Performance analysis of gravity chemical blockers in the treatment of rising damp in masonry walls

Giovani Jordi Bruschi,Daiane De Senna Brisotto,Ronei Hoffmann Malaquias

doi:10.21041/ra.v12i1.561

Abstract

The objective of this work is the performance analysis of the rising damp treatment in walls, through the use of chemical blockers (i.e., crystallizing and water repellant) available in the Brazilian market, with their introduction by gravity. As there are no standardized tests for such a study, experiments conducted by other researchers were used as a reference. The evaluation of the rising damp was achieved by the calculation of the water absorption rate in the specimens, allied with the images obtained by the thermographic camera. From the results, it was concluded that the treatment did not completely reduce the pathological manifestation in the walls, but both products performed well and managed to reduce the water absorption rate considerably.

Highlights

The presence of moisture in buildings is recurrent and can generate serious pathological manifestations for the constructive system
The main masonry repair techniques can be subdivided into four large groups conforming to their function (Henriques, 1994): (i) solutions to prevent the access of water from the ground; (ii) solutions to remove the excess water; (iii) solutions to stop water rising; and (iv) solutions to hide anomalies
When well adapted and executed, solutions to prevent the access of water from the ground are the most efficient repair technique in the treatment of rising damp

Summary

Introduction

The presence of moisture in buildings is recurrent and can generate serious pathological manifestations for the constructive system. As a consequence of the complexity of its treatment, one of the most challenging types of moisture manifestation is the rising damp Recognized, this phenomenon manifests itself when groundwater flows into the base of a construction and ascends through the pore structure by capillarity (Massari and Massari, 1993; Alfano, 2005; Henriques, 2007). When well adapted and executed, solutions to prevent the access of water from the ground are the most efficient repair technique in the treatment of rising damp This solution can be performed either by reducing the absorbent section, increasing the base ventilation or through physical and chemical barriers. This range prevents the possible degradation on the constituent materials of the treated walls (Henriques, 1994)

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Results