Professional Building Conservator
Damp Prevention
In the field of building conservation, damp prevention is a critical element for preserving architectural heritage. Addressing issues such as rising damp, penetrating damp, and condensation is essential to protect structures from decay, material deterioration, and mold growth. Successful damp prevention involves a thorough understanding of the building's historical context, construction materials, and environmental conditions.
An example of how soft Victorian bricks are this one, which was cut with an old hand saw, note the voids in the centre of the bricks. The voids are the reason why many old houses become damp and cold. The solution to a warm dry home is often to simply remove the materials that cause the damp. To solve this, I offer brick repointing in: lime; lime plastering; and non chemical damp eradication using French drains.
This client had a very wet wall in the living room. I located the source of the problem and discovered that it was an outside wall (pictured left). Instead of relying in a damp meter that picks up salt concentrations and can often give a false reading, I usually find the point of lowest temperature on the wall, take a sample, and dry the sample to obtain an accurate damp level. After removing the plaster from the wall to allow it to dry, the paint and cement was removed from the outside wall and the wall was injected with damp-proofing liquids. Finally, the wall was painted, sealed with a cement-based water-proofing compound, and painted over five times. This thorough procedure resulted in a dry, damp-proof wall with no gaps in the mortar (pictured right).
When repointing I only repoint that which is needed. Pictured left are some bricks that required repointing. On the right the repointed bricks with lime coloured to match the existing.
A verge (shown left) that was missing large chunks of its original lime pointing and leaking into the roof. This was removed and replaced with red coloured lime (shown right).