| Over the years I have got more and more into | | | | pretty sure it is not a pipe problem you have, nor a |
| property maintenance and have even worked | | | | leak. |
| professionally in the field. | | | | Also look for mould, salts or, if it is brick, that the actual |
| One of the problems I most find in properties, | | | | brick is wet. |
| especially country properties, is rising damp. I have | | | | Once you have it, it is not easy to get rid of. If you like |
| noticed that people seldom know that the moisture is | | | | D.I.Y. then here goes; if not then my advice is you get |
| actually rising, and usually believe that it is coming from | | | | a professional to do it for you. |
| the ceilings or pipes. | | | | First you have to strip all the paint, wallpaper or plaster |
| First, a quick definition of what rising damp is. Rising | | | | until you actually see the building material, usually it is |
| damp is the vertical upward flow of moisture through | | | | brick where I live (Costa Blanca in Spain). |
| walls. People usually think that moisture, or water, | | | | Then you have to drill holes in the actual brick. They |
| always tend to go down due to gravity. | | | | don't have to be too big just big enough for a nozzle |
| It isn't always like that, think for a moment how a | | | | to go through. |
| sponge works. Spill water on a table and put a sponge | | | | Go to your D.I.Y shop and buy a special silicone that is |
| on top of it, the sponge will eventually soak up all the | | | | used precisely to solve the moisture problem inside the |
| water and if the sponge is thing enough we will feel | | | | walls. I have found they are all as good so I won't say |
| the moisture on the top of the sponge. As we can | | | | any brands. Also buy a moisture repellent additive for |
| see water has travelled up, not down. | | | | cement. |
| This is actually called the capillary motion. A scientific | | | | Now really fill in the brick with the silicone making sure |
| explanation is readily available through any proper | | | | no more silicone compound actually fits inside the |
| encyclopaedia or school book. | | | | bricks, try to avoid air pockets if possible. |
| So, basically what is happening is that we have | | | | Now you have to redo the wall again, so use sand, |
| moisture on the floor and our walls are acting as a | | | | cement and add the moisture repellent to the mix. |
| sponge. The problem is that sometimes it can go so | | | | And you will now have your wall treated for rising |
| high and cover the whole wall and part of the ceiling | | | | damp for years to come. Also make sure there are |
| that it is not that easy to diagnose. | | | | no exterior puddles or the like next to the wall. You |
| The way I do it is very simply scrape the wall, if you | | | | have to get rid of those and make sure they won't |
| get more paint or plaster peeling off the wall in the | | | | form in the future before actually doing all the work. |
| lower part than in the higher part then you can feel | | | | |