Conducting Damp Surveys in Canterbury, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and Cardiff
When your house shows signs of moisture, the first thing to do is have a chartered building surveyor check for rising damp with a damp meter.
If the surveyor is unable to find the problem with the moisture, he or she may have to issue a damp report to determine whether the house has an unusual moisture problem or if you just happen to have a leaky plumbing system.
Most moisture problems in walls stem from either rising damp or poor drainage. Rising damp, the more serious problem, requires immediate action to stop the moisture's upward movement and to remove any wall-mounted work or fixtures that may also be damp.
When it comes to treating rising damp, a specialised damp-proofing team is usually necessary. This team will conduct an assessment and then likely recommend one or several of the following remedial actions: putting in a course; chipping out and replacing an inadequate ground-floor damp-proof membrane while also replacing the ground-floor slab; or re-routing the plumbing to eliminate leaks and moisture entry.
Specialists usually back up their work with a 30-year guarantee.
Of course, problems caused by occupants could be improved with a little more attention to the problem. Ventilation and heating are the two sides of the moisture balance that the occupants can control.
Wood-boring beetles and other wood-infesting insects
Woodworm affects various woods and comes in different sizes, typically 3mm to 25mm.
The organisms eat and tunnel through the wood, leaving weakened wood in their wake. The treatment for woodworm, when they are present and accounted for, consists primarily of applying insecticides to the infected wood.
If the wood is so compromised that it loses its function, then the only real solution is to replace the infected timber with something more structurally sound.
Fungal Decay and Wood Rot
Fungus thrives in wet, damp, moist conditions. The right temperature plus the right moisture equals the right conditions for fungus to start growing.
When the moisture content rises over 20%, wood is prone to "dry rot." A fine thread of gray fungus will grow through the wood and several other materials within the same area. Wet wood gradually changes into dry wood, and the changes are so extensive that what was once part of a solid structure can now be crumbled with a little bit of pressure.
Wood is considered to be “wet rot” if it has a humidity level above 30% to 50%. Wet rot can be identified by three characteristics: dark brown stain colours, longitudinal cracks, and splits. You are likely to see one of these features if you come across a piece of wood that has wet rot.
The first thing that happens when wood is diagnosed with having wet rot is that the source of moisture is identified and then stopped. Once that is done, it is usually necessary to then expose the rotting wood in a safe manner so that an assessment can be made of just how much the wood has rotted and what it will take to either replace or treat it to an acceptable safety standard.
Contact Us for a Damp & Timber Surveyor in Canterbury, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, or Cardiff.
If you think timber may be rotting because of woodworm or fungus, and you want a damp report on your home in Canterbury, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, or Cardiff, please get in touch with us. We'll connect you with our panel of Chartered Surveyors.