Damp: The Silent Assailant
The Tech Specs
Rising damp is the term for the slow vertical movement of water in the lower regions of walls and other ground supported structures. Even though rising damp can be seen up to 5 meters in height, typically it can usually be seen at much lower levels and is rarely above 1.5m. Rising damp has been widely observed for at least two hundred years and there is strong evidence that suggests that it was a problem understood as early as the Roman and Ancient Greek era. Rising damp is often misdiagnosed in buildings and as such something as simple as a wall stain can appear as rising damp due to misinterpreting the visual evidence of the wall and the readings of moisture meters.
In more simple terms, rising damp occurs when ground water moves upwards through porous building materials like brick, sandstone, or mortar, much in the same way that oil travels vertically through the wick of a lamp. You can duplicate these effects in your own experiment by simply placing a piece of porous brick, stone, or mortar into a shallow tray of water and watching how the water is absorbed into the porous material and makes it way above the water line.
Rising damp can be identified by a single characteristic known as a "tide mark" on the lower section of an affected wall. This tide mark is caused by salts contained in the groundwater and due to the effects of evaporation these salts accumulate at the "peak" of the rising damp.
Rising damp treatment
In many cases, damp is created by "bridging" of a damp proof course that is otherwise working effectively. When a rising damp problem is because of improper creation of a damp proof course or by a failed damp proof course there are a wide range of solutions that are available. These include:
- Replacing the physical damp proof course, and
- Injecting a liquid or cream chemical damp proof course (DPC Injection)
Feel free to Contact Us directly if you would like to discuss upgrading your home. We know this can be an exciting step for you so will handle your needs and concerns with the same care that we would handle our own.
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