Structural damp should be dealt with promptly – prevention is better than cure.
If you think you have damp, dry rot or other problems telephone 01277 365 580 for free initial advice from an experienced surveyor.
Spalling brickwork directly caused by a defective damp-course.
Neglect can lead to even more expensive damage and affect property values.
Where a damp-course has failed or is otherwise defective, ground water, is drawn into the structure by capillary attraction and is commonly known as “rising damp”.
Destructive sulphates are also carried by the rising damp and will cause dilapidation to plaster and brickwork.
Rising damp will normally be seen as marks on the wall (a characteristic “tide mark ”) up to a height of about 1.2 metres though this may sometimes be more.
Plaster will often show signs of dilapidation and may break and fall away; brickwork and the mortar course may be eroded.
Damp may also leach into structural timbers which if remaining damp for long will rot; under certain conditions dry rot fungus (serpula lacrymans) may take hold. This vigorous growth can penetrate brickwork as well as timber and needs skilled attention to eradicate.
Where damp is coming up through the ground it can be dried out harmlessly with Hydrotek-Wallguard tubes. Installed near the base of affected wall(s) they work silently, cleanly and effectively to keep walls dry.
Structural damp may be caused by any of the following.
- The damp proof course being "bridged" by earth or debris.
- Sheds, greenhouses or other structures close to or touching the
wall - free air movement is needed for a wall to dry out. - A patio installed over a concrete apron or old patio may have
raised the level outside above or too close to the damp proof course. - Surface water building up against the wall during heavy rain.
- Down-pipes or cisterns overflowing.
- Fractured rendering or deterioration of the mortar course (pointing).