DIY Smoke and Water Damage Repair: A Damage Mediation Blog

Have you looked at the walls of your property and noticed that they appear to be damaged? Many things could harm your property walls, but one possibility is salt damp. If you suspect that your home could be suffering from salt damps, arranging for a salt damp inspection can be critical to confirming your suspicions and finding a way to deal with the problem. However, before you can get to that stage, it is helpful to examine the damage for yourself to see whether it is worthwhile calling a salt damp inspection company, or whether the cause could be elsewhere.

Signs of a possible salt damp problem

Signs of a potential salt damp attack can be both interior and exterior.

Interior signs - Is the plaster or paint damp or perhaps bubbling away from the wall surface? Have you seen a tide line appearing low down on the wall? Are there signs that the skirting board has begun to rot, or have you seen white furry salts appearing on the walls?

Exterior signs - Damaged caused by salt damp will normally only manifest up to around a single meter in height off the ground. You may notice that the brick faces have crumbled away or that gaps are starting to show where the mortar has crumbled. If the weather is wet, there could be a wet stain in evidence at the base of the wall or white furry salts showing on the wall.

Calling for a salt damp inspection

While any of the above indicators could suggest a salt damp problem, other issues could cause similar symptoms. An individual with experience dealing with salt damp can determine whether that is the problem. They can also suggest ways that the problem could be treated or prevented from occurring.

Treating salt damp

If the salt damp inspection confirms the presence of salt damp, there is a variety of possible solutions. Properties vary in age, construction and surrounding environment, so there are many things that the inspector could suggest. Sometimes, fitting a new waterproof barrier is the right choice, but on other occasions, changing the surrounding environment may be more effective at preventing damp from reoccurring. The inspector could recommend improving the ventilation or dealing with drainage issues that are increasing the dampness. They might even recommend removing any flower beds that touch your exterior walls and cause dampness to seep into the wall.