Investigation of moisture and its effects on traditional buildings. Principles and competencies joint position statement

Following the above guidance, the methodology in BRE DIGEST 245 will produce quantitative moisture analysis, and is particularly relevant where rising damp symptoms are visible.

The image below is typical of where rising damp symptoms are visible and a silly damp report has been produced with a damp meter as the tool of damp diagnosis. Unfortunately whilst the symptoms appear to be rising damp, and the damp meter is perhaps indicating a rising damp profile, the fact is the repair in this instance that was advised would never of fixed the problem. What was offered was a cover up job. The capillary moisture content was very high, and the hygroscopic moisture content was up to 1.5 %, but no hygroscopic salts like nitrates and chlorides were noted during chemical analysis. On further investigation I found defective/blocked soakaways around the property which are the cause of the saturated ground adjacent the damp walls. This is the typical moisture profile you will find with this type of defect. Gravimetric analysis, hygroscopic salt analysis and a damp investigation saved this client thousands of pounds on unnecessary repairs, as no re-plastering was needed. Don’t get me wrong the soakaway repairs are never cheap, but at least the root cause has been identified, and the client come move forward.

Investigation of moisture and its effects on traditional buildings makes a pretty clear statement that it is imperative to carry out an investigation to the cause of damp and offer repair advice once this has been done. Unfortunately for my client despite paying many hundreds of pounds for an independent damp survey, they didn’t follow the guidance, and the advice was of no value.

If you haven’t been offered gravimetrics and hygroscopic salt analysis, this is something we can help you with. You can send samples in for analysis to ensure at least the correct diagnosis is achieved. if this of interest email enquiries@completepreservation.co.uk

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