Rising damp can be difficult to identify. Moisture meters alone will not give you a definitive result when trying to identify rising damp, as salts content and other material properties can make their results unreliable. Rising damp occurs when ground water permeates a building material at its base. The subsequent capillary action through the porous material (brickwork, plaster) causes damp to rise upwards, often leaving visible damage and salt efflorescence at the surface.

DF&A carry out a combination of gravimetric moisture analysis and ion chromatography analysis to establish:

• The moisture content of plaster/brickwork/blockwork in affected areas
• The presence of chloride and nitrate salts within the sample (indicative of water having originated from a ground source)
• The quantity of rising damp marker salts at increasing heights up the affected wall
• Graphic representation of the classic ‘B or D’ shaped curve that presents when rising damp is occurring
• The likely source of the water and why rising damp is occurring, i.e., missing/breached damp proof course etc.
• The impact of our findings on the property as a whole
• Actions required to resolve the issues