DAMP issues in the UK - What causes damp and how you could get rid of it

[Music] hello and welcome back to my channel for yet another informational video as always my aim here is to provide you with some guidance and help you understand more about a range of property related topics so if you're a first-time buyer a homeowner or an investor definitely consider subscribing as there could be some useful information here on this channel today i want to talk to you and explain the different types of damp issues that are commonly found in uk homes what the possible underlying problems could be and how one would go about remedying them before i get into deep i just want to say that i'm not a builder but i have grown up within a construction-based family business and i work in the property industry so i have learned a bit about this over the years almost speak to a builder or an independent expert if you're planning to do works to remedy any damp problems you might have so without further ado let's dive into it the first thing we need to understand about typical uk homes before we can talk about damp issues or the way they are built up to about the 1900s the traditional method of building properties involved using bricks and mortar and the walls were single leaf solid walls what this means is that there was only one single layer of brick which was normally doubled up that separated the indoors and the outdoors another thing that was common until the 1900s and even just past the 1900s were fireplaces which were used for their intended purposes for santa to escape through on christmas i joke they were used to heat homes and over time they slowly became redundant for many reasons around the 1920s a new method of building the walls of houses became a widely accepted norm and this involved something called cavity walls the method of construction was the same but instead of having a single layer of brick there was one layer called the outer leaf followed by a cavity followed by another form of masonry either another layer of brick or block called the inner leaf this separation meant that the outer leaf could just would essentially protect the inner leaf from the elements and if that failed the cavity would act as a natural runoff for any water that managed to get in this type of construction is less prone to external factors which contribute to damp now that we understand the very basics of typical walls we can talk about the external factors which can cause damp on solid brick wall houses and they are external ground levels the condition of external walls and mortar joints and leaky drain pipes or gutters external ground levels around any building should be at least 150 millimeters below the damp roof course or dpc which is a layer of waterproof material that is usually put on top of the third or fourth course of brick to stop water that is absorbed by that brick rising to the internal ground floor level in houses with single solid brick walls if the external ground floor level is above the dpc this will cause water to be absorbed by the brick above the damper of course and that will then show up internally as damp and this is known as bridging damp i've seen this problem in the past and i've seen people lower their external ground levels around the house dig little trenches and fill them with pebble stones to help water naturally run off like this [Music] some houses would have external render such as pebble dash which is typically used to cover up poor brickwork beneath and act as an extra layer of protection from the elements if the render has been poorly maintained and is cracked water can easily get into the cracks get absorbed by the brick and then come out inside the same applies if there's no render on the outside but the joints between the bricks have been slowly worn out over time this is known as penetrating dam one way to potentially combat this is to fix any cracks in the render and repaint the render every five to ten years you could also look into getting external wall insulation which will not only act as an extra defense barrier but would make your home warmer and more energy efficient lastly you could fix any worn out mortar joints around the house which would potentially stop any penetrating damp occurring leaking drain pipes or glitters can overflow and often the water just flows onto the building and if enough water flows onto the same spot over time the brick can get weathered down and make it more susceptible to water absorption again this is similar and is also known as penetrating damp if you have any leaky drain pipes or gutters it's best to get them fixed or cleared out so they work in the proper way now if all these external problems are fixed or found to be okay then we have to worry about the internal factors that they affect the environment of the home there are three things to consider when talking about the internal factors which are heating ventilation and insulation the main thing that causes damp or mildew to appear on walls in terms of internal factors is humidity if you have high humidity levels in your home you likely have some degree of damp or mildew some things that contribute to high humidity levels include cooking the steam from showering drying closing doors or having lots of people in kind of small spaces for long periods time the best way to minimize humidity levels is having good ventilation so things like switching on your extractor fan when cooking having a bottom extractor fan when showering and opening windows when possible can all help lower it if you own your own home then you could look at putting in vents into the walls where possible or having a mechanical extractor fan and if you don't own your own home then i've heard that a really good dehumidifier helps with getting the humidity levels down heating is a big factor as this will regulate the temperature in the room and keep the internal walls warmer if there is high humidity and the walls get cold like overnight for example the moisture in the air can literally condense on the wall and make it appear wet eventually this will lead to a mildew build up and potentially mold this can be especially true specifically behind furniture where moisture can be trapped having constant room temperature also helps to reduce this effect following on from this point insulation is very important as it helps trap the heat inside helping the room stay warmer for longer this then also helps to reduce the effects of condensation there are often some local or national government grants to help with insulation around the house but i would definitely invest if you have the means as it not only can help with the damp issues but could lower your energy bills in the long term damp is a really tricky thing to combat and i would say that it needs to be tackled at the source rather than having temporary measures in place such as painting over it or injecting walls with some damp proven chemicals the ideal environment inside a home needs to be dry and warm i'd say about 20 degrees you will notice that the effects of damp are usually lessened in the warmer months of the year and they get worse in the winter months damp in the uk will always be an issue because of the way properties are built and near internal and external environments that are hard to control i hope this has been an eye-opening and informational topic for you as i know a lot of people suffer from damp issues so hopefully this will give you a basic understanding of the potential causes and what you could possibly do to remedy it if you liked the video definitely hit that like button and consider subscribing to keep up to date with my new videos thank you so much for watching and i'll see you next time [Music] you

Channel: RW Property

Views: 63,077

Keywords: Damp, bridging damp, condensation on windows, curing damp, damp home, damp in my house, damp issues, dpc, first time buyers, fixing damp issues, ftb, home buying, home investment, home uk, how to fix damp, mildew, penetrating damp, property in the uk, property investing, property investment, property investment uk, property makeover, property tips, real estate, real estate UK, uk damp problems, uk homes, uk property, uk property investment, ventilation, why do i have damp

Id: O-mHOwKp_Lk

Length: 7min 37sec (457 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 18 2021