Penetrating damp is also known as 'rain penetration'. This term describes any water leaking into the building from outside.

Common sources of water ingress are:

• Cracks or damage in a roof
• Missing or poorly fitted roof tiles
• Faulty/blocked drainage systems
• Faulty or missing windowsills
• Broken or faulty gutters and down pipes
• Cracks in outside rendering or masonry
• Damage to brickwork and pointing
• Old, porous bricks or poor quality mortar

Penetrating damp can affect any building, old or new but is more likely during periods of extended wet weather.

SHS Hants can visit your property to assess causes of the penetrating damp. We will then quote for the damp repairs and implement long lasting solutions to ensure problems do not return.

Most modern properties have a damp proof course (DPC) layer built in to the walls near the ground to stop this process, however the following issues can cause rising damp:

• DPC faulty, absent or deteriorated
• Improperly installed DPC
• Adjoining structure higher than DPC
• Water leakage from plumbing issues
• Poor drainage or flooding of local land
• Faulty guttering, fascias or downpipes
• Damaged or poorly fitting roofing

Rising damp describes where excess moisture from the ground around a property is 'wicked' upwards into the porous structure of the walls. This is to how a cloth touching a pool of liquid will draw up the fluid.

Rapid treatment is advisable to prevent more permanent damage . Arrange for SHS Hants to visit your property and and we can provide a quote for treatment and eradication of your rising damp.

Mould spores are present in most properties, usually dormant and harmless. However, when certain conditions are present, mould spores will germinate and create large areas of dirty, unattractive mould.

Mould can, in some cases, spread into the air of a property, becoming a serious health risk and making homes smell musty and unclean.

Mould has some common causes:

• Insufficient air flow around a property
• Cavity walls filled incorrectly
• Concrete ceilings crossing wall cavity
• Excess steam production from appliances

The damp caused by these issues is particularly noticeable when central heating is active and windows are kept closed in winter months.

SHS Hants can visit and treat your property to eradicate the causes of mould. Walls and ceilings can be further treated to help prevent further outbreaks.

A chemical DPC is a modern solution to preventing rising damp in properties with the following issues:

• No DPC present in the property structure
• The existing DPC is faulty or damaged
• Soil levels around the house have raised
• DPC is not at the correct level to be effective
• Older bricks have become too porous

A chemical damp proof course is usually a silicone-based waterproofing chemical which is injected into the bricks. Since bricks are porous they will soak up and become saturated with the chemical, preventing them from absorbing any water.

SHS Hants will drill small holes in the property's walls to inject the chemical, which can be performed either from the inside or outside, depending on access. Holes are then re-mortared at a later date with waterproof plugs, once the DPC chemical has properly settled.