Damp Problems: Rising Damp and its Control
The single best way to correctly identify, diagnose and then remedy your damp problem is to have a qualified, professional damp surveyor to inspect your property.
At Aquarend, we have a team of fully qualified and specialist surveyors who are trained to national standards to efficiently diagnose all manner of damp and damp related problems.
Rising Damp
Rising damp is basically moisture that rises up through the structure of a building through capillary action and can occur for several reasons:
The building could have been constructed without a damp proof course (DPC) installed; this is quite often the case in older buildings and structures.
- The existing DPC has broken down and is failing.
- The existing DPC being “bridged” sometimes due to the incorrect application of exterior render or internal plasters.
- The external ground level or internal floor level may have changed.
- Brick, stone and mortar are all porous materials. This porous nature can allow moisture to rise from the ground, up by capillary action bringing with it ground salts such as sulphates, chlorides and nitrates. These salts are hygroscopic and readily absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere.
Some Signs of Damp:
- Peeling Wallpaper
- Stained walls
- Musty Smells
- Staining to Ceilings
- Rotten Skirting Boards
- Salty Brickwork
- Mould
Any one of the above signs could indicate a rising damp problem.
The only certain way to diagnose your damp problem is to have a professional damp surveyor to inspect your property.
How to Control Rising Damp
There are several highly effective methods to control Rising Damp, the two main methods being:
Chemical Injection – suitable for many types of construction, especially brickwork.
Mortar Injection – suitable for many types of construction, especially stone masonry.
In many cases, once the rising damp is effectively controlled the affected internal walls will require re-plastering using integral waterproofers and salt inhibiters.
Aquarend are approved installers of the following systems from the industry’s leading damp proof manufacturers including:
Safeguard – Dryzone System:
Dryzone is a special damp-proofing cream that is introduced along the mortar course at regular intervals by injecting it into pre-drilled holes. The Dryzone then diffuses before curing to form a continuous water-repellent barrier. This prevents the damp from rising up the wall. Since the 1950s, liquid chemical injection systems, which work in a similar way have been used to treat rising damp with a high degree of success.
Triton systems:
Tri-Gel
Unique water based gel for the treatment of rising damp
- BBA approved
- No need for electric pumps on site
- Cartridge gun or compression pump application
Triton’s “new generation” DPC formula is a ready to use, water based and water soluble thixotropic gel which diffuses naturally into damp substrates. After injection, Tri-Gel reacts to form a water repellent silicone resin network within the capillaries of the substrate. This network is permeable to water vapour which means that the walls can “breathe” and dry out naturally. The formulation is not reliant on alkalinity for effective curing. Tri-Gel can be used effectively to treat brick, stone and other substrates.
Tri-Cream
A unique silicone emulsion cream for injection into brickwork etc. for the control of rising dampness. Tri-Cream can be used in all types of masonry without the use of high pressure equipment. The cream is delivered by hand pressure from a simple displacement pump and injector lance into a series of holes drilled into the mortar course. migrating rapidly into the masonry pores, the injection cream reverts to a liquid phase and polysiloxanes are formed in situ.
SikaMur-InjectoCream :
SikaMur-InjectoCream is a new concept for the control of rising damp. SikaMur-InjectoCream is a water repellent cream. It is inserted into a series of holes drilled into a mortar course of the masonry by means of a simple application gun – no special injection pump required. Once injected to the mortar course, SikaMur -InjectoCream will diffuse within the damp wall to form a water repellent barrier (Damp-Proof Course, DPC) and block future rising damp.
At Aquarend our surveyors and technicians are experts in all forms of rising damp, their diagnosis and treatments.