FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you’re confronted with dampness and timber problems for the first time, remember that many other home owners will probably have had to deal with them as well, so here’s how you can benefit from their experience – by browsing through the questions we are most frequently asked.

If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, then go to our ‘Ask the Experts’ page and let us help you on a one-to-one basis.

I have a single brick wall on a lean-to type extension. This wall is very damp because next door's drive is higher than the floor level inside. What can be done to stop the damp and mould?

In this situation the problem is one of lateral water pressure and it is exacerbated by being only a single brick wall with no cavity. A solution would be to apply a waterproof sand and cement render to the inside of the wall to hold the moisture back and take this up to a level 300mm above next door's drive level. But it would also be vital to make a deep seal joint at the wall/floor junction and link the render to the floor dpm (damp proof membrane) to ensure continuity of protection.