Getting Your Home Presentable After Damp Repair
Damp is the bane of many a homeowner, it can pop up for many reasons from unseen leaks to broken guttering that causes moisture to penetrate the exterior walls. Sometimes damp can go unnoticed which causes the problem to silently become worse over time, spreading across walls and floors and causing potentially unrepairable damage to structures.
Some rooms in your home can be more susceptible to damp than others, for example, your bathroom where you release a lot of moisture into the air during baths and showers and particularly basement areas that are below ground level. Basements can be the worst culprit for damp and mould growth due to the lack of proper ventilation and colder temperatures. Fortunately, all is not lost and an experienced damp proofing company can provide basement waterproofing services, sealing your basement and creating another warm and comfortable room to use in your home.
What Will Damp Do To Your Home
Damp can and does spread through your home to wherever the moisture can reach. Depending on the type of damp your home is suffering will change how the damp acts, for instance, penetrating damp tends to appear mid-level in a room and will often get worse during or after heavy rain. Whereas, rising damp usually begins at floor level and works up the wall, leaving salt deposits from groundwater and damaging skirting boards. If you have a leak in a room, such as under the sink or in the wall, you’ll notice moisture or water on the floor and damp patches that spread from the area source.
Each type of damp will attack the wall coverings, whether you have painted walls or wallpapered walls, you will start to notice flaking, peeling, lifting and bubbling and potential darker patches where the damp is collecting. If left, damp will not only spread but encourages the growth of mould and should it get into the woodwork, create an ideal environment for wood rot to occur.
Quality Damp Proofing
Damp proofing isn’t a case of simply covering up the visible damage from damp, it involves finding and repairing the source of damp. This might include basement tanking, repair to damp proof course, fixing or clearing broken and blocked guttering or carrying out repairs to a leaky roof. If the source of the damp is not fixed, the problem will continue to come back and if repairs have been carried out with the intension to simply cover up the damp, you could be hiding damage that is steadily getting worse and could cause irreversible structural weaknesses.
Repairing The Damage
Damp can do a number on your home and water damage can be difficult to simply cover up, good quality damp companies will offer a full service, taking care of the source of damp and then helping to repair the damage the damp created. Other times you may be left to repair remaining damage yourself and you don’t want to do half a job.
Walls that have been affected by damp should be checked for structure damage, as long as there are no larger repairs required, you can strip back the paint or wallpaper layer that has been affected and clean the wall surface to remove any leftover mineral deposits and impurities that can make walls unsightly. Then you can repaint or wallpaper, depending on your preference for decoration.
If damp has occurred in the attic, where you might have a lot of wood structure, repairs can be more costly and it’s not something that can be simply dried out and forgotten about. You may need an additional surveyor or engineer to check over the quality, health and stability of your structures to prevent any future collapse.
Your home is one of your greatest assets so it’s only right to take care of it. Regularly check over your property to ensure it is protected and there isn’t any potential damage that could cause long-term damp problems in your home such as broken roof tiles, blocked guttering and imperfections around window and door frames.
Image Credits
Getting Your Home Presentable After Damp Repair 1
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By Kuchina
Getting Your Home Presentable After Damp Repair 2
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By Jeanette Teare