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Moisture proofing prevents rising damp by adding a waterproof coating or membrane to walls and floors. Materials include plastic, copper, and concrete sheets. Damp Proof Paths and waterproof membranes protect against rising damp. Modern building standards require impervious structures. Cavity walls have DPCs on both sides, while a single angled sheet of plastic can also be used with transpiration vents.
Moisture proofing is a barrier placed in walls or floors to prevent moisture from passing through them into the interior space and thus causing rising damp. For this purpose, a waterproof coating or waterproof membrane can be added to the walls and floors. Moisture-impermeable materials consist of plastic, copper or concrete sheets. The walls of the cavity require a course on both sides, with the inner wall materials placed below ground level. It is also possible to use a single sheet of plastic that has been cut at an angle to fit both walls of the cavity.
One method of stopping rising damp is to create a Damp Proof Path (DPC) which is a horizontal barrier in a wall. A solid floor is similarly protected by a waterproof membrane (DPM). This moisture resistance is calculated from engineering tolerances and various types of tests.
Rising damp is a normal occurrence and waterproofing is needed to prevent it. Common building materials such as brick and mortar are porous and allow moisture-carrying nitrates and chlorides to rise from the soil. These ground salts absorb moisture from the atmosphere which can cause damp walls in humid conditions.
Modern building standards in most countries require structures to be impervious to moisture when built. This can come in the form of strips of plastic or engineering slate. There are a variety of other materials used to prevent moisture proofing. These include flexible materials such as copper, rigid materials such as cement concrete or rough layers of sand under the floor.
Wall waterproofing usually consists of an extremely thin layer of plastic placed between a pair of blocks. A DPM usually consists of a sheet of polyethylene placed under an insole. It is also possible to create a more formidable barrier by welding pieces of DPC or DPM together.
Cavity walls usually have a DPC on both the outside and inside walls. A DPC is normally placed 6-8 inches (15-20) cm above the ground. This ensures that water splashes from puddles do not affect the wall above the level of the DPC. Because the bottom of the wall can be saturated, the inner wall DPC is built below ground level.
Another alternative is a single angled sheet of plastic. This sheet should be able to fit through the cavity and fit into both walls. If this single sheet method is used, transpiration vents must be created to ensure that rainwater drains from the cavities. Failure to install these vents could lead to rising damp.
