If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will benefit from our remote analysis service.
In the majority of cases, diagnosis of dampness is carried out using non-invasive techniques. Basically, dampness on a wall or floor is judged by its visible appearance and, in the case of specialist or professional surveys, from the readings obtained with an electronic moisture meter.
What many people don’t realise is that electronic moisture meters are calibrated for timber and cannot accurately measure moisture in brick, stone, concrete, plaster or other masonry materials. In fact, they measure electrical resistance, so high readings recorded on a wall or floor does not necessarily mean that you have rising damp or that the material is actually damp at all.
Certain contaminating minerals will register as high readings on an electronic moisture meter. For example, high levels of hygroscopic salts are often present in and around chimney flues and on the bases of the ground floor walls of older buildings. Hygroscopic salts absorb moisture from the air and cause the plaster to appear damp when no tangible source of moisture is present. The danger here is that high moisture meter readings can be wrongly interpreted as a sign that the wall is affected by rising damp when the problem is actually restricted to the plaster, which simply requires replacing.
Similar misdiagnosis can result from condensation. Surface moisture from condensation can produce extremely high readings on a moisture meter without affecting the inside of the wall. In this case, what is the point of installing a damp proof course when the correct solution might simply be to provide better ventilation?
Clearly, it is useful to know the actual moisture content of a wall or floor and if any contaminants are present that might be the cause of high moisture meter readings recorded. With this knowledge your damp problem can be resolved by targeting the cause, which avoids unnecessary work and expense. There is absolutely no point in installing a damp proof course in a wall that is not affected by rising damp.
This is where Britannia Preservation’s remote analysis service can help. If you send us samples from a wall or solid floor that you suspect may be damp, using the method described on our sampling page, we can process them to determine their moisture content and if they contain certain hygroscopic soil salts. The results are emailed to you to be used as an aid to diagnosis.
For more assistance with taking a sample contact us today.
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