Rising Damp Specialists in Elgin
Have you noticed any tidemarks, flaky paint or unstuck wallpaper at the bottom of your walls? If that’s the case, you might be dealing with a rising damp problem. Our property surveyors are highly experienced and can identify the cause of any damp related issue. Contact Elgin branch today for advice or a property survey.
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Rising Damp Problems
Rising damp is moisture rising up brick or masonry walls from the ground. It might sound strange, but your wall can act a bit like a sponge. This movement is called capillarity and is due to an electrical charge drawing moisture up the wall. There are a few rising damp signs that you can look out for and the most common is a stain that looks like a tidemark on your wall, usually within one metre from the floor. If you see this tide mark and sometimes salt deposits on the wall, you might have a rising damp problem that needs to be sorted.
Initially, when buildings are constructed, a rising damp barrier is installed in the form of a damp proof course, which will be an integral part of the construction. However, when this becomes damaged or has not been installed properly or has been “bridged” due to high external ground levels rising damp is often the result.
Damp Treatment & Repairs
Our surveyor will carry out a survey of the affected are before we do anything else to ensure that we know the cause of the problem before taking the correct action. Once we know exactly what remedial action needs to be done, our technicians will carry out the remedial work necessary to solve your rising damp problem.
Depending on the property construction and site conditions, we’ll need to either repair the existing damp proof course or install a totally new damp proofing system. A chemical damp proof course (DPC) can be a cost-effective way of dealing with the problem. The object of the system is to form a continuous unbroken layer of waterproofing material that will create a barrier to dampness rising up the wall from the ground.
The basic procedures are to drill a series of holes in the wall and inject or feed the waterproofing material into the holes. The damp affected plasterwork must be stripped to remove the salt contaminated area and this will be replaced with a renovating plaster or can be covered with a cavity wall membrane system prior to replastering to prevent any visible interior penetration and salt migration which will allow the wall to dry quicker. Don’t worry if this sounds a bit daunting – we’ll determine which system needs to be used and take care of the rest.
Property Survey
Our qualified rot surveyor will closely investigate the affected area and measure the scale of the problem. At Richardson and Starling, we only supply experienced surveyors who are highly trained in all types of rot and damp problems that could affect your property. This means that our surveyor will be able to complete the survey and give the appropriate remedial recommendations no matter what problem is identified.