Penetrating Damp in Walls

Porous  Surfaces Cause Penetrating Dampness Problems in Walls

Whilst having an excess of penetrating damp soaking through our homes  is bad news, there will be no long term damage if remedial action is taken early to treat damp walls.

Visible signs of porous or open masonry surfaces are missing pointing in mortar joints and spalling of brick or stone faces when the outer protective layer has blown off through frost damage as well as the obvious wet or penetrating damp patches on the inside of the house wall.

For damp walls that have been painted or cement rendered in a misguided attempt to cure the penetrating damp problems  you will see the paint peeling off and the tyrolean or pebble dash render will usually have cracks or hollow patches where water gets behind and can soak into the masonry.

The double whammy  is that on frosty nights the water that is held in the body of the masonry will freeze, expand and open up wider cracks and pathways for future rain to enter and spread. This is why we urge you to act as soon as you spot any of the tell tale signs of damp walls.

STOP PENETRATING DAMP 0500 300 407 or click here to email us!

Curing  Penetrating Damp Problems in Brick, Stone & Concrete Walls

If spotted in its early stages  damp walls with penetrating damp  will have only caused minor damage to external brick, stone or concrete surfaces. In this instance it is often possible to effect a minor repair to the damaged mortar joints by repointing missing and loose mortar or repairing small narrow cracks in concrete finishes. In the event of a few badly spalled bricks or stone slips we can chop these out and replace with new ones.

Once the mortar or brick face problem has been repaired and made good we apply a specialist microporous clear weather coating by low pressure spraying the affected damp walls. This is a repeat application until the whole are is water repellant and the damp proofing is then complete.

Penetrating  Damp Wall Problems 0500 300 407 or click here to email us!

This clear coating is that good and effective it comes with its own AXA 10 year Insurance Guarantee. For those of you keen to maintain the appearance of your home then damp walls are best dealt with using our clear coat as the penetrating damp  solution.

For brick or stone walls that have been too badly damaged by rain and frost the best solution is to decorate the whole wall with a breathable specialist coloured wall coating as you would with the below failed sand and cement type renders.

Tyrolean,Pebble Dash,Spar Dash,Cement Render & Penetrating Damp

All these renders are water based and mainly used to cover up spalling or blown brickwork  in an attempt to stop dampness from penetrating into the walls . In reality all these sand and cement based wall renders  act as a virtual concrete sponge – this can  worsen an existing damp problem. Damp Walls affected by penetrating damp are usually prone to blowing and cracking of the surface in frosty conditions.

Up to 1 gallon of water can be held in each square yard of the Cement render/Tyrolean/Pebbledash and Spar Dash coatings with each individual brick potentially able to hold 1.5 pints of water !!

Because water is held in the outer coating and the first 4 inches or so of porous brickwork/blockwork,  low temperatures will freeze this water which then expands as it freezes. Cement render/Tyrolean/Pebble dash and spar dash are brittle and will crack and ‘Blow’  under this expansion pressure. This then opens up more areas for the penetrating damp to get into and the damp walls get worse.

Penetrating  Damp Wall Problems 0500 300 407 or click here to email us!

If you see an older property that has  cracked, blown or damaged wall rendering that has become porous and hollow, it is a safe bet it was more than likely applied in the first place to cover up porous bricks or stone in a bid to protect damp walls from penetrating damp in heavy rain.

Again, depending upon the amount of damage to the exterior render it may be possible to hollow out the cracks, remove the brittle hollow sections and then repair them . Once the wall render is repaired a through coloured water resistant paint coating should be applied but in a few cases the inherent weakness of the tyrolean or pebble dash means more drastic action is called for.

When the rendering has cracked beyond repair the only solution is to remove it completely, clean the wall down and apply a tried and tested water proof coating that will not only look good for years to come but, crucially, will dry out damp walls for good !!

Using Masonry Paint to Stop Dampness in Walls

The final old fashioned way of attempting to stop penetrating damp in wet weather is to paint walls  with  masonry paint, bitumen or have a silicon type spray paint applied. Again, these often fail and  signs of peeling and blistering  paint show there are still damp walls.

As before if caught very early remedial action may be possible but to prevent a re-occurence it is oiften best to completely remove the old failing paint and replace with a coating that stops penetrating damp and guarantees no more damp walls.