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Can you stop stone and brick walls from getting damp?
The simple answer is YES, but there are a range of issues surrounding the question and the answer!
The main issue around whether a wall is damp or not is that diagnosing damp is an art not a science per se. Common damp meters use electrical resistance to measure damp and this is fine for timbers, but for walls it requires a lot of interpretation. High readings can come from salts in mortars, old lead based paint etc, so not always water. So where you take measurements can radically affect the advice that you are given. So some companies who are trying to sell you damp proofing measures can use these meters to show that you need treatment when you might not.
So that's the issue with defining whether you have damp, but assuming that you do actually have a damp problem the next issue is where is it coming from.
We have all heard of rising damp, but many houses in Wales suffer from penetrating damp. This is water that is blown, or diverted into the structure. This can be through cracks in pointing, cracks in render, leaking rainwater goods, blocked guttering, failed seals around doors and windows, ...
Damp can also be caused by condensation. This might be due to poor heating, ventilation, high humidity from indoor activities. Again this needs to be assessed by looking at heating and ventilation strategies and infrastructure. Do the windows have trickle vents, have the chimneys been blocked??
Rising damp might be due to a range of factors including external ground levels, the presence of replacement concrete floors, blocked under floor ventilation, ...
As you can see, damp can be difficult to diagnose. However, it is really important to ascertain where the source of any unwanted water is coming from.
Once you know what the problem is, you can start to find the cure. However, the cure will be influenced by the history of the building and the materials that were used to built it in the first place. This means the make up of the basic structure and also the materials used to repair, maintain and develop it over time. This building pathology work is key to refining the diagnosis and will hence help lead to an appropriate solution being found.
I cannot go into any great detail here as each building is different and requires specialist individual advice. However, the question was is it possible to damp proof these old buildings. The answer you might remember was yes, so what are the solutions?
1. Rising damp
If you do indeed have rising damp then you might need to:
- Lower the external ground level
- Re-instate ventilation under the floor boards
- Remove cement render from the outer walls
- Re-point the bricks / stone with a lime mortar
- Re-render using a lime render
All of these are potentially permanent solutions, however they are fairly major bits of work, so most people just want to inject something into the wall. This is potentially possible and it depends on a range of factors, one of which is whether the wall is made from solid brick or stone. These walls are fundamentally different in their nature and it is easier to apply modern injection treatments to brick walls.
Damp that is rising in a brick wall can be treated quite effectively using creams like DryZone. However even here you see companies injecting the damp proof cream into the bricks rather than the mortar. So with care this type of product can be part of a solution (but not if your damp is due to condensation or penetrating damp). However it won't work in stone walls (unless you have an even mortar bed at the correct height - like in ashlar walls).
Stone walls are fundamentally 'moist' in nature and so need a more holistic approach that is based on material science. The solutions here are much more likely to follow the bullet pointed measures above. It might also need to be combined with addressing ventilation issues, as stone walls need to dry out by the movement of water from the water to the outer and inner surface.
2. Condensation
This tends to be more due to high humidity in the building and so a balance needs to be found between energy efficiency, ventilation, insulation and behaviour. It may be that a house needs positive input ventilation, or that the old chimneys need to be unblocked and vented, trickle vents on windows need to be opened, humidity controlled extractors fitted, or just a clothes dryer installed in the garden / room with an extractor fan.
3. Penetrating damp
Penetrating damp is generally caused by issues around poor maintenance of a property. However, it can be down to the use of inappropriate materials like cement render. Seals like silicon around doors and windows fail over time and rainwater runs down the surfaces and straight behind the sill. Cement render (is fundamentally inappropriate, but nevertheless covers the majority of stone and brick houses) cracks due to its brittle nature and traps water behind it. Gutters and downpipes need to be clear otherwise they can easily poor high volumes of water against (and into) walls. Poor drainage around the building can lead to water sitting against walls, I could go on.....
As you can see, diagnosing damp and finding the correct solution is a bit more involved that just pumping in a load of chemicals. However, pumping in chemicals and using water proof cement is what we do in the UK to the vast majority of our solid walled houses. In fact many mortgage lenders insist on this type of damp treatment. What a shame, it is generally a complete waste of money and resources. A typical damp treatment costs around £4 to £5,000. Don't be fooled by guarantees and assurances, many are meaningless. A recent customer had a injected DPC installed and when it failed dismally she was told that it had been installed correctly and so she couldn't claim against the warranty!
We would always recommend that you use your money wisely and this means that it is better to find a permanent solution to damp. This requires time and knowledge to get to the correct diagnosis, It is not a quick trip around with a damp meter and a bill of £5,000. The answers are there, but you will generally need some independent guidance to find the right ones for you and the house.
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