Rising damp misdiagnosis costs the UK economy £500 Million every year. Yet there has been no clear, consistent and empirical method of determining rising damp. It is our opinion that rising damp exits, but is rare and wildly overstated, mainly through: conflicts of interest and insufficient investigation. As independent damp surveyors, we have no financial …
Rising damp is a symptom of groundwater in contact with a building. What is rising damp? Rising damp is a form of dampness that occurs, particularly in older buildings, when groundwater rises up through walls, floors and masonry via capillary action, which is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces in opposition …
Capillarity or capillary action is often used to explain why water rises up a wall. What is capillary action? The draw of water up a capillary is a useful analogy for explain why and how water is absorbed into brickwork. The rise is the perpendicular height. The capillary rise depends on the surface area and …
Groundwater is one of four causes of damp. What is groundwater? Why does groundwater act different to rainwater? Groundwater is defined as; “subsurface water below the water table”. There is 100 times more groundwater than water in all the lakes and rivers of the world. Paul l. Younger; Groundwater in the Environment Water is pumped …
The market for rising damp treatment The figure or £200 Million market for rising damp market is widely banded about. Large specialist damp proofers probably account for 50% of the market. Kenwood, Rentokil, Tapco, Peter Cox, Lifecote, Timberwise, ProTen, Rosewood, Bryhill, Swiftcure etc. Frank Schrijver is a dutch system. It may work in theory, but the downside is the …
Health effects of moulds: State of knowledge These are the results of ‘peer reviewed’ scientific/medical papers:“In July of 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its position paper on indoor moulds and Indoor Air Quality. Contrary to what many people in the mould remediation business want to believe, the WHO guidelines reinforced the findings of the 2004 Institute of …
The principles of damp in properties Root cause Damp treatment is most effective and risk free, if the cause is traced back to the source of moisture and stopped. We use a process of elimination. One cause can mask another cause. It rarely takes long to stop water at source, at least temporarily, such as unblocking …
Dry Rot Skirting board – a first floor flat of a mid terrace Victorian property in London Cause of Damp Condensation The London flat had been tenanted and in the sales process a RICS surveyor correctly identified dry rot as a potential risk. The remit was to determine risks and costs. Background the dry rot is …
Interstitial condensation is the term for water condensing within a material (for our purposes – within a wall or ceiling). Interstitial condensation a complex concept in the context of a damp survey. There are 3 distinct types of interstitial condensation 1) Interstitial condensation around external metal Easiest to see is condensation around metal objects touching …
Dry rot is the biggest concern with any damp property and therefore should be considered in every single damp survey. Dr rot is especially virulent in London, by contrast Rising Damp is not an issue in London and ground water is pumped out. Dry rot spores Dr rot pores are omnipresent, that is the micro seeds …
