Dampness & Seepage Treatment

This treatment is specified where the inspection shows it is the right answer for the problem found.

Where it applies. Damp walls, tide marks above skirting level, blown plaster, efflorescence and mould — after we have established which of three physically different problems is actually occurring. Rising damp is groundwater drawn up by capillary action through a failed or bridged damp-proof course; it shows as a band at a fairly consistent height, present all year. Lateral seepage is water crossing the wall from outside; it shows as a patch that corresponds to something on the far face and worsens within a day or two of rain. Condensation is not seepage at all — it is room moisture condensing on a cold surface, and it reads wet at the surface but dry behind. A meaningful share of “seepage” enquiries we take in Pune flats are condensation, and the honest answer there is ventilation and insulation, not a waterproofing contract.

Preparation. The external or plumbing cause is corrected first. Contaminated plaster is hacked off to at least 500 mm beyond the visible damp and salt line and removed from site — hygroscopic salts left in place keep pulling moisture from the air and the wall will still look damp after a successful repair, which is why so many previous treatments appear to have failed. Mortar joints are raked out, the substrate is cleaned and treated for mould where present, and it is then dried to a measured moisture content rather than to a date in the programme.

Application. For rising damp, a silane/siloxane damp-proof cream injected into holes drilled at mortar-course level, spaced to give a continuous barrier across the full wall thickness — followed by a salt-resistant renovating render. The render is not optional: the DPC stops new water rising, the render manages the salts already in the wall, and doing only the first is the most common reason a damp course “did not work”. For lateral seepage, treatment on the water-facing side wherever it can be reached, or a negative-side crystalline slurry in two coats where it cannot. For condensation, we recommend extract ventilation, insulation of the cold surface and mould remediation, and we do not charge for waterproofing that would not help.

Curing and drying. The injected cream migrates and cures over 24 to 48 hours before rendering. The wall then has to dry through its thickness — roughly a month per 25 mm — and that drying period is stated on the estimate before work starts. Decorating a drying wall traps moisture behind the paint film and the finish blisters.

Testing and warranty. Moisture readings are recorded at the start, at handover and at follow-up, so the improvement is documented rather than asserted. Eligible completed work carries Leakproofs by Betterwork’s written warranty on the treated area, with exclusions stated on the estimate.