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Rising Damp
Rising Damp
What is Rising Damp?
Rising damp is moisture present in your walls as a result of water in the ground underneath or next to your walls rising up through the fabric of the wall, whether it be brick, block or stone. The water travels upwards through the wall as a result of capillary action (where water is sucked through a small opening such as a tube or hole) through the tiny holes in the brick or stone. The water stops rising at a height where gravity counteracts the upwards force of the capillary action. This ‘rising damp’ usually reaches a maximum height of 1.2m, but the effects of the damp, such as salt deposits, may be seen higher up due to the presence of non-breathing wall coverings such as vinyl wallpaper and non breathing plasters, renders and paints.
What are the signs of Rising Damp?
Typical signs of rising damp rather than other damp problems are a ‘tide line’ of yellowish or brownish staining or blown plaster in the lower area of your wall above your skirting board. You also might have damp or rotting skirting boards or flooring. You may see white, fluffy deposits in your plaster – these are ‘salts’ which the damp has washed out of your bricks and into your plaster. Black spots of mould may also appear on on the damp areas of your wall.
How do we treat Rising Damp?
If it is the case that you have established that there has been a failure of your rising damp treatment barrier, then there are a variety of different rising damp treatment applications that you can consider.
The most common forms of rising damp treatment usually involve the injection of a siliconate type chemical either in the form of solution or cream. The reason for this is that it is typically the easiest and most cost effective treatment to use within built properties. Alternatively, there are other methods such as installing the Electro Osmotic system or the installation of a physical rising damp membrane to form a new damp proof barrier.
After a new rising damp treatment course has been installed, any salt contaminated plasterwork should be replaced. If the plasterwork is not properly removed and replaced with specialist salt retardant plaster, the salts that are present in the plaster may continue to absorb moisture from the air even after the installation of a new retrofit damp proof course giving the appearance of dampness.
If, after a rising damp survey, it is confirmed that you do have a rising damp issue, our professional surveyors will propose a rising damp solution that best suits your property and can complete the job from start to finish, including replastering so your home is as good as new.
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