Rising Damp

Foamcrest

Our builder didn’t put a damp course in when he built our villa and so now 8 years later we have a problem. Does anyone know of a builder you can offer a solution. The villa is in Penestanan.

Markit

The only solution I'm aware of is to meter by meter install a new damp course around the foundation of your existing house - an expensive and time consuming option. Just be happy the top of your house is still connected to the bottom the next time we have an earthquake. Lack of damp course is a "feature" not a failure as many suggest...

AuroraB

Some info from a Sanur based company; https://www.mrfixitbali.com/walls/prevent-rising-damp-in-walls-38.html

Foamcrest

Thanks very much for both of you for your imputs. I am now back in Australia having just spent 6 weeks in Bali being terribly I’ll with some flu thingy so have been off the air for some weeks. As a short term measure we have decided to just keep painting the area affected, nearly all areas, as it’s cheap and cosmetically ok for guests to look at. Yes the answer is to cut the bricks and insert a damp course but getting someone reliable to do it could be a problem. AuroraB I will contact the builders whose site you posted and see what they can do and how much it will cost. Thanks for trying to help

Balifrog

Just my 5 cents. In the West rising is prevented by several methods, see pics. Disclaimer : One need to check if those methods are compatible with earthquake resistant construction regulations....(although from what I saw in Bali.....) ![](https://balipod.com/uploads/attachments/3793-cebe392efb0577cda61ef31998c6bf36.jpg ![](https://balipod.com/uploads/attachments/3794-1fa07cd1a5c59b733d877990868edd27.jpg ![](https://balipod.com/uploads/attachments/3795-dfaa0f855ec353190469bc667e3ac061.jpg ![](https://balipod.com/uploads/attachments/3796-ce158a9118e5e1bf44324fa9f8c2a84a.jpg ![](https://balipod.com/uploads/attachments/3797-8f75832ad1c17a613613de9918b6ba5b.jpg It is technically very possible to repair a damaged wall by injection of specific grout. See the links here under https://www.properla.net/rising-damp-treatment/ https://www.twistfix.co.uk/how-to-damp-proof-walls Note : I worked in deep foundarion and this was how we repaired a "leaking" diaphragm wall. Well, on a bigger scale...

Markit

Just my 5 cents. In the West rising is prevented by several methods, see pics. Disclaimer : One need to check if those methods are compatible with earthquake resistant construction regulations....(although from what I saw in Bali.....) [ATTACH type="full" alt="images.jpeg-11.jpg"]3793[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="images.jpeg-10.jpg"]3794[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="images.jpeg-9.jpg"]3795[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="images.jpeg-7.jpg"]3796[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="images.jpeg-6.jpg"]3797[/ATTACH] It is technically very possible to repair a damaged wall by injection of specific grout. See the links here under https://www.properla.net/rising-damp-treatment/ https://www.twistfix.co.uk/how-to-damp-proof-walls Note : I worked in deep foundarion and this was how we repaired a "leaking" diaphragm wall. Well, on a bigger scale...

What do you fear most rising damp or what the top of your house will do when it's presented with a Richter scale 7 or 8 and isn't physically connected to your foundations?

Foamcrest

Good point Markit, but I have to say that if we get an earthquake measuring 7 or 8 in Penestanan I don’t think there will much left of our villa, or probably the rest of Penestanan, with or without a damp course. Balipod thanks for your input. I have heard about the injecting whatever it is but don’t really understand it. I think they drill a series of holes into the brickwork and the silicon or whatever it is spreads forming a barrier. I will investigate the the who and how of it all. Thanks again.

Foamcrest

AuroraB I’ve just written to Mr Fixit to ask what the process is to quote etc so I will let you know what feedback I get. Thanks again.

Balifrog

Markit wrote What do you fear most rising damp or what the top of your house will do when it's presented with a Richter scale 7 or 8 and isn't physically connected to your foundations?

Richter 7 or 8, if you're close to the epicenter it won't make any difference. Edit : The way to improve anti seismic resistance is to heavily increase the steel / concrete ratio. Steel being flexible where as concrete is not. When I see them using 8 or 10 mm round bar steel (not even R-bar) for the piles supporting 1st / 2nd floor or for foundation it make me smile. And the use of black (sea ?) sand sure doesn't improve the quality of the concrete....

Balifrog

Foamcrest wrote Good point Markit, but I have to say that if we get an earthquake measuring 7 or 8 in Penestanan I don’t think there will much left of our villa, or probably the rest of Penestanan, with or without a damp course. Balipod thanks for your input. I have heard about the injecting whatever it is but don’t really understand it. I think they drill a series of holes into the brickwork and the silicon or whatever it is spreads forming a barrier. I will investigate the the who and how of it all. Thanks again.

