WHAT IS RISING DAMP?

Rising damp is a problem commonly associated to older properties where damage has occurred to the original damp proof course or where the original level of the damp proofing has been bridged by a patio or drive.

Essentially water is drawn up from the ground working through brick, block and mortar eventually permeating plaster causing damage to walls, decay to timber and heat loss owing to increased conductivity in the walls. In addition rising damp can cause health issues especially those susceptible to breathing problems and more often than not will produce a very unpleasant odour that get’s into clothes and soft furnishings.

HOW TO SPOT RISING DAMP

There are several tell tale signs to look out for when assessing whether you have rising damp:

A line or “tide mark”. This can be as far up the wall as a metre.

Damp patches or discoloured wallpaper

Peeling wallpaper

Decaying timbers i.e. skirting boards, door frames etc

White marks caused by efflorescent salts drawn out of the brickwork

HOW TO TREAT RISING DAMP

The first answer is QUICKLY! Any delay in getting your damp problem fixed could lead to further costs and inconvenience not to mention the effect on you and your families health and wellbeing.

Getting us in to assess the damage will ultimately determine the solution we provide but in normal circumstances we will offer chemical damp proof treatment which involves the injection of chemical damp proofing course into holes pre-drilled at regular intervals along with other remedial treatments such as replastering systems.