Causes of Penetrating Damp - By: Tauqeer Hassan

Dampness is common problem in many houses. It can be due to many factors. The major causes of dampness are condensation, rising damp and penetrating damp. You cannot cure this problem unless or until you are aware of the factor causing the dampness. The first part of curing dampness is to find out the cause of it. For this you have to be able enough to differentiate between different factors, only in this way you can find the right solution for your dampness problem.

Penetrating damp or Damp Penetration

It is obvious from the name that it occurs through penetration. For instance, when water accumulates on the outer walls of the house and begins to penetrates inward the wall and form patches on the inside of the wall. This problem is common the houses, usually old ones lacking cavity walls. Cavity walls are basically two skins or leaves of brickwork separated by a hallow space or an air cavity. The problem of dampness arises when the walls outside accumulates water at some place and that water penetrates inside through the wall. There are also other chances like if you have supply pipes buried in the walls, they might have got leak, gutters and downspouts are clogged and are not able to direct the water away from the house foundation. Windows without drip channels or channels with poor installation may also be the cause of dampness.

Rendering is a good way to protect the walls against rain. But often the render sustain damage or crack for some reasons. These cracks give a passage to water to make an entry inside. Water begins to accumulate between render and brickwork. This water begins to penetrate through the brickwork as render is a water proof barrier.

It is often seen that dampness is common problem in the areas with frequent heavy rains where strong wind thrust the rain against the walls. For instance, in the West and North, especially with Scotland this problem is very common and mostly people prefer to render their exterior walls to give them protection against heavy downpours.

Wall ties can be sometimes causes the dampness problem. Wall ties are usually metal or plastic strips and are responsible for the structural link between two leaves of the wall. If they were not installed properly or were fouled by mortar droppings, they can cause the water to penetrate through the walls and make damp patches on the inside of the wall.

Sometimes you may notice the secluded patches of the dampness in the internal walls and the surprising thing about them is that they will be away from the floor. In that cases there are chances that it must be penetrating damp. The damp patches near the floor on the other hand are quite tough to analyze. They can be due to any of the three factors. These patches need special consideration to diagnose the causing factor before any treatment.

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You might also want to learn about Insterchange a Window Frame and Refrain Damp Penetration.

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