It is imperative that your property remains in a watertight condition at all times. Before any internal damp works are undertaken all external defects should be checked and repaired as needed. The main areas that allow water to enter the fabric of the building are:

• Gutters and downpipes
• Broken or missing tiles and slates
• Chimney flashings
• Defects in the windows and sills
• Blown external rendering
• A break down of the pointing
• High external ground levels
• Worn out flat roofs
• Blocked sub floor air vents
• Plumbing leaks

To identify the causes of penetrating damp can be very difficult to the layman as sometimes these defects can be hidden by plant growth or just out of sight.

Oak stairs fitted to soil retaining wall, old staircase collapsed due to penetrating damp

Water Ingress on Cement Rendering