Why is damp proofing important? Damp proofing is important in lots of respects, damp proofing will help protect your property structurally and cosmetically.
Damp problems can cause serious structural problems with masonry/brick work and also in any wooden structures such as floor joists and floor boards. If damp sets in it can rot the joists that support the floor and this can lead to a partial collapse of the floor structure.
Damp can also effect the brick ties, brick ties are devices that hold the external wall course and the internal wall course together. If these ties deteriorate the walls can bow, and repair can be quite costly.
Damp proofing can also help to protect the bricks and mortar of your house, again in some more serious cases of rising damp, the actual brick work can turn soft and powdery.
Damp can also damage plaster work, as the water that is drawn up from the ground contains soluble salts, sulfates and phosphates. Theses salts are left behind after even when the water has dried out and the wall will always appear to be damp.
Damp can also cause cosmetic damage to decorative surfaces like walls and also to internal woodwork the likes of door frames and the bottoms of door casings that are at ground level, and are prone to rot.
Damp can also cause unpleasant smells around the home, it will also cause unsightly black patches on wall and ceilings, there are fungicidal paints and sprays to treat this type of growth, but the only real cure is to find the root cause of the problem and repair it.
What can be done? Depending on what type of damp problem you have there are a number of different damp proofing methods. Rising damp can be treated with a chemical injection this involves drilling a series of hole in to the brick work and injecting the brick with a damp proofing fluid at high pressure, this method is now becoming out dated in favor of more modern and cheaper damp proofing methods. The old injection Damp Proofing method requires a high pressure pump which is expensive to buy and can be quite labor intensive.
The modern damp proofing creams are injected into the mortar joint with a hand held gun similar to a sealant gun, this method is cheaper and less labor intensive.
Other alternatives are damp proofing membrane sheets that are fixed to the wall, onto wooden batons and then covered with plaster board and finally re-skimmed. This method of damp proofing is ideal for cellar and garage conversions, this method is a little more expensive due to the price of the damp proofing membrane, but is a lot quicker compared to the traditional sand and cement render.
Tanking can also be used to damp proof walls, tanking is a specialist coating that is applied to the brick work to act as a damp proofing barrier.
Damp proofing is important and damp problems shouldn’t be ignored, as damp can cause a lot of damage to a property, if you think you have seek professional advice to rectify the problem.