Damp proofingin Buckinghamshireincluding period property

The starting question in a Buckinghamshire cottage is not how bad the rising damp is, but whether the wall ever had a damp proof course. Many did not, and were never meant to: lime mortar, permeable plaster and breathable finishes allowed moisture to move in and back out again.

When those walls are cement rendered, sealed with modern masonry paint or lined with impermeable materials, the moisture balance breaks and damp appears internally. The fix is often to remove what is trapping the moisture and reinstate breathable finishes, not to inject the wall.

Where a chemical damp proof course genuinely is appropriate, usually in later brick construction with a failed slate or bitumen DPC, we install accredited Sovereign or Wykamol systems and follow with salt-retardant replastering, because salt left in old plaster keeps the surface damp regardless.

On sloping plots the most effective work is frequently outside the building. Regrading so ground falls away from walls, forming drainage channels, adding land drainage above the building, clearing and correcting gullies, and lowering ground that has crept above DPC level all reduce the water arriving at the structure.

That work is cheaper and more durable than treating a wall that will simply keep being loaded. We look for it at survey and say so when it is the real answer.

Buckinghamshire houses often have cellars, dairies or half-buried stores that people want to use as utility rooms, gyms, offices or wine stores. Those spaces need structural waterproofing designed for water under pressure, cementitious tanking bonded to sound masonry, or a cavity drain membrane with perimeter drainage and gravity or pumped discharge.

Which approach suits depends on the construction and how much water arrives. In rubble, flint or irregular masonry a membrane system is often the more reliable route because it manages water rather than trying to hold it back through an uneven substrate.

Repairs to Buckinghamshire masonry need to suit the original material. We repoint using appropriate mixes, cut out failed cement render and replace it with a suitable breathable system where that is right for the wall, replace badly spalled brick, and reinstate the sill and drip details that keep water off the elevation.

Where cracking has opened a route for water, often through movement on clay-and-chalk transitions or at extension junctions, helical brick stitching restores continuity across the joints without rebuilding the wall.

We cover south Buckinghamshire most frequently, and also work in High Wycombe, Slough, Middlesex, Harrow, Watford, London, West London and Surrey.

Calls are taken Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 1pm. Note that for listed buildings and conservation areas you should check consent requirements before work starts; we will flag where we think that applies.