Damp Proofing In Nottingham
If you've spotted damp patches, crumbling plaster or a musty smell creeping through your home, you need a damp proofing service that gets the diagnosis right first time, not just a quick treatment that ignores the cause.
Midland Preservation Ltd has been treating rising and penetrating damp across Nottingham and the East Midlands for 30 years, and every survey is carried out by a CSRT qualified surveyor rather than a salesperson working to a quota.
As a member of the Property Care Association, we follow the industry's recognised standards for identifying the true cause of damp before recommending any treatment, so you only pay for work your property genuinely needs.
Rising Damp Explained
Rising damp happens when moisture from the ground works its way up through a wall by capillary action, usually because the damp proof course has failed, been bridged, or was never fitted at all.
It typically shows itself no higher than about a metre above floor level and carries hygroscopic salts up into the wall as it rises.
Left untreated, these salts contaminate the existing plaster, which is why the affected plaster usually needs to be removed entirely and replaced with specially formulated salt resistant plaster rather than simply redecorated over.
Diagnosing rising damp correctly matters because it is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed forms of damp, and the wrong treatment simply wastes your money.
Penetrating Damp Explained
Penetrating damp is water entering a building from an external source such as the roof, walls, windows or doors, rather than rising up from the ground.
Unlike rising damp, it can appear at any height on a wall and often shows up as a localised patch rather than a horizontal band. Because the cause sits outside the wall itself, fixing penetrating damp usually means repairing the specific defect letting water in, not just treating the symptom inside.
Signs Your Nottingham Property Has A Damp Problem
- Tide marks or staining: horizontal bands low down on internal walls, a classic sign of rising damp.
- Crumbling or salt stained plaster: ground salts drawn into the wall contaminate the plaster coat above.
- Decaying skirting boards or timber floors: prolonged dampness causes timber in contact with wet walls to rot.
- Peeling paint or lifting wallpaper: trapped moisture behind decoration pushes it away from the surface.
- Blotchy patches near the roofline or around windows: often the first sign of penetrating rather than rising damp.
- A persistent musty smell: sometimes noticeable before any visible staining appears.
How We Diagnose & Treat Damp
Every survey starts with an electronic moisture meter, not a visual guess, so we can map exactly how far the damp has spread and rule out condensation as the actual cause.
For rising damp, treatment typically means installing a chemical damp proof course and replastering with salt resistant plaster, following the guidance set out in British Standard BS 6576: 2005+A1:2012.
For penetrating damp, we identify and repair the specific defect, whether that's repointing brickwork, renewing flashing or clearing guttering, so the source of the problem is dealt with rather than just the symptom.
Our Five Stage Damp Proofing Process
Enquiry
Call us or send a message and we'll ask a few quick questions about what you're seeing, so we can arrange a survey at a time that suits you.
Assessment
One of our CSRT qualified surveyors visits your Nottingham property to inspect the affected areas using an electronic moisture meter.
Diagnosis
You receive a clear explanation of exactly what type of damp we've found, why it's happening, and a fixed price quotation for putting it right.
Treatment
Our damp proofing experts carry out the agreed work to a high standard, from installing a chemical damp proof course to repairing the point of water entry.
Guarantee
Every job comes with a 10 year guarantee, giving you long term confidence that the problem has been properly resolved rather than just patched over.
Book Your Damp Survey In Nottingham
Damp affecting your home rarely gets better on its own. If you've noticed any of the signs above, or simply want an honest opinion from a Property Care Association member with 30 years of experience across Nottingham and the East Midlands, call us on 0115 946 4484 or request your survey today.
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