How to stop rising damp, easy DIY solution

In this video I show you the very best and easiest way that I have found to stop rising damp.

In depth blog post on my website about stopping rising damp

Amazon Links

Dry Rods

Hole clearing tool

Rod cutter

Damp resistant plaster

Liquid DPM

Trend respirator

Dewalt SDS drill 18v

Dewalt SDS 240v

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[CherDele]

Had damp and mouldy smell in my launge for years. After a lot of replacing plaster and keeping a window open all through winter months, I decided to rip up the floor boards. My DPC was old-fashioned slates. Broken and missing motar from joints and some of the slates had deteriorated. Thorough cleaning, then replaced broken and deteriorated slates. Repointed, then cleared a whole lot of damp dirt from underneath the suspended flooring. Let the area dry out for approx 1 month. Yeah, it was a long, hard, and messy job, but it was worth it.
Replastered wall. Replaced damp skirting and floorboards. Sanded and varnished wooden floor.
Damp walls and smell gone. Oh, I also had to dig up the concrete paving under the windows outside as it was higher than the airbricks. I replaced the rotten makeshift airbricks covering with clay airbricks. My launge has remained damp free and smells great for over 3yrs now.
And i'm a woman in her 50s!
I learnt almost all I know from these DIY videos.
My thing is, have a go. You never know what you can achieve. The best thing is, you save yourself a fortune.

[davidcole]

Damp will come through that plaster I promise you, there is no special coating to stop the damp, the coating will just peel and bubble off. In an old house (mine is 250 years old), the only sure way is to take out a section of the wall at floor level say 4 bricks length at time at ground level either one brick or two bricks thick, then with the hole clearance available dig out as much below ground which was under the bricks you have taken out, a breaker drill will do the job beautifully especially if you can break up the adjacent floor say 3 inches out and that will enable you to sideways dig out the old damp foundation rubble causing the rising damp. Having dug out your new foundation trench you have, now you have to put in there what you would use as if was a new house you were building, ie impervious materials, quality concrete, DPC and blue clay impervious bricks. This might sound like hard work but it's worth it. The best thing is that the layer you put in say 2 bricks high when dried off, will be totally dry and the damp brickwork above it will dry out at about an inch or 2 a month, even quicker if you want to use a fan on the wall continuously. A 4 brick section of the wall taken out at a time and it won't take long and in the end you know it's been done right and any plastering done above that new brickwork you know it will be good and dry.

[richardharvey]

Well explained and demonstrated, thanks. Made things a lot clearer.

[markgb]

Nice job, can tell you take pride In your work, tidy.

[previouslyachimp]

This is the first video of yours that I've seen and honestly I think it immediately became my favorite DIY video. You took the mistery out of a fairly intransigent ubiquitous problem and explained everything perfectly. A fantastically helpful video, well done mate! Thanks very much.

[popandu]

My guess would be gypsum plaster sealing-in the moisture causing the build-up of the wet. Solution: Remove all the gypsum plaster and replace with an appropriate BREATHABLE plaster and problem solved. It's amazing that people do things and are completely oblivious to what is actually going on around them.

[Stan_UK]

Just put dry rods in the house I am renovating. It has a mixture of solid walls and cavity walls. I found many problems before installing the rods, and consider them "belt and braces!" There were redundant vents below floor lever that should have been removed when concrete floors were installed. Ground levels well above old slate damp course, slates on roof that didn't reach gutter, drainage pipes underground that were held together with parcel tape, damp courses bridged inside. Also concrete right up to house walls (my pet hate.) I dug 10 inches down and put a gravel trap around the house. Poor house has been sat in a moat for years! That was just the beginning, I could write a book.

[mushroom]

I did a 3000 word essay on Damp once, I have a thrilling life. Although every situation is different 80% of damp problems are caused by condensation and rising damp is very rare. There are walls constantly immersed in water at the BRE but the damp never rises more than 4inches. Penetrating damp is more common from broken gutters, for example. A lot of damp I’ve seen is caused by external cement render preventing the natural diffusion of vapour through the wall. Heat gradients on internal walls cause condensation at the lowest levels the constant damp accumulated here causes a reaction with the plaster producing salts which are hygroscopic sucking in even more water. This is often mistaken for rising damp. Ventilation and humidity control is the cure most problems in these days of insulation and double glazing.

[Rosiebeeism]

I had a cold wall in my wardrobe. Love their products used the damp proof paste and heat reflective wallpaper.

[alvino]

Dude, fantastic video. I had 2 professionals cone and do my external wall, took them 3 days and the damp came back. Gonna send them your link.

[chrisbisify]

Absolutely brilliant video. Excellent explanation all thro.

[BrainFizz]

Just two points.
1. If you have to remove the plaster back to brick on a solid 9” wall anyway. Don’t waste money on an injection system, just get it plastered in lime. NHL3.5 will do the job, and dry in a similar tins to gypsum (which is trapping your moisture inside the bricks.
2. Rising damp doesn’t exist. Water travels down, either your ground level outside is too high (dig it out and lower it), idd red your gutter is overflowing.

[jigsey.]

Cracking job mate...your trowel skills are very good

[Dangermouse]

Recently had a quote for £1056 to do less than a meter of rising damp. No way i'm paying that. Thank you so much for this video. I think i will now do it myself 👌

[globalste]

I’ve got an 1850s house and an old skirting board has rotted on an internal wall. I’ve not taken it off yet, but it has to be rising damp. Have watched loads of your other videos for brilliant advice and going to give this a whirl!

[michaelbanfield]

Has it dealt with the symptoms,
what about the cause. The damp will still be there behind it. I spoke with someone who did this and damp reappeared further up 4 or 5 years later. Hope it works for you.

[Martial-Mat]

Wish they did similar products for garages. I have a huge problem with water seeping through an underground wall.
You're a brave man to take on plastering as a non professional. The tiniest imperfections are magnified once you get silk paint on there.

[oseinana]

You are just awesome. Can we use it on the outside wall please. Thanks so much for your presentation

[RayR]

What a fantastic video. Explanations' and methods demonstrated clearly. Well done and thank you, this has greatly helped with my next DIY project.

[farukm]

Thanks Mate - exactly what I was looking for. Saved me tons of time. Cheers.