Degradation of materials by water

Damp Moisture diffused through the air or a solid substance or condensed on a surface, typically with detrimental or unpleasant effects.
Penetrating damp Penetrating damp is caused by water leaking through walls. This type of damp may move around within a building, but this is through horizontal movement rather than by travelling up walls. Overflowing gutters, missing roof tiles, downspouts, leaking pipes, badly fitting windows or doors and damaged pointing, cladding, flashing or render are all sources of penetrating damp. Symptoms of penetrating damp: Penetrating damp often shows up through damp patches on walls, ceilings or floors, which may darken when it rains. Youre more likely to get penetrating damp if you live in an older building with solid walls, as cavity walls provide some protection. Typical signs of penetrating damp are: growing circles of damp on walls or ceilings spotty, discolored patches on walls wet and crumbly plaster signs of spores or mildew drips and puddles. Rising Damp Rising damp is caused by ground water moving up through a wall. Most walls allow some water in, but its usually stopped from causing damage by a barrier called a damp-proof course. This is usually a horizontal plastic or slate strip in the wall. This usually occurs in older buildings where the damp proof course in the walls has deteriorated due to age or non-availability ineffectual of damp proof course. Where the floor level is close to the ground, the degree of rising dampness will be greater. Damp will rise by capillary action through the pores of the masonry. This type of damp can also happen when the level of the ground outside your home is higher than your damp-proof course, allowing water to get above it The moisture will continue to rise until it reaches a height where gravity takes over and pulls it down again. This height is seldom more than 1.20m. Symptoms of rising damp: If you have rising damp you may notice damaged skirting boards and floorboards, crumbling or salt stained plaster and peeling paint and wallpaper. There may also be a tide mark along the wall. Condenstion Damp mould on walls and celings can be caused by the air held inside a building, which often incorporates high moisture content due to cooking, bathing, drying clothes etc. As the temperature of humid air drops, its capacity to retain its water vapour content reduces and once a

dew point is reached, the condensate is deposited onto surfaces that are cooler than the moisture laden air. Condensation damp is immediately obvious on non-porous surfaces such as glass and ceramics but is, initially, less noticeable on porous surfaces such as plasterboards, wall plaster and timber, which may simply absorb the damp and encourage black mould growth. Symptoms of condensation: You may notice water droplets on windows or walls, see dark mould appearing and/or notice an unpleasant smell. If left untreated, condensation can damage paint and plaster and cause window frames to decay. To manage humidity and control condensation effectively: homes are adequately heated - warm air has higher water carrying capacity than cool air. walls are insulated - a warm wall is less likely to attract condensate ventilation is increased - force moisture laden air out of the home to lower the humidity and dew point Other deteriorating effects of water include corrosion of steel, attack on concrete due to dissolved sulfates in groundwater, fungal attack on timber. All these have already been discussed.

Fire Safety
Fire Protection of Structural Steelwork