Damp is one of the most common faults in older Cumbrian property. Driving rain off the Solway, solid stone walls, lime mortar and houses built long before damp-proof courses were standard all play a part. Get the diagnosis wrong and it is easy to spend good money on a treatment that does nothing.
Ashcroft is an approved Sovereign installer for tanking and timber treatment, and damp work fits naturally with the rest of what we do. We employ our own joiners, bricklayers, plumbers and groundworkers, so one firm can find the cause, carry out the treatment, and put right the gutters, drains, pointing, plaster and joinery around it. You can read more about the business and our trades.
Damp in a building usually comes from one of three places, and each needs a different fix.
The classic mistake is injecting a new damp-proof course into a wall that is actually wet from a leaking gutter or a raised flower bed. A proper survey looks at the outside of the building first, checks ground levels against the internal floor, and treats moisture readings as a guide rather than a verdict, because salts in old plaster can give high meter readings on a wall that is no longer wet. BS 6576, the code of practice for diagnosing rising damp and installing chemical damp-proof courses, makes the same point: rule out the other causes before treating for rising damp.
Rooms below ground hold back soil moisture and sometimes water under pressure, so they are treated differently from walls above ground. The reference document is BS 8102:2022, the code of practice for protecting below-ground structures against water ingress. It sets out three types of protection:
Higher-risk basements often combine two types. The level of dryness depends on what the room is for: a store or workshop can tolerate more than a bedroom or living room, which needs the driest grade, Grade 3. Drained systems with pumps also need regular servicing, so ask for a maintenance plan with any Type C job.
Turning a cellar into a habitable room usually needs Building Regulations approval for things like ventilation, insulation and escape. Around Maryport, Workington and Whitehaven that means Cumberland Council's building control team or a registered building control approver.
Damp and rot go together. Joist ends sitting in a wet wall, skirtings against damp plaster and timber lintels behind failed pointing are where wet rot starts. Dry rot is rarer but more serious, because it can spread through masonry to reach dry timber. Woodworm is a separate problem but often turns up in the same survey. The order is always the same: stop the moisture, cut out and replace decayed timber, then treat what remains.
Traditional solid stone walls with lime mortar manage moisture by letting it evaporate. Cement render, hard cement pointing and impermeable tanking can trap water in the wall and make things worse. On these buildings, sorting out the drainage, lowering ground levels and repointing in lime often achieve more than any injection. If the building is listed, many damp treatments need listed building consent, so speak to the council's conservation officer before work starts.
If you have damp walls, a musty cellar or rot in the floor, contact us through our contact page with the address, the age of the property and a description of the problem. Photos help. Our teams have also worked on putting homes right after flooding, and you can read what some of those clients said on our testimonials page.
You cannot tell from a damp patch alone. Rising damp is less common than many people think, and condensation or penetrating damp can look very similar. A survey that checks the outside of the building, the ground levels and the pattern of moisture and salts is the only reliable way to tell.
As an approved Sovereign installer we offer a choice of 10, 20 or 30 year Protection Scheme Guarantees for damp-proof courses and timber treatment. We explain what the guarantee covers before you commit to the work.
Often, yes, but it needs a system designed for the driest grade, plus Building Regulations approval for ventilation, insulation and a safe means of escape. If a cellar is not suitable, we will say so.
Usually not. Damp-proof course injection and replastering are normally done a room or two at a time. It is dusty and noisy work, though, so rooms need emptying and furniture moving.
We will look at them, but the answer is often a gentler, breathable approach rather than chemicals and tanking. Listed building consent may be needed, and the owner must have it in place before work starts.
Ashcroft is an approved Sovereign installer for tanking and timber treatment, with a choice of 10, 20 or 30 year Protection Scheme Guarantees for timber and damp proof courses.