Rising Damp Stirling
Have you noticed flaking paint on any walls in your property? This alongside unstuck wallpaper and tidemarks may suggest a rising damp problem. The expertise available at our Stirling branch will ensure an accurate diagnosis of the source of your damp issue and the most appropriate solution being offered. Contact Stirling based rising damp specialists today to discuss your problem or arrange a property survey.
- 30 Year Guarantee
- Award-Winning Contractor
- Experienced & Qualified, Stirling Surveyors & Technicians
What Causes Rising Damp?
Home > Rising Damp > Moisture rising up through masonry or brick walls from the ground is rising damp. Liquid has a potentially harmful ability to act against gravity and flow upwards through narrow spaces. Bricks and mortar can be extremely porous due to the large quantities of capillaries which water can travel upwards through. This results in your wall acting almost like a sponge in soaking up water from the ground.
A damp-proof course (DPC) will be installed when properties are built. This is designed to act as a preventative measure against rising damp by not allowing water access to the brickwork or mortar composites of the wall above the DPC. Damp-proof courses will normally consist of materials like slate, bitumen or plastic which are resistant to water. A poorly installed or damaged damp-proof course leaves your home susceptible to rising damp. This is a critical element towards your home being built upon solid foundations. No damp-proof course being installed in your home means that you have no protection against water travelling up your walls from the ground.
How To Identify Rising Damp
Signs of Rising Damp:
- Dark damp patches on walls
- Damp musty smells
- Lower surface temperature at the lower half of the wall
- Visible rotting of floor timber
- Crumbling or wrinkled plaster
- Tidemark looking stains
- Visible salt deposits
- Discolouration of plaster and damage to decoration
Walls on the ground floor of properties are the only walls which can be affected by rising damp. Moisture from the ground that surrounds your property is pulled up the walls and results in your rising damp issue. If the damp issue you have identified is on walls on the first floor or above it is likely you are suffering from a penetrating damp problem or condensation.
To get more knowledge on the tell-tale signs of rising damp access our Rising Damp FAQ page or contact our Stirling branch for advice or to arrange a property survey.
Rising Damp Treatment & Repairs
We can send out specialists to your home to extensively survey the affected area to ensure the accurate diagnosis of the source of your damp problem. Misdiagnosis at this stage can hugely impact the effectiveness of any provided solution and greatly increase the amount of time and money required to resolve the issue. Reach out to our Stirling based rising damp specialists today who will provide an accurate diagnosis before providing the most effective solution.
What our specialist will do:
- Carry out an extensive survey of the affected area to identify the type of damp problem
- Locate the source of your problem (How the water is getting into your walls)
- Analyse the situation before informing you of the most efficient steps to eradicate your damp problem
- Present you with an easily understandable survey report
- Provide the best treatment solution
After our specialists have thoroughly analysed your property situation, they will then carry out the remedial work necessary to solve your rising damp problem. Obviously dependent on the property construction and site conditions, our rising damp specialists will either fix the existing damp proof course or install an entirely new system. A chemical damp proof course is an efficient technique to deal with rising damp. The system consists of a continuous unbroken layer of waterproofing products which acts as a prevention barrier stopping dampness from rising up the wall from the ground.
Standard rising damp treatment procedures involve drilling numerous holes in an affected wall and injecting waterproofing material through these holes. Damp plasterwork will be stripped in order to remove all salt contaminated areas which we will replace with a cavity wall membrane system before re-plastering. This may come across as a little daunting, but don’t worry our specialists will inform you of what treatment solution is most appropriate for your situation.
Property Survey
Our rising damp specialists 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.
30 Year Guarantee
Free automatic transfer to the new property owner if sold.
After eight decades of successful property surveys and repairs, we’re confident to offer you a 30 Year Guarantee that transfers with the Property.
Richardson & Starling are long-standing members of the Property Care Association (PCA) and the Guarantee Protection Insurance scheme (GPI). This demonstrates our ability to meet technical and financial requirements to offer an insurance back-up to our own long term guarantees if you would like this.