Location: Bloxham School - Banbury, Oxfordshire
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Problem: Bloxham School is located in Banbury, Oxfordshire and is steeped in history with dwellings used for education going back hundreds of years. There are many stone built buildings within the Bloxham School grounds which have required many structural repairs over their life time that have, at times, covered up underlying damp problems.
The damp proofing project we were tasked with was in relation to an external wall in one of the stone buildings. The wall contained a once used fireplace which readily allowed water containing a number of salts to spoil the decorated walls and cause a number of damp problems. We were tasked with remedying these damp problems and we used a dry lining Delta Cavity Membrane system to help us do so.
Works completed: On arrival the first task carried out by our damp proof experts was to cover the floors using polythene sheets to protect from dust. Long term damp problems from the water ingress from the ground and chimney breast were amplified by several salts found in the water. The water held several types of salts including nitrates, sulphates and chlorides, all of which in large quantities over long periods will cause damp related damage to walls and floors. To prevent this from happening we needed to create a barrier using a Delta mesh coated membrane and we refer to the standard BRE 245 for the need to re-plaster. These membranes were fixed to the wall creating a dry barrier from the damp wall ready for the plaster board to be adhered to. The final stage was to re-plaster ready for decoration. Membranes are a physical barrier which is completely impervious to water, creating a dry zone from damp substrates. Delta membranes have a built in cavity design from small 3mm – 20mm dimples that allow moisture and more importantly vapour to move and not be trapped. This allows any moisture to freely evaporate. In more sever cases of water entering a property, these membranes can be used as a water management system where water is collected and directed away.
Advantages of a damp proof mesh coated Membrane
