You will know doubt be aware that structural damp can be the cause of a great of secondary damage to a house which can quite literally take hold before you suspect a thing. Damp is quite often caused by leaks in inadequately maintained roofs and guttering.
Obvious signs of damp from your roof
Damp often manifests itself in blotchy patches on walls, wet and crumbling plaster, as well as in the presence of fungus that will be clearly visible and somewhat unsightly. In extreme cases, excess water will be present on the surface of the walls.
This type of leak can be caused by loose or absent roof tiles and overflowing guttering, but you should bear in mind that it can also be caused by poorly-fitted windows and doors.
A leak coming from the roof will very often cause ceilings to be stained, and is caused by the leaking downpipe in the roof. This dark–coloured staining is known as mildew, which unless treated will continue to seep through and be visible even if covered by multiple coats of regular emulsion paint.
How to fix the problem of roof-derived damp
Make sure that the root cause of the water leak is determined and fixed accordingly to help prevent any further problems. This will mean mending any faults in the structure of the roof, including replacing missing or damaged tiles and doing the same with faulty or damaged guttering or drainpipes.
To remove mildew, gently scrape the fungus from the ceiling and walls and then carefully sand down the affected area. Be sure to wear protective goggles to avoid getting any dust or other detritus in your eyes.
Then apply two coats of stain block, which comes in the form of paint or aerosol, and which despite being not especially eco-friendly, will provide an impermeable layer of protection for your ceiling from mildew. Once the stain block has dried after about ten minutes, you should apply a coat of regular emulsion and you will hopefully be damp-free from then on.
If you live in Pontefract and would like further advice on the issue of roof-derived damp in your home, please don’t hesitate to call DPR Roofing Services on 01977 220016.