# Rising Damp



## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Following a recent post on high levels of humidity in the home, especially after the heavy rains of a couple of weeks ago, I have noticed what appears to be rising damp in the corner of one my bedrooms.

Do they have surveyors on the Costa del Sol who could confirm this, or do other professions provide this service?

Do homes on the Costa del Sol routinely have damp-proof courses, is it normal to have it?

Any suggestions on what to do next would be most welcome.

Wibs


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Unless the bedroom is on the ground floor, it is unlikely to be rising damp. The damp may just be condensation as a result of the humidity you've had, and might be cured with improved ventilation.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Unless you have a recently built property, then most houses in Spain are built without a damp-proof membrane - for the walls or the floors.

You can put one on the floors but it's much harder to put one under the pillars or the walls.

There is no such profession as surveyor per se in Spain. This is a function carried out by the architects.

Having said that, I do know of one Brit who advertises as a surveyor on the Costa Blanca. I haven't needed to use him myself and can only pass on that I've had mixed reports about him. I don't even know if he is registered in Spain - he has UK qualifications but they don't mean much (anything?) in Spain.


On the whole, properties do tend to suffer with damp as they are built for the heat and not the cold or damp. When I've discussed this with my Spanish friends they seemed to be of the opinion that this is "just how it is".


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Unless you have a recently built property, then most houses in Spain are built without a damp-proof membrane - for the walls or the floors.

You can put one on the floors but it's much harder to put one under the pillars or the walls.

There is no such profession as surveyor per se in Spain. This is a function carried out by the architects.

Having said that, I do know of one Brit who advertises as a surveyor on the Costa Blanca. I haven't needed to use him myself and can only pass on that I've had mixed reports about him. I don't even know if he is registered in Spain - he has UK qualifications but they don't mean much (anything?) in Spain.


On the whole, properties do tend to suffer with damp as they are built for the heat and not the cold or damp. When I've discussed this with my Spanish friends they seemed to be of the opinion that this is "just how it is".


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

This guy seems to think that damp proofing is all a load of cobblers!

Managing damp problems in old buildings

The houses with the worst damp here that I've seen have been painted with plastic paint (sometimes with a leaky terrace) and this traps all the moisture in the walls ready to explode into your house.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

xgarb said:


> This guy seems to think that damp proofing is all a load of cobblers!
> 
> Managing damp problems in old buildings
> 
> The houses with the worst damp here that I've seen have been painted with plastic paint (sometimes with a leaky terrace) and this traps all the moisture in the walls ready to explode into your house.


Yes I heard of some guy who ran a load of experiments trying to investigate rising damp, and couldn't get as far as making rising damp take place in the lab. He eventually came to the conclusion that rising damp (i.e. moisture that has been sucked up from the ground via some kind of capillary effect for example) doesn't exist. He went on to conclude that it was all a bit of a building industry con.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

We had a constant problem on the ground floor towards the front of the house where the damp problem appears to be rising damp. What I have done now is strip back the plaster to brick/stone wall. Apply a coat of PVA (Cola Blanca) allow to dry and then apply another coat and allow to dry (in both cases allow to dry thoroughly.) The dried PVA forms a water resistant membrane. Skim with plaster. Repaint with plastic paint. At the back of the house (this is the side that gets the weather and had rain penetration in the winter of 2009/10) after allowing the walls to dry thoroughly, we had them rendered with Capa fina then painted with plastic paint.


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

If you've ever looked at brickwork below the level of damp courses then you will know there is such a thing as rising damp. But what do I know I'm only a civil engineer and chartered builder?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

All I can remember about rising damp is Rigsby saying, 'You young people talk about the permissive society, well, it doesn't exist. And I should know, I've looked for it...'


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Having listened to the responses on the forum, and taken advice from my advice, I am now convinced it is not rising damp, but condensation.

The bedroom corner faces due north and and is quite cold, and the high humidity has been causing condensation, which in turn led to mildew forming (the black staining). Being the spare bedroom, it was mostly left unaired and the door shut.

I have invested in a dehumidifier and on switching on it said the humidity was 80%!! I set the unit to the minimum of 35% and within four hours the internal water collector was full and I emptied a couple of gallons of water down the loo. The room feels much more comfortable now, and the water being extracted is reducing noticeably. The unit also produces a little warm air, so the room does not feel cold anymore.

I will leave it for a week then clean the walls with mildew cleaner then repaint after a further week with a platicised paint that will make any future cleaning easier.

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like problem solved, but I will keep a close eye on things and report back if any further problems occur.

Wibs


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## 1664 (Nov 17, 2013)

Calas felices said:


> If you've ever looked at brickwork below the level of damp courses then you will know there is such a thing as rising damp. But what do I know I'm only a civil engineer and chartered builder?


i often cringe when i see paving, and especially timber decking constructed level with the floor/patio door height on the rear of buildings, often enough these are self inflicted


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