Damp and Timber Specialists for 50 years

Published: 01 July 2021

Introduction

Mr S contacted his local Prokil office in Epsom as he had spotted damp patches throughout the downstairs of his home in New Malden. 

Mr S said in his Checkatrade review “Had rising damp on one external and one internal wall. Jo visited and explained options. Work was then carried out in a very professional way. Would highly recommend.”  Score 9.75/10. 

Damp Survey Findings

Joanne Foster - FranchiseeJo Foster, our Damp and Timber Surveyor visited the property to commence the full investigation of the areas requested. Internally using different types of Protimeter, tests were carried out to all accessible internal walls of the downstairs to check for any abnormalities in the plaster. Jo found evidence of rising damp affecting the property based on high moisture readings detected on the right elevation and central walls which is usually caused by rising damp due to a lack of or defect of the Damp Proof Course (DPC).

 

At the time of the survey Mr S informed Jo that there had been a mains water leak near the property recently. Based on this information and Jo’s observations, the leak may have made the subsite earth more saturated than normal, which may have exacerbated the internal damp issue.

Jo also noted the visual presence of decorative spoilage caused by salts contaminating the plaster. 

The skirting boards in the area were tested with a wood moisture meter and found to have elevated readings at 21.1%. This is higher than the acceptable 18% WMC (wood moisture content) as recommended by the Building Research Establishment. 

Following the damp and timber inspection Jo submitted her report to Mr S, complete with recommendations on preventing further rising damp in the affected areas with the most suitable damp proofing system. Jo also included recommendations for Mr S to monitor an external area where a spillage was noted and a roof inspection may be necessary to rule out any defects. 

The report included a detailed breakdown of the costs to install and carry out the remedial rising damp treatments as requested. 

Getting to Work

Step 1

Carefully taking off all the skirting boards in order to reinstate them after if possible. Preparation of walls by removing the affected plaster to 1 meter high in the hallway and lounge area for the waterproof membrane installation. 

Step 2

A waterproof membrane was then attached to the affected internal walls followed by plasterboard.  In other areas a damp proofing specialist render was applied.

Step 3

To complete the remedial work, all boarded and rendered areas were finished with a multi-finish plaster and existing skirting boards reinstated, leaving the area ready to be decorated by a third party. 

The Finished Result

Once the waterproof membrane installation and plastering was complete, all the rubbish was taken away and the hallway and lounge was left clean and tidy and ready for Mr S to use.

For more information about our rising damp or penetrating damp solutions across the South of England and Wales, get in touch with our friendly team today. Call us on 0800 048 9488 or book a survey.

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