Rising
damp refers to the natural process of dampness in the ground rising
up through the structure of a building. The purpose of a damp proof
course is to prevent this process by establishing a horizontal
barrier sited near the base of a property which prevents the passage
of moisture.
New properties are of course built to include a damp proof course. Unfortunately older properties did not always have this benefit although the older types of mortar and brickwork did possess greater resistance to rising damp than is often the case in today’s buildings. A damp proof course like most things does not last forever and will eventually require replacement. Properties over 80-years old are particularly at risk of damp proof course (DPC) failure.
Once a damp proof course has failed the dampness from the ground will damage internal wall surfaces usually to a height below one metre from the ground floor. Decorations may become discoloured. Plasterwork will crumble and skirting boards decay. Wet rot and dry rot can be caused by rising damp.
Once a damp proof course has failed the dampness from the ground will damage internal wall surfaces usually to a height below one metre from the ground floor. Decorations may become discoloured. Plasterwork will crumble and skirting boards decay. Wet rot and dry rot can be caused by rising damp.
The solution to rising damp in an existing property is a remedial damp proof course. This process involves removing the affected plaster and skirting boards, installing a new chemical based damp proof course, re-plastering with salt resistant plaster and re-fitting the original skirting boards or fitting new ones depending on condition.
Rising damp brings with it destructive nitrate and chloride salts from the ground. These salts can be hygroscopic in nature. Therefore at times of high humidity the salts will absorb moisture from the air adding to the overall damp problem.
Rising damp can affect all ground floor walls or individual walls. Our treatments are sufficiently flexible to deal with all types of installation.
You can download our re-plastering specification here. This download is in .pdf format and you will require Adobe Acrobat reader version 5 or later to open it. You can download Adobe Acrobat reader by clicking here.
In recent years chemical damp proofing has gone through something of a revolution with a movement away from solvent and water-based injection fluids. Safeguard Europe Ltd has taken a leading role in the development of more effective and environmentally-friendly damp proofing products such as ‘Dryzone’ silicone injection cream
Dryzone has the usual long term guarantees and also has BBA performance certification.
If you have an Internet connection, you can view a short video clip of Dryzone installation by choosing your preferred media below.
In addition to Dryzone cream we also install
Tri-gel. Like Dryzone, Tri-gel is water-based and derived from silicone but as the name suggests has a gel rather than cream consistency, providing characteristics that can be more suitable to certain constructions. Tri-gel has BBA certification for performance and carries a long-term guarantee.
