Damp Treatment: Penetrating and Rising Damp

Your house suffers from damp when there is unwanted moisture and water in the property. This can be in the walls, ceilings or floors, which lingers around and causes damp in your home. Damp can occur for a variety of reasons, such as water ingress as a result of external damage to your property, or moisture absorbing from the ground as rising damp. Although a small patch of damp may appear to be a minor issue, if not treated urgently then your problem will get worse. This can also create issues such as wet rot, causing more damage to your property.

Properties can suffer from a variety of damp issues, including penetrating and rising damp. Our damp proofing services treat both penetrating and rising damp. For effective damp treatment in your property, we survey the home to diagnose the exact type of damp impacting your property. This allows us to specify and carry out the best treatment option. It can be tricky to tell the difference, so we’ve put together a blog post on the tell-tale signs of the two damp issues. This is also helpful for anyone who hopes to prevent damp, so you know exactly what to avoid.

Rising Damp

Rising damp occurs when water moves up through your walls or floors via capillary action. This is the means by which groundwater travels through brickwork, and collects on the surface of internal walls, causing a damp problem. Often, this happens due to a lack of damp proofing, or damage to the property that is allowing moisture into the structure.

Rising damp can impact all homes, both old and new. Older homes are commonly impacted due to their lack of damp treatment, or the breakdown of one they previously had. Within newer buildings, damaged home improvements are more commonly the cause of the problem. A fault such as a roof tile breaking can cause water ingress due to a gap that allows water into the building. Damp treatment for rising damp includes: a chemical damp proof course, cementitious tanking, and damp proofing membrane.

Signs of rising damp

• Damp patches that start at the base of the wall and travel upwards
• Damp plaster and skirting boards
• Peeling paint and wallpaper
• Tide marks on your walls
• White powdery deposits on your walls

Penetrating Damp

Penetrating damp occurs when damp travels through from the outside of your building into your property. Unlike rising damp, penetrating can occur at any level in your property, not just ground level. This includes roofs, ceilings and walls.

When it is found that you have penetrating damp, it is important to discover what is causing the problem. Typically, penetrating damp is caused by damages to houses that allow water ingress, such as cracks, ageing issues and deteriorated plaster. Allerton Damp offer damp treatment for penetrating damp, such as: damp proofing membrane, a chemical damp proof course, and StormDry.

Signs of penetrating damp

• Damaged plaster
• Damp patches on walls that do not dry out
• Black mould growth
• Musty damp smell
• Damaged timber
• Leaky roof

Rising and Penetrating Damp Treatment

Allerton Damp is a leading company of damp proofing specialists, offering damp treatment for your home. Get in touch with us as soon as you notice you are suffering from damp and our CSRT Surveyors will visit your home. Contact us for your free survey appointment today.