Rising Damp Treatment

Rising damp happens when ground moisture travels up through brickwork because the original damp-proof course (DPC) has failed, been bridged or was never there — common in the older Victorian and Edwardian homes right across Chorlton and South Manchester. As rising damp specialists we treat the cause, not just the symptoms, and finish the job properly so it stays gone.

Signs to look for

• Tide marks or staining up to a metre above the skirting
• Blown, bubbling or crumbling plaster low down on walls
• White salt deposits (efflorescence) on the wall surface
• Skirting boards and floor timbers rotting or lifting
• A persistent musty smell at floor level

What causes it

In the terraces around Chorlton, rising damp usually comes down to an aged or bridged DPC, raised external ground or path levels sitting above the DPC line, or a solid floor built up against the wall. We use calibrated damp meters on every survey — because a surprising number of 'rising damp' call-outs in M21 turn out to be condensation, which is far cheaper to put right.

How we treat it

Our specialist damp proofing treatment is a chemical DPC: we inject a silicone-based damp-proof cream into the mortar bed to form a continuous water-repellent barrier. We then hack off the contaminated plaster and re-plaster with a salt-retardant renovating render, so old salts can't track through and spoil your new finish. Every rising damp job is backed by a written guarantee of up to 10 years.

• Chemical DPC injection
• Salt-retardant re-plastering
• Free written diagnosis first