by David Sutcliffe

Created on: November 18, 2009   Last Updated: November 21, 2009

Specialist Advice About Rising Damp Treatment

Membrane systems are useful for renovation or new build that requires damp treatment since they can be ventilated, are quickly installed and are sympathetically better for structure. They prove to be better than other damp proofing methods like DPCs and water repellents etc.

When an injected damp proof course is used in damp walls where rising damp treatment is needed, part of the process always includes scraping off existing plaster which is an extremely tedious and dirty process. Drilling and inserting the chemical DPC is a process when the holes have to be drilled to the exact diameter, in the correct spacing and to a certain depth for the installation to work properly. The gauge of DPC cream or fluid in comparison to the thickness of the wall and what it is built from need to be measured and used to achieve complete effective diffusion into the substrate. This can be a very complicated procedure in buildings constructed of varying materials or less stable structures where there are large holes and voids. As a rising damp treatment, damp proofing membranes can be inserted over most existing wall finishes without the need to remove them. No guess work is required and the membranes are installed in walls, drilled and fixed fast and neatly the same way to almost any substrate. The damp-proofing membranes provide an impenetrable shield to protect the internal finishes which require rising damp treatment, without changing the nature of the wall.

Application of DPC fluid for damp proof needs mixing of ingredients with water which means that you are applying more water to a wall that is already damp. This extra fluid causes more damage to items like door linings, fixing blocks, architraves which are all made up of timer, an organic material. Wet wood is very suitable for the growth of fungus which cause great damage to timbers. Wet timber also has the risk of being damaged by woodworm which bore holes in them. If these problems occur to wet timbers, either you have to replace the damaged items or to get them treated by wood treatment companies. Both these cost a lot of money. On the other hand, damp proof membranes work as a shield between the damp wall and wood products and no damp can pass on to these timber items which ensures their long life.

Another advantage that damp proofing membranes have over injected chemical DPCs as a rising damp treatment is that chemical DPCs are more or less always installed with a recommendation

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