What is Rising Damp Property & Damp Proofing

Rising damp is a topic of water damage that is commonly occurring in many homes. It’s actually one of the most commonly discussed versions that happen, and despite the debates you can find out that rising damp is very common and can occur to anyone. In this guide, we’ll tell you what rising damp is and how you can make your property damp proof and end up nipping it in the rear with rising damp specialists,so you don’t ever have to deal with the problems again.

What Exactly Causes Rising Damp and What Is It?

Rising damp is actually a different type of dampness that causes numerous problems with buildings. Ground water actually ends up getting sucked up through the walls because of interior deterioration causing capillaries that allow the water come up and cause further damage. This can be water from crawl spaces, as well as water from the ground in general, or from your basement if you have a problem with moisture. It can even get sucked up through little tubes in your foundation bricks and then it gets absorbed by drywall and other materials that are normally porous.

The way rising damp is caused is because even though most walls will have a “damp proof” layer on the foundation which is often a layer of slate between bricks and sometimes through normally wear and tear, or even construction issues, this can be damaged and end up faulting. Sometimes even debris in the cavity of your subfloor can cause this occurrence, or if your home begins to settle below the DPC you can end up having more problems and experiencing this issues. Other faults that allow the DPC (damp proof course) to be bypassed and let moisture in.

Some People Think it’s a Myth

As the title says, there are people who doubt that this is possible, but there is also diagnosis of rising damp that can be accurate. Most of the time is that there are unqualified “experts” who don’t diagnose the problem wrong, and the water damage remains an issue. Sometimes rising damp is actually confused with condensation, which is the most popular reason why some people debate whether it really exists, however it has been proven in some cases, and most importantly the best way to look for it is actually on the external compound in the bricks and mortar of the buildings.

Conclusion

Despite the debates, rising damp really is a true thing. As mentioned before, since it affects both the external walls and the internal walls, you need to rule out any condensation from anything. In order to look for it, there are many common signs, such as dark patches on the walls that are damp (on both the outside and the inside), salt deposits on the outer walls, and a damp and musty or mildew smell both inside the room and on the outside of the house.

In order to protect your home, you probably need a qualified damp surveyor to take a good look at your home, and then more than likely this will help you sort through the right contractors you’ll need to rectify your situation.