ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION This chapter explains the main causes of penetrating and rising damp. It is mostly concerned with external walls, windows and doors (floors and roofs have been dealt with in other chapters). The chapter defines dampness, explains how dampness can occur, how it can be identified and how it can be measured. Incorrect diagnosis is a common problem caused, in many cases, by insufficient thought and over reliance on inconclusive instrument checks. Incorrect diagnosis at best leads to wasted effort and wasted resources, at worst, it can lead to ‘repair’ works which can actually exacerbate the initial problem. There are two diagnostic check lists (penetrating and rising damp) included in the chapter which should help the reader approach a suspected problem of dampness in a systematic way. A similar check list for condensation can be found at the end of the previous chapter.
