Residential rising damp treatment, Sydney and NSW
Rising Damp in Your Home
What Rising Damp Looks Like in a House
Most homeowners call me after they have already tried something. The wall was repainted, the skirting replaced, or someone sealed it. A few months later the same marks are back.
Rising damp is ground water travelling up through brick, stone and mortar because the damp proof course at the bottom of the wall has failed, been bridged, or was never there. As the water dries out of the wall it leaves salt behind, and the salt does most of the damage.
The signs I see in Sydney homes every week are a tide mark on internal walls up to about a metre high, paint bubbling or turning powdery, white salt on plaster or brick, drummy render at the base of external walls, rotting skirting boards, and a musty smell in the ground floor rooms.
My quotes cover the inspection, a new damp proof course injected with Silonexx, and the render or plaster repairs needed afterwards.
Why Repainting and Sealers Don't Work
Paint, waterproof sealers and new plaster over a wet wall only hide the problem. Salt keeps building up behind the coating, the wall stays wet, and the damage climbs higher up the wall looking for somewhere to dry out.
The fix has to happen at the base of the wall. A new damp proof course stops the water rising, then the salt contaminated plaster or render is removed and replaced with a salt resistant render. Do one without the other and the job fails. More on this in rising damp myths.
Before anything is quoted, I work out what is actually wrong. Not every damp wall is rising damp. Leaking downpipes, garden beds built up against the wall, blocked subfloor vents, leaking showers and condensation all leave marks that look similar. Treating those as rising damp wastes your money, so I check for them first. See rising damp explained for how to tell the difference.
How I treat rising damp in a home:
- Inspection and moisture readings, with a video quote
- Removal of salt damaged plaster or render
- A new chemical damp proof course injected with Silonexx
- Re-rendering or re-plastering with a salt resistant system
- Better subfloor ventilation where it is needed
- A written warranty on the treatment
Most houses are done in a few days. Your quote states the number of days and exactly which walls are being treated, and the treatment is backed by a money back guarantee.