Dry Rot and Woodworm Ipswich, Suffolk and Essex

There are three main types of damp – rising damp, penetrating damp and damp caused by excessive condensation, and below is a summary of their causes and potential solutions:

Condensation-related damp

This occurs when there is too much water in the air in a particular environment and it condenses onto cold surfaces like walls or windows, causing discomfort and damage.

Excessive moisture happens as a result of factors like having too many people and pets in a confined space, breathing out moisture, and insufficient ambient heating. The average adult exhales up to five litres of water per day and, while warmer air can hold more of that moisture in the atmosphere, cooler air causes it to condense. When condensation settles on surfaces, this can lead to dangerous black mould, which is a Class 1 serious health hazard, as well as being unsightly. Cleaning alone is not sufficient to eradicate black mould.

Penetrating damp

If there are any defects in the outer structure of your property, such as the mortar between your bricks, loose tiles on your roof or ground levels that are higher than they should be and

above or blocking damp proof courses, penetrating damp will find a way of getting in. In fact, properties pre-dating new building regulations being introduced in 1865 may not even have a damp proof course, making them vulnerable to problems.

With penetrating damp, masonry and mortar can act as a sponge, allowing a capillary action in which damp gradually invades your property and spreads. Compounding this problem is the fact that moisture often carries with it the salts that exist within building materials, causing them to settle on wall and floor surfaces. As well as looking unsightly, these patches of salt residue have the capacity to hold even more water, compounding the problem.

Rising damp

This kind of damp results from defects at foundation level that allow the moisture inherent in the surrounding ground to creep up into your property. Rising damp results from ineffective sub-structures which allow moisture ingress, most often the lack of a damp proof course, a defective one or inappropriate building work that allows floor levels or structures like patios close to your property to sit higher than your damp proof course and provide a bridge for water to travel up the walls of your property.

Solutions

There are a number of tried and tested solutions we can call on, depending on the specific damp problem you are experiencing, and we’ll be able to provide you with a thorough, bespoke recommendation when we visit and survey your property.

The kinds of things we will look to do include the following:

· Ensure your property is adequately ventilated – sometimes the answer to issues like condensation is as simple as installing air vents in the right places

· Optimise your ambient heating – we know energy costs are spiralling but this doesn’t mean spending hundreds of pounds necessarily, it’s just about ensuring that there is enough ambient heat in your home to dry out any excessive moisture

· Where the issue is a faulty or non-existent damp proof course, we can rectify this by installing one retrospectively. We can also remove existing plaster and replace it with specialist damp-proofing plaster that doesn’t allow moisture to travel

· Injecting chemical damp proof courses???

· If more significant structural work is required, such as re-jigging any adjoining constructions like patios or walls that are allowing damp to travel into the walls of your building, we’ll explain exactly what’s involved and provide you with the most cost-efficient and least disruptive solution possible

· If damp is getting into your property via defects in your roof or walls, we’ll identify the sources and explain exactly what’s required to prevent this from happening, potentially carrying out the work for you efficiently and cost-effectively.

Firstly, don’t panic! Of course, check if you have a leak caused by either faulty internal pipework or fittings, or an external defect in your home’s structure.

If you’re able to rule those things out, the most likely cause of your problem is condensation, which can cause a surprising amount of moisture – sometimes even seeming like a more serious leak.

There are various things that can cause condensation, from insufficient heating to inadequate ventilation. We can help you get to the root of the problem and recommend remedial actions you can take to rule it out. Just get in touch to book a damp survey.

Apart from spoiling the look of your home, black mould can pose a serious risk to human health. Just cleaning it off periodically is not enough and it’s important to understand and tackle what’s causing it without delay.

Those causes can range from inadequate ventilation to exterior defects which are letting unwanted moisture into your home. We can help you identify the source of the problem and recommend a long-term solution that will get rid of it for good. Just get in touch to book a damp survey.

Yes, black mould is deemed to be a Class 1 health hazard. It, and the dampness that leads to it, can cause respiratory problems, including infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the human immune system and therefore if you have an issue with black mould in your home, it’s important you identify the cause and take steps to get rid of it and prevent it from coming back as soon as possible. Just get in touch to book a damp survey.

We are based in Suffolk and can provide damp and damp-related structural surveys within a 20 to 30-mile radius of Bury St Edmunds, Woodbridge, Oldburgh and Colchester.

The first step in identifying your damp problem is to give us a call and discuss the problem you’re facing. Usually, we will recommend you commission us to carry out a basic damp survey, from which we will provide you with a detailed professional opinion and recommended remedial action, including a breakdown of the costs involved, what needs to happen, any disruption you can expect and how long the process will take, so that you can decide what you want to do next with full transparency regarding what’s involved.

We charge from £49.00 + VAT for a basic damp survey and recommendations, which will provide you with a thorough overview of your damp problem, the remedial steps required to eradicate it, how much they will cost, how long they will take, and what level of disruption you can expect in the process. Just get in touch to book a damp survey.

We can identify all manner of timber problems – from dry and wet rot to beetle infestations such as woodworm.

Where an infestation is the issue, we can chemically treat and repair or replace any damaged timbers where required.

If wet or dry rot is threatening the structural integrity of your home, we can replace damaged timbers and then, understanding where the damp has come from that has caused the problem, implement remedies to eradicate this, in many cases installing airbricks or mechanical air flow devices to improve ventilation.

Yes, we are qualified to BS8102 standard to recommend and install all key building waterproofing systems including barrier, structurally integral and drained protection systems in all manner of buildings.

Just get in touch to book a thorough survey to assess your needs, followed by a bespoke proposal.

The extent of any remedial work we have to carry out will depend on the nature of your issue. It could range from a simple recommendation for the optimum background temperature to maintain in your home, to advice on ways of ensuring adequate ventilation through things like ensuring trickle vents on your windows are left open.

If the problem is more serious, we may recommend removing areas of your internal plaster in order to get rid of any damaged elements, promote drying and replacing with damp-repelling materials. We may in some instances need to recommend the removal or remodelling of areas of exterior groundwork that are breaching damp-proof courses.

However, we are passionate about dealing with dampness in the least invasive ways possible, which allows homeowners to remain comfortable in their homes while the necessary work is done. To this end, we have developed our own, unique systems for treating problems like rising damp, which keep upheaval to an absolute minimum. Just get in touch to book a damp survey and we’ll explain what you need and what’s involved in making it happen.