DAMP

I READ LAST NIGHT IN THE MEN THAT SOMEONE HAD PROBLEMS WITH
RISING DAMP UPTO SIX FOOT HIGH. BUT I THOUGHT DAMP WOULD
ONLY RISE TO ONE METRE DUE TO GRAVITY. THEY DID SAY THE DAMP
WAS DUE TO A DAMAGED DRAIN, WOULD THIS MAKE A DIFFERENCE ?

val said:

I READ LAST NIGHT IN THE MEN THAT SOMEONE HAD PROBLEMS WITH
RISING DAMP UPTO SIX FOOT HIGH. BUT I THOUGHT DAMP WOULD
ONLY RISE TO ONE METRE DUE TO GRAVITY. THEY DID SAY THE DAMP
WAS DUE TO A DAMAGED DRAIN, WOULD THIS MAKE A DIFFERENCE ?

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If the MEN meant the (Gentle)mens, then obviously someone is showing off !!

SORRY ABOUT THAT BUT WITH ME BEING A WOMAN I FORGOT TO
MENTION THAT ' MEN ' STANDS FOR MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS.
BUT YOUR COMMENT DID MAKE ME SMILE.
I THINK DIYNOT.COM IS GREAT AND ALTHOUGH BEING A WOMAN I
DON'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHAT EVERYONE IS GOING ON
ABOUT I LOVE READING THE FUNNY REPLYS

Have you check for water pipe leaking somewhere and are the outside gutter okay or maybe broken tiles or flat roof leaking etc....

IT WAS SOMEONE WRITING IN TO THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
ADVISE SECTION OVER WHO WAS TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGE, THAT HAS
THE PROBLEM. BUT WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE 3YEARS AGO IT ALSO
HAD A DAMP PROBLEM AND WE WERE TOLD DAMP ONLY RISES TO A
METRE HIGH. THAT'S WHY I DECIDED TO ASK THE EXPERTS !
BUT PERHAPS AS YOU SAY SOMETHING ELSE IS CAUSING IT.

Val, please do not SHOUT

oops, sorry about that, I am always being told off for it.

val said:

oops, sorry about that, I am always being told off for it.

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what! AND the shouting??

Search the forums for rising damp, and especially some posts by gwailo. Rising damp doesn't exist, it's caused by something identifiable. If you can find rising damp, show it to Lewisham council, they will award you the prize.

A lot of rubbish is talked about damp. Most damp problems are caused by condensation. If you have mould growth, it is most likely to be condensation.

A fair amount is due to penetrating or rising damp. Made worse by broken drains or downpipes so keep them in good condition. Of course where you have rising or penetrating damp, then you will have colder walls and condensation is more likely to occur. Damp is often due to a combination of reasons!

Rising damp is easy to prove by analysis of a piece of the damp material - if it contains ground traces then it has to have risen from the ground. Unless you have jumping damp - but that's getting rarer these days.

To the question. It is theoretically possible for water to rise to 2 metres but in practice it doesn't. In fact it doesn't usually get anywhere near a metre.

When I was at university, we built a length of one-brick wall in a tank which was filled to a depth of about 150 and kept topped up for about 3 months. The water rose to about 600mm.

Beware of surveyors with moisture meters with sharp pins - those things don't tell you anything about damp in masonry.