Rainfall in Cornwall is common all year round now, but particularly more so during the winter months and during the colder months the environment doesn’t dry as quickly. Add to that the fact that we are a peninsula and are almost surrounded by the sea, it is not surprising that Cornwall has a high level of dampness.

The most noticeable place for damp in a property is within the walls and this has become more prevalent in traditionally built historic building and walls.

Eliminating damp in old walls is almost impossible, but with the correct care and maintenance of out historic building it can be limited so it is not as noticeable and does not cause any major ill effects on the structure of the building. Throughout our website we regularly mention breathability, that being the ability for an historic building to enable moisture to enter the structure but also allow it to escape again, and when this is compromised issues with damp is almost certain to arise.

There are many methods that can be used to maintain the breathability of the structure and limit damp in old walls in Cornwall, one of them being land drainage.

Moisture entering the walls at ground level can be due to external ground levels being in direct contact with the wall and/or internal ground levels being lower than the external ground levels.

To alleviate these causes of damp, we would recommend the installation of a land drainage system at the base of the external walls.

There are three main functions to this form of damp limitation in Cornwall, and they are:

• Rainwater run-off from the walls will naturally find its way down to the drainage trench
• Rainwater from the roof, via effective gutters and downpipes, will be diverted straight into a drainage pipe
• The vast majority of water at ground level will find its way onto the drainage trench before it reaches the base of the wall, meaning and capillary movement of water to the wall base will be negligible

To ensure any water within the land drainage pipes and trench is diverted away from the walls, the land drainage system should run to a suitably distanced soak away.

There are also other methods of damp limitation in old walls in Cornwall, and they are:

• Removal of non-breathable cementitious claddings, followed by the introduction of appropriate Lime applications.

• Assessment of the current rainwater system and facias, and if appropriate repair the existing or replace with new.

• Addressing any problems with the roof or chimney, e.g. slipped tiles, failed mortar joints.

• Removal or cutting back of any vegetation within close proximity to the wall.

If you have a land drainage in Cornwall or Damp Limitation in Cornwall project that you would like to discuss, please Contact us.

Land Drainage Systems Cornwall – Damp Limitation Cornwall – Damp Specialists Cornwall – Historic Building Specialists Cornwall.