Injecting damp proof cream Portugal
There are many names for it but most of us call it injected DPC liquid. It comes in the form of a liquid or cream and is applied under pressure into the external house walls. We are occasionally asked if we carry out Injecting damp proof cream Portugal
We are not fans of this type of product for use in Portugal to say the least.
We don’t have any horror stories where we have used the product in Portugal and have come unstuck.
We simply don’t use it because we are in Portugal and dealing with homes and offices which are built in the Portuguese way.
By “the Portuguese way” I don’t mean build badly (although obviously some are shocking) I mean built very differently to the way that we build in Northern Europe and the UK in particular.
What it comes down to is materials used and methods of construction.
Take an old stone house for example. The can be very beautiful, embedded in the landscape and have masses of charm. Then again……..They can be dank, smelly, rotten, humid and infuriatingly damp.
The houses will have been built straight onto the ground with no DPC damp proof course.
Many stone houses are built against a bank of earth so that the ground floors are below ground level on one or two sides. These areas can occasionally have running water in them when it rains.
No amount of DPC cream will stop that.
The walls are constructed of two stone layers. One making the outside of the house these are usually the biggest stones and one layer on the inside. These are usually the smaller stones. To help the stones hold together the builder sealed the gaps between the stones with soil and manure which stops the wind blowing through them.
It also has the advantage of allowing the stones to move slightly when the weight of the finished house settles into the land.
Otherwise there would be huge cracks in the walls.
Once we understand that the wall is constructed of loosely fitting stones and mud you can understand why the injection damp proof course products can’t work.
In fact don’t take our word for it contact some of these companies yourself and say. “I want to stop the damp in my Portuguese house. It is made of random local stone with soil infill in the joints. Ask, Which product do you recommend to cure my damp problem?”
If you get any response at all I will be surprised.
If you are worried about any aspect of your home in Portugal just contact info@castelo construction.com
