Damp in old properties
Using the wrong materials reduces your wall's ability to evaporate moisture correctly, trapping it in the walls - damp walls are colder, unsightly & prone to mould. Something as simple as painting your house with the wrong product can trap moisture in your walls.
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Be cautious when dealing with damp specialists & look into the products they are trying to sell you - it might be possible to cover a problem up but there's no guarantee that it won't return & it could magnify the costs involved with putting it right later down the line.
Avoid;
Cement/Gypsum products
Plastic/Resin products
Tanking
Sealants
Injection DPC
Damp proof paints
The science
Breathability is a blanket term for permeability, capillarity & hygroscopicity... Modern damp proofing methods will often harm the fabric of the building & at best cover up the damp issue.
Sealing or tanking your walls won't solve the issue as the slightest crack will draw in moisture, moisture will always be present within a solid wall, it should be allowed to evaporate naturally.
Any plastering, rendering or pointing preformed on a solid wall should be done with a breathable Lime based material.
Porous materials
Soft building materials like old bricks, Lime mortar & stone are very porous, they are like sponges & absorb water. If sealed they can no longer release the moisture properly.
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Capillary action
Liquid water being able to move through the wall. Often misdiagnosed as "rising damp" - watch out for injection DPC that will often be sold to you as the cure for this, the main cause is the use of impervious materials & wrong ground levels.
Permeability
Water vapours ability to move through the wall naturally, your internal walls should absorb excess water vapour from breathing, cooking and showering, the external face of the wall can then evaporate the excess moisture.
Damp survey
When you get in touch about your damp problems, we now offer a written survey in which you receive a detailed report highlighting the issues, suggesting remedies, and giving a price to solve the issues found. We will recommend the best course of action.
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Please note that we are not RICS accredited. Due to high demand, we are no longer able to come out and give free advice. Our detailed report will include an estimate to fix each issue and will include advice as to what you can do to help remedy the problem.
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Get in touch to arrange a survey from £95.
