Damp & Leaks

How a house sheds rain, how damp gets in (by rain, ground, air or pipe) and how to read the clues each leaves. Act safely on a leak, judge a damp survey before you pay for treatment, and reseal a bath that stays sealed, without climbing or opening anything up.

What this course covers

Covers: how walls and roofs shed waterrain, ground, condensation and leak cluescondensation and ventilationjudging damp surveys and quotesresealing a bath
Doesn’t cover: roof, gutter or other work at heightstructural or foundation repairplumbing and electrical repairslandlord duties and tenancy law

Recommended orderLessons build on earlier ideas. Follow the numbers as you read.

How a House Keeps Water Out
See why an old solid wall soaks up rain and dries out again, why a cavity wall drains instead, and why sealing the wrong one makes it wetter.
10 steps
Where Damp Comes From
Tell rain, ground moisture, condensation and pipes apart by where the damp sits, when it gets worse and what it leaves behind.
11 stepsBuilds on How a House Keeps Water Out
Where Rain Goes
Follow rain from the roof to the drain, see why the joins leak and where an overflow really lands, and get a gutter cleared and checked without climbing.
10 stepsBuilds on How a House Keeps Water Out
A Walk Round the Outside
Read the outside of your house from the ground: mortar that should wear before the brick, ground raised above the damp-proof course, weep holes, air bricks and sills.
12 stepsBuilds on Where Rain Goes, Where Damp Comes From
Condensation and Ventilation
See why condensation and mould gather on the coldest surface in a room, and how to get water out of the air rather than only warming it.
11 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From
Damp Surveys, Meters and Treatments
Learn what a damp meter really measures, why salts and foil fool it, and what a survey should show before you pay for injection and replastering.
9 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From, Condensation and Ventilation
Tracking the Leak
Make a leak safe, then read it by where it shows and when it is wet, and hand over what you know without opening anything up.
10 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From
Why the Bath Edge Leaks
See why the joint between bath and wall moves every time you fill the bath, and tell a failed bead from failed grout, a loose bath or a leak somewhere else.
9 stepsBuilds on Tracking the Leak
Resealing a Bath
Reseal a bath so it stays sealed: decide whether it’s your job, take the old bead out completely, load the bath, run and tool the new bead, and let it cure.
10 stepsBuilds on Why the Bath Edge Leaks
One Damp Room
Read the marks in one damp room by where and when each appears, decide what to deal with first, and judge a quote that blames one cause for all of them.
10 stepsBuilds on A Walk Round the Outside, Condensation and Ventilation, Damp Surveys, Meters and Treatments, Tracking the Leak

No. 06

No. 0610 lessons

Damp & Leaks

What this course covers

Covers: how walls and roofs shed waterrain, ground, condensation and leak cluescondensation and ventilationjudging damp surveys and quotesresealing a bath
Doesn’t cover: roof, gutter or other work at heightstructural or foundation repairplumbing and electrical repairslandlord duties and tenancy law

Recommended orderLessons build on earlier ideas. Follow the numbers as you read.

How a House Keeps Water Out
See why an old solid wall soaks up rain and dries out again, why a cavity wall drains instead, and why sealing the wrong one makes it wetter.
10 steps
Where Damp Comes From
Tell rain, ground moisture, condensation and pipes apart by where the damp sits, when it gets worse and what it leaves behind.
11 stepsBuilds on How a House Keeps Water Out
Where Rain Goes
Follow rain from the roof to the drain, see why the joins leak and where an overflow really lands, and get a gutter cleared and checked without climbing.
10 stepsBuilds on How a House Keeps Water Out
A Walk Round the Outside
Read the outside of your house from the ground: mortar that should wear before the brick, ground raised above the damp-proof course, weep holes, air bricks and sills.
12 stepsBuilds on Where Rain Goes, Where Damp Comes From
Condensation and Ventilation
See why condensation and mould gather on the coldest surface in a room, and how to get water out of the air rather than only warming it.
11 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From
Damp Surveys, Meters and Treatments
Learn what a damp meter really measures, why salts and foil fool it, and what a survey should show before you pay for injection and replastering.
9 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From, Condensation and Ventilation
Tracking the Leak
Make a leak safe, then read it by where it shows and when it is wet, and hand over what you know without opening anything up.
10 stepsBuilds on Where Damp Comes From
Why the Bath Edge Leaks
See why the joint between bath and wall moves every time you fill the bath, and tell a failed bead from failed grout, a loose bath or a leak somewhere else.
9 stepsBuilds on Tracking the Leak
Resealing a Bath
Reseal a bath so it stays sealed: decide whether it’s your job, take the old bead out completely, load the bath, run and tool the new bead, and let it cure.
10 stepsBuilds on Why the Bath Edge Leaks
One Damp Room
Read the marks in one damp room by where and when each appears, decide what to deal with first, and judge a quote that blames one cause for all of them.
10 stepsBuilds on A Walk Round the Outside, Condensation and Ventilation, Damp Surveys, Meters and Treatments, Tracking the Leak