DAMP is the scourge of many London homes, and curing it can be a nightmare. Some mort- gage companies won’t lend money on properties unless they have had damp proofing courses installed, cowboy damp-proofing companies are rife, and the latest research indicates that most chemical injection courses simply don’t work. Consumers are confused.
Just launched in this country is the Schrijver System, which claims not only to “banish ris- ing damp, condensation and mould from a broad range of properties” but also to create a healthier living environment by reducing the relative humidity in the air, reducing the quantity of dust mites, offering a permanent solution with no chemicals.
The system, which is Dutch, won a national Invention of the Year Award and is installed in more than 25,000 homes.
Rectangular holes are drilled out of the exterior wall 14in above ground level at approxi- mately 14in intervals, into which hollow ceramic bricks are cemented. The cold spots created by air being forced into the hollows attract damp, which condenses and evaporates. The stronger the wind blowing out- side, the more effectively it works. It can be used in ordi- nary or cavity walls. A typical three-bedroom semi will cost about £1,500 to £2,000, and a full refund is guaranteed if the customer isn’t satisfied within a year of installation.
The basement of Robin Har- wood’s Victorian Barnes home was so riddled with damp when he first bought it 15 months ago that using it as an office was Impossible. “I was never com- fortable with the idea of using a suppressing system with chemicals,” he says, so he tried the Schrijver System. Six months on, “Parts of the wall certainly look much drier and I don’t ex- perience the same dampness.”
Peter White, a self- employed travel consultant, turned to the system after a previous damp course in his west London home failed, leaving the walls dripping. and remains hopeful. “It seems OK, although it’s early days.”