Damp in old houses Damp, Condensation,Penetrating Damp and Rising Damp
Damp in old houses. The dilemma of dampness caused by condensation in old houses Not just a dilemma for the house owners it’s also a dilemma for those of us who are tasked with curing or sorting it out.
Damp in old houses. To explain in more detail. After world war two there was a house building boom which incorporated lots of new modern materials and building techniques all introduced with saving money in mind. Some of the architects ideas, methods and materials have been proved to be very bad indeed.
The new house that I was born in (part of a new town) won the designer a knighthood. It was demolished along with the rest of the development 30 years later. No one would think of building a house or refurbishing a house with a 30 year life expectancy.
The reason for the demolition was damp and wood rot. It was during this time that Rising Damp was thought of as a major problem in all types of homes. This spawned a massive “Damp Prevention” industry with services and products such as Electrode-Osmosis Damp Proofing systems, Rising Damp specialists, Damp proofing companies, Injected chemical damp proof courses and so on. Making many people very rich indeed.
They where and still are aided by the damp surveyors (salesmen) hand-held meter which is said to measure the humidity in a wall. What it actually measures is the electrical conductivity of a surface not damp. In order not to damage or mark your paint work the surveyor will touch the wall not force the probes deep inside the plaster so all that they are measuring is the humidity on the paint or wallpaper which is in most cases purely condensation.
This professor with his meter must be right so we pay up. Make no mistake condensation is a nasty ugly thing that makes houses hard to live in comfortably and can produce conditions where paint and wallpaper fall off walls, insects abound and microscopic spores breed which can cause respiratory problems to inhabitants. Don’t worry its fairly easy to resolve the problem of damp – go you our website for examples
www.casteloconstruction.com Here are the main causes of damp in old houses.
Ground levels outside higher than inside Missing or broken guttering or missing rainwater down-pipes Vegetation growing near an external wall Trees creating shade and holding moist air near an external wall Badly sealed terraces Badly sealed verandas Badly sealed external stairs Badly sealed railing mounting points Lack of ventilation Furniture (large objects like wardrobes) against walls creating cold areas Groundwater penetration In part two of this blog we will tell you how to fix all of these problems www.casteloconstruction.com
Further information on damp in old houses
https://www.casteloconstruction.info/category/damp-house/ https://www.casteloconstruction.info/2015/07/22/property-survey-3/ https://www.casteloconstruction.info/2015/05/13/cold-damp-portugal/ https://www.casteloconstruction.info/2015/07/21/injecting-damp-proof-cream-portugal/
https://www.casteloconstruction.info/2014/12/18/humidity-home/
