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Damp proofing your home is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to keeping your property in a comfortable, liveable condition.

In fact, keeping your home damp free is fundamental to health and safety, as a damp property can be seriously hazardous to your health. Unfortunately, homeowners are often put off having a damp assessment or implementing the structural fixes needed to keep a house damp proof, simply because it seems like an expensive or difficult task.

That’s not the case, though. Many damp problems can be solved in a quick and cost-efficient way, while regular upkeep, maintenance and damp surveys will prevent larger damp problems from escalating.

In this article, we take a look at how much damp proofing costs.

Damp Proofing Costs Calculator

Before the cost of damp proofing can be accurately determined, it’s necessary to establish which type of damp is affecting your home. There are three major types of damp that can cause problems and they all have different costs associated with them, as some are more serious than others.

The three major types of damp are:

  • Rising damp
  • Penetrating damp
  • Condensation

Each type of damp has different causes and different fixes, with some fixes being a lot simpler than others.

The most common cause of damp is condensation. Luckily, this has the easiest fixes and the lowest damp proofing costs associated with it. Condensation is commonly caused by poor ventilation, causing black mould to start growing on windows, walls, ceilings, and in the attic.

The cost of damp proofing to fix condensation often involves simply fixing the ventilation within a property. A simple change in temperature or opening windows to let air in and out can often fix the damp. If problems persist, you might want to consider calling in a damp proofing specialist for a survey.

A more serious problem is penetrating damp, which occurs when water physically penetrates through the property and starts to cause damp. This can be caused by a wide range of things, the most common being broken tiles on the roof or cracks in the walls.

Again, a damp survey will help to identify the problems, which then need to be fixed. New tiles could cost as little as £100 to replace, but larger structural problems such as broken door frames or windows could cost in the region of £500 or more. It’s important to get any penetrating damp problems fixed quickly, however, as prolonged damp can lead to more serious structural or foundational problems within a property.

How Much Does Rising Damp Treatment Cost?

The most expensive type of damp to fix is rising damp. This type of damp is extremely rare, but if it does affect your home, the cost of damp proofing to stop the problem will be quite significant.

Rising damp occurs when moisture or water rises from the foundations and upwards through the walls of a building. It can spread quickly and cause significant structural problems, as well as creating an unhealthy atmosphere.

Modern houses are always built with a damp proof course (DPC), which acts as a physical barrier to rising damp. Built into the foundations a DPC can fail, while many older buildings will have been constructed without one.

To fix rising damp, a home either needs a DPC installing or replacing, or a chemical damp proofing course injected into the walls. While a solid DPC is the preferred method, it’s often unrealistic. The process would involve making major structural changes to a building, which takes both time and a lot of money to accomplish. Title loans can help cover these costs upfront.

A chemical DPC on the other hand is a much quicker and more cost-effective fix. This involves removing the existing damp from the walls and injecting a chemical into the bottom of the walls. This acts as a waterproof barrier to stop any further moisture from rising. Over time, this barrier might need replacing again.

Cost of Damp Proofing Internal Walls

If your internal walls need damp proofing, the total cost will depend on how much wall has been affected by the damp. As a rough estimate, the cost of damp proofing will average around £300 per wall. If your entire house is affected, then damp proofing costs could easily stretch into the thousands of pounds.

The costs associated with damp proofing an internal wall will ensure that the damp and mould are first removed before a chemical DPC is injected into the internal wall to form a barrier.

This process isn’t too costly. What is more expensive is the redecoration process, as the internal walls will need to be completely refurbished after having mould removed and being damp proofed.

Cost of Damp Proofing External Walls

External walls need to be damp proofed in a different way to internal walls, as rising damp often occurs because the outside ground has been raised to a higher level than the DPC.

In this case, the DPC becomes useless if water is able to rise above it. The best way for this to be fixed is for the ground around a home to be physically lowered, so it’s level with the DPC or below it. The ground is then layered with concrete slabs of paving where it has been dug out.

For this sort of work, you will be looking at anywhere from £500 to £2,000, depending on the size of the house and the quality of the paving you install.

Other Damp Proofing Costs to Consider

It’s important to keep your home damp proofed and to regularly check walls, ceilings and attics for mould or signs of serious damp. Proper maintenance and repair will save you money in the long run, as leaving problems to escalate can lead to costly fixes.

It is best to contact a professional damp proofing company like Danford, Brewer & Ives, if you’re unsure what is causing the damp or how serious the damp problem is in your home.

Shelby Grey