Client: Domestic
Our client, a homeowner in Lincoln, tasked Timberwise with conducting a survey to identify the cause of a damp issue within their home. The property was a semi-detached house of solid brick & cavity brick construction, and the property was both occupied and furnished at the time of our visit. The weather was overcast but dry.
Challenges
As with many occupied and furnished properties, the types of decorative finishes and furnishings used can be difficult to navigate around. These could be anything from fitted units in kitchens or bedrooms, fitted floor coverings like laminate or carpet, or tiled walls in bathrooms. The equipment we use is primarily for reading moisture levels on masonry or timber, and so these furnishings can prevent us from taking an accurate reading at the suspected site of any damp concerns. Fortunately, our surveyor was not limited to any specific area of the property during our visit and so could call upon years of experience to navigate around these obstacles and ensure the condition of the property was accurately represented on their report.
Observations
Our surveyor performed an inspection outside of the property and did not notice any obvious defects that would point to a damp concern within the property. Internally, however, there were signs of a damp issue. Moisture readings taken with a conductivity meter from lower sections of plaster in several walls indicated the presence of damp. Conductivity meters are non-destructive and only give an indication of moisture content on masonry but a true reading on timber.
A further inspection found that some of the walls had plaster and render in contact with the floor. This can cause damp to bridge over an existing Damp Proof Course (DPC) and rise further up the wall. This was corroborated by our surveyor’s plotted moisture profiles, which revealed damp not only in the walls but also in the downstairs ceiling. Our surveyor concluded that not only was the damp still present, but historic salt contamination within the plaster was attracting moisture to return repeatedly.
Rising damp can be identified readily in your home. One telltale sign is tidemarks or damp stains: These brown markings often appear around 1 metre up the wall, both internally and externally, and occur when salts have migrated up the wall and attracted moisture back into the wall over time. Another telltale sign is peeling wallpaper or bubbling plaster: These will begin to fail when damp arrives and will often peel fully off (or crumble in the case of plaster) as the damp worsens. Our Identifying Rising Damp page provides more tell-tale signs of rising damp, as well as how to prevent it from getting worse.
Solutions
Based on visual inspections and the instrumental readings obtained at the time of our inspection, our surveyor recommended the installation of our DryTek DPC System to the walls marked on our attached sketch plan. With this system, our technicians would drill holes in mortar joints at pre-determined centres and install the DryTek DPC System. Similarly, they will drill out and inject vertical barriers to prevent abridgement from adjoining masonry. More information can be found on our Damp Proof Course page.
Additionally, our surveyor also recommended that the existing wall plaster be removed and replaced with a salt-retardant specification. This would ensure that the historic salts attracting moisture were removed and prevent the ingress of future salts causing damage to our client’s chosen decoration once the replastering had finished.
Results
Our client was satisfied with the depth of our survey despite the challenges caused by the existing fixtures and fittings. After further discussion with our surveyor, our client agreed to the installation of a new DPC within the property. This was installed by our technicians at just above floor level, ensuring that rising damp could not take hold of the property again any time soon. Our client was overjoyed at the results our work had given them, and were happily planning their redecoration of the property, safe in the knowledge that the guarantee of our work would protect their decoration from further damp problems for years to come.
Do You Want Help with a Rising Damp Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in Lincoln are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 01522 899 291, or you can request a survey online.
