Damp Proofing
IVAN C. VILLARICO
Damp Proofing
In construction is a type of moisture control applied to
building walls and floors to prevent moisture from passing
into the interior spaces. Damp problems are one of the
most frequent problems encountered in homes.
Damp Proofing
Damp proofing is accomplished several ways including:
A damp-proof course (DPC) is a barrier through the structure by capillary
action such as through a phenomenon known as rising damp. Rising damp is
the effect of water rising from the ground into your property. The damp proof
course may be horizontal or vertical. A DPC layer is usually laid below all
masonry walls, regardless if the wall is a load bearing wall or a partition wall.
A damp-proof membrane (DPM) is a membrane material applied to
prevent moisture transmission. A common example is polyethylene sheeting
laid under a concrete slab to prevent the concrete from gaining moisture
through capillary action. A DPM may be used for the DPC.
Damp Proofing
Integral damp proofing in concrete involves adding materials to the
concrete mix to make the concrete itself impermeable.
Surface coating with thin water proof materials for resistance to non-
pressurized moisture such as rain water or a coating of cement sprayed on such
as shotcrete which can resist water under pressure.
Cavity wall construction, such as rainscreen construction, is where the
interior walls are separated from the exterior walls by a cavity.
Damp Proofing
Materials for Damp Proofing Course (DPC)
Ideal DPC should have the following quantity:
Should be perfectly impervious
Should not permit moisture penetration
Material should be durable with equal to building life
Material should be strong to resist superimposed load or pressure
Material should be flexible to accommodate the structural movements without
any cracks
Materials should not be costly
Material should remain steadily in osition
Damp Proofing
Materials widely used for damp proofing include:
• Flexible materials like butyl rubber, hot bitumen, plastic sheets, bituminous
felts, sheets of lead, copper
• Semi-rigid materials like mastic asphalt
• Rigid materials like impervious bricks, stones, slates, cement mortar or cement
concrete painted with bitumen
• Stones
• Mortar with waterproofing compounds
• Coarse sand layers under floors
• Continuous plastic sheets under floors
Effects Of Dampness
Following are ill effects of of entry dampness:
• Dampness gives rise to breeding of mosquitoes and create unhealthy
conditons.
• Travel of moistures on wall causes unsighty atches
• It may cause of softening and crumling of plasters
• Wall decoration or paint is damage
• Continuous presence of moistures in wall may cause florescence which result
in disintegration of bricks, stones, or tiles
Masonry Construction
A DPC is a durable, impermeable material such as slate, felt paper, metal,
plastic or special engineered bricks bedded into the mortar between two
courses of bricks or blocks. It can often be seen as a thin line in the mortar near
ground level. To create a continuous barrier, pieces of DPC or DPM may be
sealed together. In addition, the DPC may be sealed to the DPM around the
outside edges of the ground floor, completely sealing the inside of the building
from the damp ground around it.
Masonry Construction
In a masonry cavity wall, there is usually a DPC in both the outer and inner
wall. In the outer wall it is normally 150 millimetres (5.9 in) to 200 millimetres
(7.9 in) above ground level (the height of 2-3 brick courses). This allows rain to
form puddles and splash up off the ground, without saturating the wall above
DPC level. The wall below the DPC may become saturated in rainy weather. The
DPC in the inner wall is usually below floor level, (under a suspended timber
floor structure), or, with a solid concrete floor, it is usually found immediately
above the floor slab so that it can be linked to the DPM under the floor slab.
This enables installation of skirting boards above floor level without fear of
puncturing it. Alternatively, instead of fitting separate inner and outer DPCs, it
is common in commercial housebuilding to use a one-piece length of rigid
plastic, (albeit an angled section), which fits neatly across the cavity and slots
into both walls (a cavity tray). This method requires the need for weep vents to
enable rainwater ingress to drain from the cavities otherwise rising dampness
could occur from above the DPC.
Concrete Walls and Floors
Concrete normally allows moisture to pass through so a vertical damp proof
barrier. Barriers may be a coating or membrane applied to the exterior of the
concrete. The coating may be asphalt, asphalt emulsion, a thinned asphalt
called cutback asphalt, or a rubber polymer. Membranes are rubberized asphalt
or epdm rubber. Rubberized products perform better because concrete
sometimes develops cracks and the barrier does not crack with the concrete.
Residial Damp Proofing
Until the 20th century masonry buildings in Europe and North America were
generally constructed from highly permeable materials such as stone and lime-
based mortars and renders covered with soft water-based paints which all
allowed any damp to diffuse into the air without damage. The later application
of impermeable materials which prevent the natural dispersion of damp, such
as tiles, linoleum, cement and gypsum-based materials and synthetic paints is
thought by some to be the most significant cause of damp problems in older
buildings.
There are many solutions for dealing with dampness in existing buildings, the
choice of which will largely be determined by the types of dampness that are
affecting the building (e.g. rising damp, hygroscopic damp, condensation,
penetrating damp etc...).
Health and Safety
Some DPC materials may contain asbestos fibres. This was more commonly
found in the older, grey sealants as well as flexible tar boards.
Other possibly hazardous materials include the use of lead sheets as a DPC
material.
References
Greenlaw, Bruce. "Moisture-Proofing New Basements", Foundations and concrete
work. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 2003. 93. Print.
http://www.timberwise.co.uk/damp-proofing-solutions/
Punmia, B. C., A. K. Jain, and Arun Kumar Jain. Building construction. 10th ed.
New Delhi: Laxmi Pub., 2008. 631. Print.
"Damp-proof membrane (dpm, DPM)" def. 1. Gorse, Christopher A., and David
Johnston. A dictionary of construction, surveying, and civil engineering. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2012. 104. Print.
P.C. Varghese (2005). Building Materials. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 230. ISBN 81-
203-2848-5.
Curtin, William George. Structural masonry designers' manual. 3rd ed. revised
Oxford: Blackwell Science, 2008. 314. Print.
Greenlaw, Bruce. "Moisture-Proofing New Basements", Foundations and concrete
work. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 2003. 93-101. Print.
Society of the Protection of Ancient Buildings. "Technical Q&A 20: Rising Damp".
Retrieved 16 July 2013.
