Damp Proofing Kettering

Damp Proofing Kettering Northamptonshire (NN15): You should be seriously worried if you have problems with damp in your house in Kettering, because in addition to looking unattractive, damp can cause health issues and affect the structural condition of your building. Damp patches, flaking paintwork and peeling wallpaper can hide far more serious problems, which could cost thousands of pounds to repair if they're not quickly resolved. To provide a complete damp proofing treatment for your property, it is much more cost effective in the long run to contact an experienced Kettering damp proofing specialist to check out your property.

Basically, in relation to damp in the home there are three principal problem areas:

PENETRATING DAMP

Penetrating damp can be caused by a variety of external factors for example: broken roof tiles, blocked cavity walls, damaged guttering or downspouts and unsound brickwork. Inside your Kettering home, penetrating damp can result from overflowing sinks or bathtubs, damaged shower trays and dripping or burst pipes. If left uncontrolled, woodwork and walls can be seriously affected, and the certain indicators of this will be blistering or broken plaster, damp, dark patches on walls and peeling or bubbling paintwork.

If left untreated for quite some time, a leaking roof can cause wet rot in your roof timbers. Although it's fortunate that wet rot does not have an impact on brickwork, in the worst case, you may need a roof replacement (very expensive!) if the timbers of your roof become unsound structurally. A unique musty odour, a "spongy" feel to your rafters and indications of a black fungus, could all suggest the existence of wet rot.

You shouldn't panic however, because to stop these problems occurring, a few simple steps such as inspecting pipes for leaks, cleaning your roof & rain gutters and checking for leaks and repointing brickwork, should reduce such issues. A certified Kettering damp proof specialist will check all of these areas in order to help prevent any future problems, as an element of solving your issues with damp.

CONDENSATION

There are numerous factors that cause dampness in the home, but condensation is among the most common and easily noticed. When cooler surfaces make contact with warm, humid air, tiny water droplets form on those cold surfaces. Inadequate ventilation in places with a high level of humidity, for example in bathrooms, boiler rooms and kitchens, is the most common reason behind condensation.

To minimise the impact of this issue there are a couple of basic steps that you can follow. You can mop up any water droplets as soon as they form, and you can ensure that there is plenty of ventilation in areas that most suffer from condensation. You might need to install or upgrade extractors, cooker hoods and air bricks, in order to redirect excess humid and moist air from your property in Kettering.

A damp proofing survey by a reliable Kettering specialist could also find areas which exacerbate the situation by drawing in moist air from outside. To adequately control condensation, airflow needs to be properly regulated. A competent Kettering damp proofing company is well qualified to offer advice and solutions to accomplish this in your home.

RISING DAMP

Since 1875, a damp proof course or membrane has been compulsory in all houses built in the United Kingdom. If your property was built before this period it's possible that you might not have one installed. If you are suffering with rising damp in a property constructed after this date it might be that your DPM has been damaged in some way.

Although quite difficult to distinguish, crumbling or rotten skirting boards, tide marks on walls and a white powdery deposit appearing on walls or being found on floor surfaces, are all giveaway clues that you may have rising damp. Although the existence of these is not conclusive, they're all clear indicators of rising damp problems.

Solving rising damp issues can be as easy as checking your outside walls to see if you can spot a DPM. For satisfactory protection it needs to be 150 millimetres (about 6 inches) above the level of the ground. If you find that this space does not exist, you could dig away the soil to increase it, or if this process isn't possible, a higher damp proof membrane (DPM) will have to be installed.

If your damp proof membrane is installed and in order and the gap from the ground is not the cause of the problem, moisture might be rising up through your floors and into your walls, which might be a much more serious issue.

Kettering damp proofing experts will swiftly be able to identify the explanation for your rising damp, and employing a number of different procedures will quickly resolve the problem. If you've got a somewhat older home with no damp proof membrane or one that is damaged over a significant area, a damp proofing cream can be injected into your walls. Holes will be drilled at intervals along the brickwork, and a nozzle is used to inject the special cream, which then diffuses before curing to form an effective water-repellent barrier.

In situations where damp proofing cream isn't a suitable solution, or when your DPM is too severely damaged, putting in a brand new damp proof course might be neccessary. Though this is naturally a pretty drastic approach, it could be the only way to solve your rising damp in an effective way.

Painting with a bitumen based, waterproof latex emulsion, is yet another potential solution for less severe areas of membrane damage. Wood flooring, carpeting or tiles will have to be lifted prior to work being done, since it is applied under your existing floor coverings. Also used as an integral part of the tanking process to create a waterproof room, this is an especially effective treatment in basements. Your Kettering damp proof specialist may suggest applying building paper (a specialist foil backed membrane) before the bitumen paint has dried completely, additional protection in such problem areas.

Tanking: Tanking a room, such as a cellar or below ground area, is the process of coating exposed surfaces in a waterproof paint. All plaster and wall coverings must be removed and the surfaces in question correctly prepared before the commencement of any work, as this coating must be applied on the base surface of floors and walls. When this paint has been put on, it should be allowed to dry thoroughly before replastering and decorating on top of it. You must invariably obtain more than one expert's opinion on whether this really is the only answer to your damp problems, as this is a very disruptive process as it needs to be applied to a whole basement level or ground floor of a building.

SOLVING DAMP PROBLEMS WITH DEHUMIDIFIERS

Dehumidifiers are a highly effective way to remove moisture from the air, hence for condensation issues they can be of help. The main issue with dehumidifier use in attempting to stop dampness is that they merely hide the cause of the damp, not cure it. A certified damp proofing company in Kettering will be glad to give you advice on the best solution if you're experiencing dampness in any part of your property.

FINDING A REPUTABLE DAMP PROOF EXPERT IN KETTERING

Friends and relatives should always be the first port of call when you're trying to get recommendations for local professionals. When possible you should try to acquire at least three different estimates from a number of companies, and before hiring any particular damp proofing services, you should ask to look at professional membership certificates and accreditations, as proof of their integrity.

Look for qualifications and membership from bodies such as the PCA (Property Care Association) or the Damp Proofing Association, or contractors holding the Certificated Surveyor in Remedial Treatments (CSRT) or the CSTDB (Certificated Surveyor of Timber and Dampness) accreditations.

Membership of the DPA or PCA guarantees your chosen damp proofing provider is well qualified and has the appropriate experience to provide a high quality damp proof service. Any remedial work supplied by one of their members is also guaranteed.

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Damp Proofing Near Kettering

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Kettering Damp Proofing Tasks

There is a wide range of work that can be conducted by your local Kettering damp proofing specialist including rendering repairs, flood defence, damp proofing surveys in Kettering, damp course installation, basement damp proofing Kettering, timber surveys, cellar tanking Kettering, damp proof coursing in Kettering, industrial damp proofing Kettering, property preservation Kettering, damp proofing in bedrooms, cavity wall construction, home damp proofing in Kettering, damp proofing services, damp proof cream applications, damp proofing concrete floors, condensation solutions, timber preservation, penetrating damp treatment, damp proofing walls Kettering, wall damp proofing in Kettering, leak detection in Kettering, damp proof tanking, retaining wall damp proofing Kettering, timber treatments Kettering, the treament of efflorescence Kettering, exterior damp proofing Kettering, foundation damp proofing, landlord damp proofing services in Kettering, residential damp proofing Kettering, damp proofing a cellar in Kettering, vapour barrier installation, damp proofing assessments, dehumidifier installation, invasive weed control, and lots more. These are just a few of the duties that are performed by those specialising in damp proofing. Kettering providers will keep you informed about their full range of damp proofing services.

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