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Damp Proofing Specialist terms explained — Truro glossary

Property Care Association(PCA)

The trade body for damp, timber and structural-waterproofing contractors. PCA membership brings audited standards and insurance-backed guarantees, which matters because most damp guarantees are only as good as the company issuing them.

Rising Damp(Rising damp)

Groundwater drawn up through masonry by capillary action, limited to roughly a metre above ground level and usually leaving a tide mark of salts. Genuinely rare in houses built after 1875, when damp-proof courses became standard.

Penetrating Damp(Penetrating damp)

Water entering through a defect — failed pointing, a cracked render, a blocked gutter, a bridged cavity or a leaking downpipe. It appears at any height, worsens after rain, and is fixed by repairing the defect, not by injecting the wall.

Tanking

A waterproof barrier applied to below-ground walls, typically in a cellar or basement conversion. Unlike a DPC it holds back standing water pressure, and it is normally paired with a drained cavity membrane and a sump.