Rising Damp ( a brief overview)

Rising damp is the name given to moisture from the ground moving up through the masonry pour structures via capalarity. For rising damp to occur there must be a source of ground water and it can be a seasonal effect also the geology of the ground is significant.  

The height of rising damp will be affected by the masonry pour structure, volume of water at the base of a wall and the level of evaporation from the wall surface.  Water rising up a wall by capillarity creates an electrical potential. Negative ions travel from the positive ground through to the negative wall.

• At the time of construction rising damp is stopped by installing a physical (damp proof course) barrier to moisture.  Where there is no barrier or it has broken down then the following remedial rising damp control measures can be used:
• Drain the ground around the property.  This is not normally practical and needs to be monitored.
• Cut into the walls and install a physical damp proof course, but this may effect the building structure.
• Install anodes for an electro osmotic control of the ground water. This is fully reversible and the materials can be recycled.
• Install a chemical damp proof course to control the ground water by controlling capillarity.
• Install porous tube into the wall to create an evaporation point in the wall and draw out the moisture.  Tubes may need to be replaced if they get contaminated with salts.