Damp Proofing
A lot of what gets diagnosed as rising damp is a failed gutter, blown pointing or a blocked air brick. We look at the outside of the building before we start injecting the inside of it.
- Cause diagnosed first
- External repairs included
- Replastered ready to decorate
- 9.97/10 Checkatrade
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Our company is a top-rated service provider
What it involves
Damp is the one area of this trade with the worst reputation, and mostly it is earned. The quick version is to inject a chemical course, replaster over it and leave. If water is still getting in from outside, that patch comes back within a year or two.
So we survey the outside first. Pointing, gutters, downpipes, ground levels, air bricks. Then we deal with what is happening inside.
Three different problems that look the same
Rising damp comes up from the ground where there is no damp proof course or the existing one has failed. It shows as a tide mark with salt staining, usually under a metre.
Penetrating damp comes through the wall from outside, driven by rain on an exposed elevation, a failed gutter or blown pointing. It follows the weather rather than the floor line.
Condensation is moisture already in the house that has nowhere to go. It shows as black mould in corners, around windows and behind furniture. Injecting a damp course does nothing for it, and plenty of people have paid for exactly that.
How the job runs
Start to finish
- Survey inside and outReadings taken inside, and a proper look at the pointing, gutters, ground levels and ventilation outside. You get told which of the three you have and why.
- External repairs firstRepointing, gutter and downpipe repairs, air bricks. If water is getting in from outside there is no sense treating the inside yet.
- Internal treatmentDamp proof course injection where it is genuinely needed, salt neutralising treatment, and a membrane where the wall calls for it.
- Replastered and handed backPlaster taken back to sound brick rather than patched over, then replastered, skirting renewed and the room left clean and ready to decorate.
The price covers
What is in, and what is not
Both halves matter. A quote that lists everything and excludes nothing is usually hiding the extras until the invoice.
Included
- Full internal and external survey before anything is priced
- Damp proof course injection where it is needed
- Salt neutralising treatment and membrane where the wall calls for it
- Repointing and external repairs to stop the ingress
- Air bricks and ventilation improvements
- Replastering and renewed skirting, ready to decorate
Not included
- Decoration — we leave it ready to paint, once the plaster has dried out
- Underpinning or structural work, which needs a structural engineer
Evidence
Jobs like yours, written up
Evidence-led work
Recent jobs, start to finish
Spray Foam Removal · SheffieldSpray Foam Removal in Sheffield: 50m² Loft Restored50m² · Five working days
Loft Insulation · ManchesterLoft Insulation in Manchester: 100m² Reinsulated to 300mm100m² · Two days- Loft Boarding · PrestonLoft Boarding in Preston: 74m² of Storage Without Crushing the Insulation74m² · Three days
Damp Proofing · ManchesterDamp Proofing in Manchester: Entrance Hall Taken Back and Replastered
Spray Foam Removal · BournemouthSpray Foam Removal in Bournemouth: Roof Reopened and Reinsulated
Loft Insulation · LeedsLoft Insulation in Leeds: Old Insulation Out, 300mm In, 15m² Boarded
Loft Boarding · NottinghamLoft Insulation and Boarding in Nottingham: Raised Deck Over New Wool
FAQs
The things everyone asks
How do you know it is rising damp and not something else?
By looking outside as well as inside. Height and pattern tell you a lot: a tide mark under a metre with salt staining behaves differently from a patch that tracks the weather or mould that appears in cold corners.
How long before I can decorate?
New plaster needs to dry out properly, typically several weeks depending on the room and the time of year. Painting too early traps moisture and you will see it come through.
Do you guarantee the work?
Yes, and the terms are written into the quotation before you agree to anything — what is covered, for how long, and what would fall outside it.
Will the mould come back?
Not if the cause has been dealt with. If it was condensation rather than damp, the fix is ventilation rather than injection, and we will tell you that even though it is the smaller job.
Our other services
Free survey, and a price in writing
No obligation, no doorstep sales. If we are not the right people for the job, we will tell you that instead.