Damp Proofing UK UK (UK): It isn't just the fact that problems with damp look unsightly, they can also cause health problems and lead to serious structural damage. If not treated speedily, the more serious problems can cost thousands to repair, and may be concealed beneath peeling wallpaper and patches of damp. It's generally cheaper in the long run to call in a competent UK damp proofing company to assess your house, and offer an extensive damp proofing remedy for your property.

In UK homes there are 3 principal problem areas of how damp can affect your property:

PENETRATING DAMP

Problems like broken roof tiles, unsound brickwork, defective guttering and cavity wall problems are typical external causes of penetrating damp in your home. From within, it can be triggered by overflowing sinks or baths, burst or leaking pipes and damaged shower trays. If left to continue leaking these factors enable water to soak into the woodwork and walls, which in time lead to damp dark patches on walls, flaking paintwork and broken or blistered plaster.

If neglected for a while, a leaking roof can cause wet rot to arise in the timbers of your roof. Wet rot doesn't spread into the brickwork, but having it can mean that in the worst outcome the timbers of your roof become structurally unsound, necessitating a new roof. If black fungus appears on any woodwork and the timber in your roof feels "spongy" to touch, you could have problems with wet rot.

The means of prevention can be pretty basic, for instance cleaning and checking your gutters and roof for leaks, examining piping for leaks and repointing dodgy brickwork. As an integral part of an overall damp proofing package, your local UK damp proofing specialist will check all these aspects.

CONDENSATION

Quite simple to identify and a cause of damp in a lot of UK homes, condensation is very common. Small water droplets form on cool surfaces when they come into contact with humid, warm air. It often arises due to poor ventilation in places where high humidity is present, i.e. bathrooms, kitchens and boiler rooms.

To stop condensation problems, easy solutions include making sure there's sufficient ventilation in the affected areas, and wiping up any droplets as they arise. The steps needed might involve the upgrading or installation of air bricks, cooker hoods and extractors, with the intention of redirecting moisture laden air outside of your home in UK.

A damp proof survey from an established UK company may also find areas which contribute to the problem by sucking in moist air from the outside. To satisfactorily control condensation problems, airflow must be properly regulated. A knowledgeable UK damp proofing technician will be happy to offer solutions and advice to accomplish this in your home.

RISING DAMP

Ever since 1875, a damp proof course has been fitted as standard in all homes constructed in the United Kingdom. It's possible that you might not have one fitted if your house in UK was built before this year. If you're suffering with rising damp in a home constructed after this time it might be that your damp proof membrane or course has been somehow or other.

Rising damp can be rather difficult to distinguish, but some things to keep an eye out for are; tide marks on walls, white powdery deposits appearing on walls or being found on floor surfaces and rotten or crumbling skirting boards. While the existence of these is not conclusive, they're all indications of rising damp issues.

Solving rising damp problems can be as straightforward as checking your external walls and seeing if you can see a damp proof course. It should be 150mm (about six inches) above the level of the ground for adequate protection. You can dig the surrounding earth away to create this space if it is currently not enough, or you can install a higher damp course if the former is not possible.

You may have more serious issues if you learn that your DPM is fine, and it could be that the dampness is rising up from the ground, through your flooring, and into your home's walls, which can be even more of a concern.

Using a number of different methods, damp proofing professionals in UK can quickly detect and remedy rising damp issues. A damp proofing cream (such as Permaguard or Dryzone) can be carefully injected into your walls if you've got a somewhat older house with no DPM, or one that's damaged over a significant area. This cream is injected with a special nozzle into evenly spaced holes drilled along the mortar joint, and before the cream can set it turns into liquid and penetrates into the surrounding brickwork forming a barrier that is repellent to water.

In cases where damp proofing injection cream isn't a suitable solution, or where your damp course membrane is extensively damaged, installing a new damp proof course might be neccessary. While this sort of repair work is a fairly extreme way to solve rising damp issues, it might be the only real solution when all is said and done.

Another remedy for less severe areas of damage could include painting with a waterproof (bitumen based) latex emulsion. This will be applied beneath your current floor coverings, so wooden flooring, tiles and carpeting must be lifted before any work is undertaken. In cellar areas this is a particularly effective treatment, and will form an integral part of the "tanking" procedure that is used to make rooms watertight. For extra protection in those troublesome areas, your UK damp proofing expert may suggest the use of building paper (a foil backed specialist membrane) before the bitumen coating has dried completely.

Tanking: Tanking a room, such as a cellar or basement, is the process of covering any exposed surfaces in a waterproof paint. All wall coverings and plaster must be taken off and the pertinent surfaces correctly prepared before any work begins, since this waterproof coating must be applied at the base level of floors and walls. When this coating has been put on, it must be permitted to dry completely before replastering any wall surfaces and decorating over the top of it. This is an extremely disruptive job since it has to be applied to a whole basement level or ground floor of a property, and it's wise to obtain more than one expert's opinion about whether this really is the only remedy for your rising damp.

SOLVING DAMP PROBLEMS WITH DEHUMIDIFIERS

Problems with condensation can certainly be improved by means of dehumidifiers, which are a highly efficacious way of lowering the moisture content in the air. Because dehumidifiers primarily hide the cause of the damp and not get rid of it, there are issues with this solution. If you are suffering with mould or damp in any part of your home in UK, you can get hold of a certified damp proofing company for the best advice.

FINDING A DEPENDABLE DAMP PROOF COMPANY IN UK

As with any home improvement project, the best recommendations for a local professional come from friends and relations. If possible you should try to get at least two or three different estimates from a variety of companies, and before signing up to any specific damp proof services, you should ask to see qualifications and professional membership certificates, as proof of their trustworthiness.

Professional UK damp proofing specialists should be members of either the PCA (Property Care Association) or the DPA (Damp Proofing Association), or have accreditations from the Certificated Surveyor of Timber and Dampness or the Certificated Surveyor in Remedial Treatments (CSRT).

You can guarantee that your damp proofing provider is properly qualified and has the required practical experience to offer a top notch damp proofing service, if they are members of either the PCA or DPA. It also offers guarantees on any remedial work completed by one of their members.