[chrissyboy]

alot of houses get damp due to previous owners doing paving outside . by doing paving you will increase the height of the ground outside thus rising above the damp course in the extrenal walls .. have a look if this is the case you just needs to cut back the paving by say 3 inches so the wall isnt touching the ground . if the walls have been rendered then you will have to cut along the whole wall by at lease 6 to 8 inches and remove the bottom part of the rendering ,then you will need to form a drip along the edge of the bottom of the render thus doing what the term drip applies .. depending on where the damp is of course .most houses with bay windows do suffer with damp in the bay ,if they have no lead flashing but have the old cement fillets that seal the line along the edge of the wall where the bay edge meets ... also damp can be caused if there is a dividing wall on the garden boundaries ,ie if the wall has been added later than when the house was first built .. people tend not to install a vertical damp course ... depending on where the damp is and how much there is you may be able to cure it yourself .alot of the wall injection stuff dont work as the idea of double brick work is to have an inner and outer wall so damp will not penetrate in to the internal course of brick .... an easy indicator of the damp course being covers is that the top of the skirting board will show signs of wet ... if so then a day of your time would sort it ,then just the survayour back in to pass it ..i have cured a dozen or so this way . dont forgot that damp is just like a repair on a car mick ,no good just repairing the damp you need to find the cause too

just another thought .. if the house is eot check that the slates/tiles are over hanging on the verge by 2 ininches ,if not the rain water will just find its way in and down the wall ,same for around the chimney if the flashing is not fixed then water can get in also the lead chimney gutter .. anyway im sure your know someone that will put it right for you .you also mention timber ? i take it in the roof ... thats not so bad as it can be treated and repaired fron the inside by bolting new bearers as long as you can get then on the wall plate and resting on a a beam for support ... al in all mick its not as bad as it sounds .