Do a search on Youtube, plenty videos available.on this technology. It is not cheap (SIKA products ain't cheap) and it is a serious job, but it works.

gtrken

Waterproofing painted over the affected areas and then covered by a quality paint is a far cheaper alternative. It's Bali , humid, wet and mouldy. Not much you can do except budget for a yearly repaint. As stated, it's more a cosmetic thing , especially if renting out the house/villa/Kost/room but the alternatives are expensive. Will wait to see what Foamcrest comes back with but suggest you may want to be sitting down... Cheers Ken

Markit

Balifrog wrote And the use of black (sea ?) sand sure doesn't improve the quality of the concrete....

I think you may be mistaken as the crushed rock/sand comes from quarries in Karangasem and is responsible for the never-ending caravan of trucks that block the roads and have done for the last 15 years including during the entire 2 years of the pandemic. If they were using beach/ocean sand there wouldn't be a beach left in Indonesia. Even on the Gilis they import the sand by the boatload from Lombok for building as the beach/ocean sand is too salty for using, won't harden. Occasionally have the same problem, might also be salt.

Balifrog

gtrken wrote Waterproofing painted over the affected areas and then covered by a quality paint is a far cheaper alternative. It's Bali , humid, wet and mouldy. Not much you can do except budget for a yearly repaint. As stated, it's more a cosmetic thing , especially if renting out the house/villa/Kost/room but the alternatives are expensive. Will wait to see what Foamcrest comes back with but suggest you may want to be sitting down... Cheers Ken

I live inside a ressort, 2 storey bungalow. Every year after the rainy season, we repaint the small rear court wall and do the necessary cosmetic inside plastering / repaint. Cost shared with the owner. He supplies the material, I pay the labor cost. Usually 1 1/2 day work. And the place looks clean and neat.

Markit

mugwump wrote You may be speaking about only what happens on the east side of the island, but certainly not the west where salt is a part of all the black sand shoveled off the beaches and transported away daily. It started about 15 years ago without a let up and I sit here waiting for the repercussions.

that's interesting because no builder or architect would dare use salty sand in their build, it'd just fall down as the cement blew out of the joints.

Balifrog

Markit wrote I think you may be mistaken as the crushed rock/sand comes from quarries in Karangasem and is responsible for the never-ending caravan of trucks that block the roads and have done for the last 15 years including during the entire 2 years of the pandemic. If they were using beach/ocean sand there wouldn't be a beach left in Indonesia. Even on the Gilis they import the sand by the boatload from Lombok for building as the beach/ocean sand is too salty for using, won't harden. Occasionally have the same problem, might also be salt.

I stand corrected.... for the last sentence : I should probably stop salt as well.....

gtrken

Markit wrote I think you may be mistaken as the crushed rock/sand comes from quarries in Karangasem and is responsible for the never-ending caravan of trucks that block the roads and have done for the last 15 years including during the entire 2 years of the pandemic. If they were using beach/ocean sand there wouldn't be a beach left in Indonesia. Even on the Gilis they import the sand by the boatload from Lombok for building as the beach/ocean sand is too salty for using, won't harden. Occasionally have the same problem, might also be salt.

Well isn't that why your homemade Mayo had that special extra ingredient ? Cheers Giving up Salt immediately Ken

mugwump

Markit wrote I think you may be mistaken as the crushed rock/sand comes from quarries in Karangasem and is responsible for the never-ending caravan of trucks that block the roads and have done for the last 15 years including during the entire 2 years of the pandemic. If they were using beach/ocean sand there wouldn't be a beach left in Indonesia. Even on the Gilis they import the sand by the boatload from Lombok for building as the beach/ocean sand is too salty for using, won't harden. Occasionally have the same problem, might also be salt.

You may be speaking about only what happens on the east side of the island, but certainly not the west where salt is a part of all the black sand shoveled off the beaches and transported away daily. It started about 15 years ago without a let up and I sit here waiting for the repercussions.

mugwump

Markit wrote that's interesting because no builder or architect would dare use salty sand in their build, it'd just fall down as the cement blew out of the joints.

Then use your imagination about where the sand is going. Do all the users really know the origins?

Balifrog

mugwump wrote Then use your imagination about where the sand is going. Do all the users really know the origins?

There is huge sand collecting and trafficking world wide. Several docus on Youtube on the subject. For Instance Saudi Arabia imports nearly all the sand it uses for construction, as the desert sand is not suitable (wrong granulosity, too fine, too "liquid")

AuroraB

Balifrog wrote I live inside a ressort, 2 storey bungalow. Every year after the rainy season, we repaint the small rear court wall and do the necessary cosmetic inside plastering / repaint.

If inside and particularly a bedroom I would probably aim to eliminate the source for mold growth due to the health hazard. I have inspected many villas in Sanur and quite a few shows mold and damage to wall paint from moisture/water either sucked up from ground or leaking in from above. In one villa I punched a small hole into a "bladder" forming on the wall and it was like opening a water hose. The villa I stay in now is built on a plint (10 cm wider that brick wall above) i.e. ground floor is raised some 30-50cm above ground level. No sign whatsoever of mold or damage to paint inside or outside. This is a more expensive construction method so not often I have seen this done here. Drainage is well executed so no water linger for long around the base close to the plinth. The owner is an old Balinese builder, so he probably has seen first hand what shall be avoided.