Many older homes and buildings will not have been built with the addition of a damp proofing course, but the newer houses that are built today will have been. This is because they are required by law to have a damp proofing course built in at the time of construction.
Rising damp could appear in your home in a number of different ways. Poor brickwork is one way, or poor pointing another, or the eternal rendering on your home may be cracked is another cause of rising damp, even poor guttering can cause you some serious problems. All of these problems can lead to other problems like dry rot and wet rot in timbers as well.
For specialist advice it is always best to ask a registered builder, qualified contractor or timber preservation expert to visit your home. Ask them for details of their previous customers. If they are a reputable company they will be only too glad to put in you touch with customers who have recently had work completed, if they don’t quickly move on to the next company.
After any damp proofing treatment caused by rising damp your home will more than likely need re-plastering. You will need to make sure that your new plastering prevents damp and salts from returning as you will be back to square one. Once the plastering has been completed you will obviously want to do some kind of decorating, but you will have to make sure that all of the treated areas are completely dry before even contemplating starting to paint. Once the affected and treated areas are dry you should only use a water based emulsion. Vinyl paints or wallpaper should not be administered at this stage of the re-decorating. In some cases where rising damp has been treated you will not be able to wallpaper the walls for up to one year.
Rising damp can be extremely unhealthy to young and old people alike. If it is left untreated for any length of time it can cause serious damage to your health not to mention your home. If you are unsure on which damp proofing treatment is best for you and your home it is best speak to your local damp proofing expert as quickly as you can as they will be able to advise you on what is the best course of action to take.
Contact London Home Counties if you need help and advice with damp proofing !
