Penetrating Damp

Penetrating damp is when there is water ingress into your home through its external walls. This is usually due to some kind of defect in the structure of your property. Examples of these faults may include:

• Leaking gutters and downpipes
• Blocked gutters
• Defective pointing or flashing
• Missing or damaged roof tiles
• Inadequate drip grooves under windowsills
• Defective seals around doors and windows
• Burst pipes and other defective plumbing

Penetrating damp can also occur if the brickwork is too absorbent. On older, single brick properties, bricks tend to become worn. In some cases they spall – where the front of the brick has shattered off. Missing pointing is also common, which can allow for water ingress.

Penetrating damp can also occur in some of the beautiful stone cottages we see throughout Cheshire. Again, this stone, such as sandstone, can be very porous and allow water to track from the external side of stone, through to the internal walls, causing decorative spoiling in your home. This results in the wall being more absorbent.

Left untreated, penetrating damp can cause significant issues in your home, so contact Atlantis Property Preservation for a friendly, honest assessment of your home.

There are many signs that you may see if your home is suffering from penetrating damp. Because penetrating damp is caused by water passing through the wall, the signs of penetrating damp are often more prominent when it rains.

You will likely see damp patches, water stains, pealing or damaged paint and wallpaper on a wall with penetrating damp. Where damp is on the first floor of your home, this won’t be rising damp so penetrating damp becomes something to rule in or out when surveying your property for damp.

Additionally, you can check if the internal damp patches correlate with an obvious fault externally. For example, are the internal damp patches on an external wall, which you can see has a broken down-spout that is allowing the wall to be persistently wetted.

Another common reason for penetrating damp, which we have seen numerous examples in barn conversions, is because a dot and dab plastering system has been incorrectly used on external solid walls. If you observe regularly spaced, circular patches up and down your internal wall surface, this is likely the cause.

The trick is not to worry if you see any of these signs. Just contact Atlantis Property Preservation to help you get to the root cause of your penetrating damp issue.

The signs of penetrating damp are very different from those of rising damp. Key differences are that rising damp will show low down on your ground floor walls, typically no more than 1m high. Rising damp also looks different, tending to show horizontally on your wall, like a band, with a wavy salt line. In contrast, penetrating damp tends to be patchier, can appear on first floor walls and ceilings and in more prominent in wet weather.

It is possible for a wall to suffer from both rising and penetrating damp so be sure to contact Atlantis Property Preservation to gain the expert advice you require.

Fixing penetrating damp involves addressing the source of water ingress and repairing any damage caused. Atlantis Property Preservation can help you identify the source of moisture ingress and recommend remedial works to fix it. For example, where your property suffers from porous walls, we may recommend the application of a water-repellent coating, such as Stormdry® to protect against further moisture ingress. We use Stormdry ® for the following reasons:

• Keeps walls dry & warm
• Aids the prevention of moisture damage to plaster, timbers and masonry
• Enhances water resistance and energy performance
• Long lasting performance due to penetrating deeply beyond the depth of small cracks
• Effective on a range of substrates
• The only colourless masonry water repellent treatment that carries BBA approval

Where penetrating damp is more severe, and the wall it too saturated to effectively dry down naturally, internal damage repair may be needed. This recommendation may be to introduce a cavity using insulation backed plasterboard or it could be recommended that all the defective plaster is removed, before tanking is installed. Tanking is where we would cover an entire damp area, such as a whole wall in damp-proof material (either a membrane or liquid), to effectively seal the area and protect it from moisture.

The wall would then be boarded and skimmed to allow for a perfect finish. Our tanking solutions also carry long term guarantees.

You can trust the Atlantis Property Preservation will advise the best solution for you. Contact us now to arrange a visit to your home.

Untreated penetrating damp can lead to a range of serious long-term effects that can impact the structure of your home. If penetrating damp is left untreated, structural damage to timbers in your home such as decay of wooden joists, beams and floorboards can occur. If not treated promptly, this could result in costly replacement of the damaged timbers.

Walls and ceilings can also be weakened by prolonged wetting. The first signs will be damp patches on the wall, then cracks may start to appear before sections of walls or ceilings could break away.

If left unchecked, penetrating damp can escalate from a minor nuisance to a major problem that is more expensive to fix. Addressing the underlying cause, such as repairing leaks, improving porous walls and lowering external ground levels, can all help to prevent these long-term effects. Contact Atlantis Property Preservation to discuss how we can help solve your penetrating damp issue.

Although there is no scientific evidence that penetrating damp is hazardous to health, there is a clear link between penetrating damp and black mould growth. Black mould growth has been proven to be hazardous to heath, having a negative impact on your respiratory system.

Black mould growth is more likely to grow on cold walls and wet walls are more likely to be cold, therefore an internal wall with moisture ingress from the outside may encourage black mould growth. It is for these reasons that it is important to contact Atlantis Property Preservation as soon as you suspect penetrating damp, so that we can help you quickly resolve the issue.

The cost can vary based on the size and condition of the property and the work that needs to be done. As you would expect, the cost to apply external waterproofing solutions will be different from the complete removal and reinstatement of an internal wall. The best course of action is to simply contact Atlantis Property Preservation now and discuss your requirements and arrange for us to visit your home to assess the issues and recommend any remedial works.

Specialist skill is usually required to resolve issue of penetrating damp once this issue has become established.

There are some best practice steps you can take to help prevent the risk of penetrating damp developing at your home. These include:

• Clear out leaves from gutters on a regular basis.
• Repair any faulty gutters and downspouts.
• Keep pointing in good condition.
• Keep flashing on your chimney stack in good state of repair.
• Consider internal floor levels when introducing external driveways and pathways abutting the property.

And remember, when you do need the help of a professional, contact Atlantis Property Preservation to discuss your requirements and arrange for us to visit your home to assess the issues and recommend any remedial works.