Rising damp is a serious problem that homeowners need to stop dead in its tracks. Caused by water seeping into brickwork and masonry, rising damp can lead to dangerous structural damage and hazardous health issues such as mould.
Rising damp can affect both external and internal walls, but it’s often more difficult to spot rising damp that’s taken hold on the outside of a building. Learning how to stop rising damp on external walls is important for the safety of your house, so in this article the experts at Danford, Brewer & Ives explain how.
What Is Rising Damp on External Walls?
Rising damp is best defined as an upward movement of water, spreading rapidly from the ground as it moves through walls using capillary action. Rising damp is caused by water seeping into masonry, most commonly from the outside, so it often takes hold on external walls before spreading inside the home.
Rising damp can quickly spread inside from the outside, so learning how to stop rising damp on external walls can help you to contain a damp problem before it causes too much damage. If left untreated, external rising damp can rapidly move inside, causing damage to walls, floors and even ceilings. This can mean costly repairs, structural damage and potentially hazardous mould problems that can prove dangerous to the health of the occupants.
There are several signs you can look for that may indicate you have a rising damp problem on your external walls, including:
- Tide marks on external walls
- Discolouration on external walls
- External walls are damp to touch
- Crumbling masonry or broken brickwork
- Growths of moss on the outside of the home
- Musty, mouldy smells around the home
It’s also possible that you’ll notice damage to the inside of a home, as the rising damp spreads from the outside. You might notice peeling plaster, discolouration, tide marks, damp or mould on internal walls.
How to Stop Rising Damp on Internal Walls
If you notice any signs of rising damp, contact a professional immediately for a damp survey, as they’ll be able to recommend how to stop rising damp on external walls before too much damage has been caused.
The four most effective ways to stop rising damp on external walls are:
- Isolating the source of the damp, be it a broken drainpipe, flooding, etc.
- Removing and replacing damp masonry or bricks affected by rising damp.
- Injecting a chemical damp proof course into the external walls, thereby creating a waterproof barrier to stop rising damp from occurring in the future.
- Removing soil from around the base of an external wall to bring it below any existing damp proof course.
Contact Danford, Brewer & Ives to Find Out More About Rising Damp
For more information and advice on rising damp on external walls, please contact our friendly team on 01765 804050 or fill in our online contact form.
Our experienced specialists will be on hand and ready to offer expert advice tailored to resolve your problem.