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Damp-
proofing
Your
Buildings
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Photo courtesy of Share Shots
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By
Ken Hawksley |
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Spring is the time to take a close look at your buildings. Did they get through the winter with no water and damp problems? Have you got those black mouldy patches? They are not uncommon in Spain because, most walls will register some form of damp when tested with a meter! |
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damp
proof finca buildings |
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PREVENTATIVE STEPS |
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damp
proof finca buildings |
1) The only sure way to stop rising damp is with a Damp Proof Course (not practicable when the house has already been built), always try to buy a house with one
already built in.
2) Cavity Walls: This in conjunction with a Damp Course, and you will be well on the way to a dry, warm - cool house.
If you do not have any of the above, you need advice. Don’t listen to those smooth talking salesmen that try to sell you fancy Northern European methods. I am asked many times about injecting chemicals into the walls. They drill holes all around and inject the chemical - BUT - Spanish bricks are not like a solid U.K. brick. The Spanish kind are full of holes and channels, so where does the chemical go? Not to seal the brick. That is for sure! |
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damp
proof finca buildings |
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WELL TRIED METHOD:
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| damp
proof finca buildings |
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Have the exterior of your house painted and sealed professionally with waterproof paint, that is probably the most cost effective method.
Improve the ventilation and use a Dehumidifier, because even a well externally protected house will generate condensation and humidity. Warm inside and cold walls outside is a sure way to create condensation. (Cavity walls prevent this). The mobile Gas Heater is another, but the amount of water produced when burning gas has to be seen to be believed. A nice warm log fire looks good - makes you feel good and brings heat, with a well ventilated chimney. |
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proof finca buildings |
| RISING DAMP: |
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proof finca buildings |
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Usually found from the floor level up to about one metre high. There is no true cure without a Damp Course but we have found from 3 years of bad winter experience, if the damaged area is stripped of plaster and the exposed bricks are then treated with a waterproofing agent, when
re-plastered and painted the problem disappears. Although most of the advice given can be carried out by the average D.I.Y. person, the products used can vary a lot from those found in your native country. A product used in a very cold country may not be suitable for the hot summer temperatures found here in southern Spain
A good contractor should use only the very best products and apply them in a very professional way.
Highly recommended is waterproof latex paint. The Latex gives it the elastic properties to fill and cover all those small static cracks and it is also resilient to staining and peeling. |
| damp
proof finca buildings |
| FLAT ROOFS AND TERRACES |
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proof finca buildings |
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Water penetration is very common through your favourite sun terrace. This too can be very easily waterproofed. Don’t think that just because it may not rain again for a long time, all your problems will go away. Prevention is often better than cure. |
| damp
proof finca buildings |
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| damp
proof finca buildings |
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We at Finca Forum can make no comment concerning unconfirmed reports of bad workmanship regarding Mr. Hawksley and his firm Weatherseal, or whether he has failed to pay some of his workers.
Our advice to readers is simply to do your own thinking and make your own decisions. "May the buyer beware".
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