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On occasions we are asked about the possibility of dry lining walls where rising damp has been encountered and a subsequent damp proof course installed.  When considering dry lining the following must be borne in mind;

Rising damp is the upward capillary migration of ground water/moisture in masonry.  One effect of rising damp is to carry salts from the ground into the wall.  As a result hygroscopic salts (particularly nitrates and chlorides) will normally be present in walls and wall plaster suffering from/affected by rising damp.  Hygroscopic salts have the ability to absorb moisture from the atmosphere/surrounding environment therefore potentially leaving a wall damp due to hygroscopic moisture alone.

12 months ago Sovereign Chemicals Ltd was approached by a local tradesman, Kevin Lindow of KL Decorative Coatings, with an idea for a new product. As a professional plasterer & applicator of specialist coatings such as Venetian Plaster and Silicon Renders, Kevin regularly came across problems when re-skimming old walls.

Did you know – not all cements are all cement? Cement has many different types and can be classified as CEM I, CEM II, CEM III, CEM IV and CEM V. These classifications also have their own subdivisions so that there are numerous types of cement available. For many decades the mainstay of the construction industry has been CEM I – Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) which contains a minimum of 95% cement and the other 5% is minor additives.