News / rising damp

• May 02, 2014

  Are you in Adelaide? We can visit you 6th & 7th of May.

  Ben Burdett from Efflock will be in Adelaide 6th & 7th May. Ben will be at East Adelaide Tiling Co. in Stepney from 7:30 on Wednesday morning, and is available to make visits to other stores or building sites. Efflock is ideal for Adelaide's harsh soils to prevent rising damp and salt attack. To request a visit, please phone Ben on 0414 730 736.      

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  • Adelaide, Adelaide city council, Beaumont Tiles, building supplies, East Adelaide Tiling Co., efflock, efflorescence, rising damp, salt attack and rising damp, salt damp, sand and soil, sodium sulfate, sodium sulphate, Stepney, tiling supplies
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• Mar 05, 2014

  Salinity in Australia - a big problem that builders need to consider.

  The Master Builders Association meeting held in Maitland last week had a very entertaining and informative guest speaker from the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The topic was urban salinity. Salt from the soil can have a very destructive and catastrophic effect on masonry in buildings. Salt is drawn up into masonry with rising damp, and over many years with wet and dry cycles, more and more salt is deposited into the point of evaporation, typically in brickwork or stonework below damp proof course [DPC] level. The pressure exerted by crystallising salt can exceed 200MPa, whilst the tensile resistant strength...

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  • Ben from Efflock, Brick Mart, brick mortar, brickwork, Brookvale, building advice, building in saline areas, building materials, building problems, building technology, camden council, chlorides, construction in saline soils, construction problems, damp proof course, efflock for saline areas, exposure grade bricks, ground salt, masonry, prevent salt attack, prevention of salt attack, rising damp, saline soils, salt attack, salt in sand, salts, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, spalling, stop salt attack, urban salinity
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• Jun 13, 2013

  Efflock ideal for building in high saline areas

  I gave a talk about Efflock to local builders at a Master Builders Association meeting out at Campbelltown last week. An interesting problem was raised, which I have touched on briefly in a previous blog.  A builder at the meeting told me that the soil in the Camden area south west of Sydney is notorious for high salinity. The high salt content presents major problems for standard construction where rising damp can have very damaging effects on brickwork below the DPC or 'Damp Proof Course' level. The DPC is typically located around floor level, meaning that numerous courses of bricks...

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• Mar 14, 2013

  Capillary action

  Capillary action (also known as wicking) is a common problem in buildings. Like the very action we depend on, of blood flowing through our bodies capillaries to our extremities, water can also flow and be drawn along or through many building materials. Roof leaks are one example where capillary action is often responsible.   Picture: Capillary action on a clay brick. Ordinary tile screed of the same sample size would reach total saturation in around 10 minutes . Concrete and masonry, even of high quality contains capillaries. Common problems we see that arise from water flowing through concrete include: Concrete...

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• Mar 01, 2013

  Efflock to prevent rising damp and salt attack in buildings

  Photograph showing rising damp and subsequent salt attack below DPC level. Rising damp is destructive for buildings. It is well understood that damp very quickly will create rot in structural timbers such as bearers and joists, and therefore a DPC (damp proof course) is provided to prevent rising damp. A modern DPC is typically a black embossed polythene roll that is laid out directly beneath ant-capping, or just below finished ground floor level. Polyethelene underlay (black or orange plastic) serves the same purpose for slab on ground construction. What is not usually considered, is that rising damp can also have destructive consequences...

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• Oct 27, 2012

  Efflock test with salt water samples

  We've put Efflock to the test with exactly what you should not do to concrete! Pictured are two samples of 4 sand: 1 cement each made with 140mls of straight sea water from Coogee Bay off the coast of Sydney. They have been cured and placed in a dish of water to test their water repellency. In the foreground is the Efflock sample. Even with salt water in the concrete mix there is clearly no wicking effect! Without water able to dissolve salts and free lime, efflorescence cannot occur.

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