The Devastating Effects of Rising Damp in the Construction Industry

The unacceptable access and penetration of moisture into building through its structural component such as column’s, walls, floors, roofs etc. is called dampness. This study seeks to provide sound up to date information about the various causes of dampness in buildings, the effect of dampness in buildings, method of preventing dampness in buildings or remedies of dampness and diagnosis of dampness. Causes of Dampness in building are a great concern in the construction industry as it often leads to deterioration of structural component such as columns, walls, floors, roofs, and encourage rapid growth of molds and bacteria which causes related health problems. The foundations of all structures are embedded into the soil, blocks and bricks being porous or masonry below ground level can absorb moisture from adjacent ground or by capillary action. Causes of dampness are numerous and most of them are not completely solvable later, this is why this research work seeks to provide all the necessary precaution and preventive measures in order to avoid it because prevention is always better than cure. While water molecules are present in the air and adsorbed by materials within all buildings, when the materials become sufficiently damp to cause material damage or visible mould growth we often say that the building has excess dampness or has dampness problem or we characterize the building as a damp building. The dampness and mould growth may occur o