body. It only showed up because we had a frost, followed by bright sunshine.

 

[Deleted member 22077]

Back when I was studying civil engineering at university they had a long term test going where they had sat several different wall sections in tanks of water to test for rising damp. After several years they hadn't recorded any changes.

Over the last few years I believe a number of fairly senior people within the engineering and surveying sectors have essentially 'outed' it publicly.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

With respect, rising damp in buildings & water ingress problems in motorhomes are not the same problem.

Yes Protimeter are the bees knees for damp meters & all your dealers will have one. I have sold them for years (to the civil engineering industry). They are however, overkill for what your average motorhomer needs, an indication of where there may be an excess of moisture that needs further investigation.

Of course, a Protimeter is only as good as the person using it.
The damp in the image above was not picked up by a hab survey 4 months ago because they didn't test that particular area - with a Protimeter.

Protimeter or nothing ,the damp proofing boys have been ripping people off for years showing them high damp readings caused by salts or condensation . Many a time I have checked damp out only to find it is caused by faulty guttering or a leaking downpipe after the owners have been told they have rising damp .

Faulty guttering or a leaky downpipe sending water into the body of a motorhome would have cause extensive damage over time.