I'm not sure where you're going to go with this yet, but usually the condensation or penetrating damp (which comprise the great majority of damp cases) are in most cases caused by
- exterior ground level above floor level
- blocked underfloor vents
- waterproof wall coatings, eg exterior paints, cement render, or waterproofing products
- blocked gutters and downpipes
- rusted through downpipes
- inadequate ventilation and/or high water vapour output (eg drying clothes indoors)
etc
NT
Hang on, how many damp VIctorian houses have that problem? In the great majority of cases the causes are:
- exterior ground level above floor level
- blocked underfloor vents
- waterproof wall coatings, eg exterior paints, cement render, or waterproofing products
- blocked gutters and downpipes
- rusted through downpipes
- inadequate ventilation and/or high water vapour output (eg drying clothes indoors)
And no applied chemical addresses any of those issues.
Au contraire, remedying the cause is almost always cheaper, and in most cases far cheaper.
Also you talk about curing the symptoms but not the cause, but how is that possible? A soaked wall will display the same symptoms regardless of whether its chemically treated. It will be cold, and condense more moisture, plaster and paper will spoil, mould will often grow, the interior will be made damp, and in the worse cases the bricks will slowly disintegrate due to freeze damage.
Yes, and this makes the choice of fixing the cause a no brainer. Would Joe Average rather scrape the soil away from the underfloor vents, or pay 4 figures for some magical dampproofing system? (Which doesnt address the problem) Even if 3 figures, whish is as low as dampproofing could be done for, is not going to win over an hour with a spade.
Same for high ground levels.
Same for blocked gutters
In the case of rusted downpipes discharging onto a wall, no chemical is going to prevent further damp and freeze damage.
In case of waterproof wall coatings, no applied checmical can make any material difference.
In case of high interior RH, again checmical treatment can not make any difference to the dew point, and the water vapoour's plans to condense out.
It just doesnt add up. And this is why anyone in the business can either tell the truth and go hungry, or mislead clients and make money. And sure enough, thats normally what happens IRL.
Yes there are cases not covered by these points, but they are a very small percentage. Those are primarily underground brick cellar walls with no DPM. Even there, its hard to see how any chemical could solve anything.
NT
Sounds like a quote from Womans Own circa 1930.
Plenty of water based siloxanes on the market.....
Stuart, we agree on this one.
However, to get back to the discussion, the problems illustrated are easy to identify and a trads=3Desman can remedy. If you read me previous post you will see I mentioned integral i.e. can only be remedied by intrusive work at substantial cost. Leaking gutters, blocked vents etc are all what I would call "day to day" problems and yes, a system such as the ones I have discussed are over the top. You can buy the Readers Digest 1001 emergency DIY jobs and you can cure every problem mentioned by meow. It is not uncommon to find the client eg Metronet Rail, which has a 30 year budget of some =A340 billion to scrutinise cost and choose to treat the symptom as the business case proves this to be the correct choice. Unwittingly, Joe Public does the same business case and chooses the same action. The one thing he should always be given is that choice and any good tradesman will offer it. However, an intelligent client (I mean one who has the expertise of the job but not the capability to do it) will, as I stated before, treat the symptom if the business case dictates (and 9 times out of 10 it does). It is important to distinguish between the simplicity of a blocked gutter and the complexity of damaged integral waterproofing. The client must also understand this.
I didnt think you'd have anything informative to add.
NT
There is no integral waterproofing in almost all Victorian buildings (other than the slate roof).
All one need do is understand how the buildings work, and ensure they do so properly. There is rarely any need for modification to the original design. This simple principle is often missed, leading to all sorts of red herrings.
NT
I think you overlook the fact that materials degrade in 100 years. Buildings that were waterproof in 1900 no longer are.
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