How disruptive is damp proofing work?

Less than most people fear, but it's honest to say it isn't invisible either. The disruption depends entirely on what's being treated.

Typical rising damp treatment

• Skirting boards and affected plaster removed, usually up to 1 metre high on the treated walls
• Holes drilled at regular intervals along the wall base and the chemical damp proof course injected
• Salt-resistant replastering applied to the treated walls

The treatment itself usually completes within 1–3 days, with replastering adding another 1–2 days. Furniture needs moving away from the treated walls, and there will be some dust and noise during drilling, but we protect floors and belongings and tidy as we go.

The drying period

New plaster needs to dry before redecoration. As a rule of thumb, allow roughly a month per 25mm of plaster thickness, so most walls are ready in 4–6 weeks. Decorating too soon traps moisture and can undo good work. Condensation solutions, by contrast, are far lighter-touch: an extractor fan or positive input ventilation unit typically installs in under a day with minimal mess.