Damp and Timber Decay
Specialists in this category diagnose and treat damp, wet and dry rot, and wood-boring beetle in older buildings. The important word is diagnose. Solid-walled buildings built before about 1919 have no damp-proof course and were never meant to have one; they manage moisture by absorbing and releasing it. Damp in them is almost always caused by something identifiable – a leaking gutter, raised ground levels, cement render or blocked ventilation – rather than by a missing chemical barrier. The firms here investigate causes, identify active from historic decay, and specify repairs that let the building continue to breathe.
What this category covers
- Damp investigation and diagnosis in solid-walled buildings
- Wet rot, dry rot and wood-boring beetle identification and treatment
- Timber resistance testing and moisture monitoring
- Removal of cement renders and other trapped-moisture causes
- Specification of breathable repairs and improved ventilation
Advanced Preservations Ltd
Advanced Preservations Ltd is a damp proofing, timber preservation and structural waterproofing ...
Bullen Conservation Ltd
Bullen Conservation is a building conservation contractor founded in 2003 and based ...
JH Building Restoration Ltd
JH Building Restoration Ltd is a heritage restoration and refurbishment contractor based ...
Love Old Buildings
Love Old Buildings maintains and repairs residential, ecclesiastical and commercial buildings, listed ...
Oliver & Sons Heritage Restoration
Oliver & Sons Heritage Restoration is a West Sussex firm working exclusively ...
Getting a damp problem properly diagnosed
Insist on a cause before a cure. A report that recommends an injected damp-proof course and replastering without explaining where the water comes from is a sales document, not a diagnosis. Ask what the surveyor measured, what they ruled out, and why.
Be wary of electrical moisture meters used alone. They read conductivity, and old plasters carrying hygroscopic salts read high whether or not the wall is wet. Proper assessment uses a drill-sample or calcium carbide test, external inspection and, on stubborn cases, monitoring over time.
Check the obvious external causes first, because they account for most cases: defective or blocked rainwater goods, ground levels raised above internal floor level, cement pointing and render, impermeable paint, and blocked subfloor vents. Fixing these costs a fraction of injection and replastering.
For rot, establish whether it is active. Dry rot needs sustained moisture to spread; remove the water source and the fungus dies. Wholesale timber replacement and chemical treatment are rarely justified once the building is dry, and reputable firms will say so.
Questions to ask
Do old buildings really get rising damp?
Genuine rising damp is far rarer than diagnoses suggest. Solid-walled buildings without a damp-proof course manage moisture by evaporation, and most damp traced in them comes from external defects, raised ground levels, cement render or poor ventilation. A cause should always be identified before treatment.
Is an injected damp-proof course appropriate for a listed building?
Usually not. Injection requires drilling historic fabric, often needs Listed Building Consent, and does nothing about the external causes that produce most damp in old walls. Conservation practice is to remove the cause and allow the wall to dry.
How do I know whether dry rot is still active?
Active dry rot has damp, growing mycelium and a distinctive mushroom smell; dormant or dead outbreaks are dry, brittle and brown. Because it needs sustained moisture, eliminating the water source usually stops it without extensive chemical treatment.
All 19 businesses listed under Damp and Timber Decay
- A D Holden APC West Sussex
- Advanced Preservations Ltd Hampshire
- AMS Surveys Merseyside
- Bullen Conservation Ltd Lancashire
- Cooper HBC Kent
- Eco Tiffin Limited Hertfordshire
- Eco-Renovation Hertfordshire
- Elements West Sussex
- Hutton + Rostron Surrey
- JH Building Restoration Ltd Cambridgeshire
- Love Old Buildings Surrey
- Oliver & Sons Heritage Restoration West Sussex
- Organic By Design Cambridgeshire
- Preservation Treatments Limited Surrey
- Property Conservation Services Ltd Oxfordshire
- Smith Heritage Surveyors Wiltshire
- The Breathable House Company Ltd Oxfordshire
- Thorne Building Associates Ltd Dorset
- Ventrolla North Yorkshire
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.