What We Fix
Rising Damp
Find out if your home has rising damp — and how to fix it permanently with a new damp proof course.
- Free assessment · 1–2 day repair · 20-year warranty
- Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
Trustpilot
GoogleWhat We Fix
Rising Damp
Find out if your home has rising damp — and how to fix it permanently with a new damp proof course.
- Free quote · 1–2 day repair · 20-year warranty
- Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
Rising Damp
Find out if your home has rising damp — and how to fix it permanently with a new damp proof course.
- Free assessment with a fixed-price quote
- No walls knocked down — most treatments done in a day
- 20-year product and workmanship warranty
Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
TrustpilotGoogleDoes my home have rising damp?
You've noticed something at the base of your walls. Paint peeling. Stains that won't wash off. Maybe a damp, earthy smell in a room that never quite goes away. You've probably already repainted or replastered — and it came back.
The damage you can see is only the surface. Rising damp carries salts from the ground into the masonry, and those salts crystallise inside the brickwork — right where the wall meets the foundation. Over time, they turn solid mortar and brick to dust from the inside out. The damage is hidden until it's serious.
The symptoms below will help you work out if rising damp is what you're dealing with — and what's behind it.
What are the symptoms of rising damp?
Rising damp stays low — usually below one metre. These are the signs that confirm it.
Peeling or Bubbling Paint
Paint that blisters, flakes, or turns powdery near the base of your walls is one of the earliest visible signs of rising damp. If repainting only holds for a few months before the same thing happens again, the moisture is coming from inside the wall — not the surface. The damage typically starts at the base and works its way upward as the damp rises higher through the masonry.
White Salt Deposits
Those white, chalky streaks on your brickwork are salt deposits — called efflorescence. As moisture rises through the wall, it carries dissolved salts from the ground. When the water evaporates, the salts crystallise on the surface. Over time, they eat into mortar joints and weaken the masonry from the inside — even when the surface looks dry.
Tide Marks and Staining
A brown or pink stain creeping up the base of your walls is a telltale sign of rising damp. The stain follows the height the moisture has reached — usually between 300mm and a metre above ground level. It won’t wash off or paint over permanently, because the moisture keeps feeding it from below. The line may shift with the seasons as ground moisture levels change.
Mould Around Skirting Boards
Mould forming along skirting boards, in corners at floor level, or behind furniture against the wall is a common sign of rising damp. The moisture wicking up through the wall transfers into everything it touches — timber, carpet, underlay. Mould higher up on walls or around ceilings is usually a ventilation or condensation issue, not rising damp. Rising damp stays low.
Crumbling Bricks
When rising damp carries ground salts into your brickwork, the real damage happens inside the masonry. As moisture evaporates, those salts crystallise and expand — and the brick is no match for that pressure. Over time, the face of the brick starts to crack, flake, and crumble away. Once the surface breaks down, more moisture gets in and the cycle accelerates. If your bricks are spalling or turning to powder at the base, salt attack from rising damp is almost always the cause.
What are the signs of rising damp?
What causes rising damp?
Rising damp always has a cause. Knowing yours changes everything about the fix.
Failed Damp Proof Course
When your home was built, a damp proof course — a layer of bitumen, plastic, slate, or tin — was installed in the walls to block moisture from the ground. But few DPCs last forever. Over decades, the membrane corrodes, cracks, or loses its seal. Water and salts get back into the masonry above. The DPC didn’t break overnight. It wore out doing its job until it couldn’t anymore.
Wrong Barrier Height
Rising damp rarely exceeds one metre in height — gravity wins. For a DPC to work, it needs to sit just above ground level, blocking moisture before it climbs. In many older homes, the barrier was installed higher than necessary or at the wrong point in the wall. The moisture bypasses it entirely. The DPC is there — it’s just in the wrong spot.
Bridging
Bridging happens when something allows moisture to bypass the DPC. A new garden bed raised above the barrier line. A patio poured against the wall. Render applied over the DPC. Landscape changes are the most common cause — the ground level goes up, and suddenly the barrier that worked for 30 years is below the soil line.
No DPC at All
Homes built before the 1950s often have no damp proof course at all. The brick sits directly on the footing with nothing between the masonry and the ground. In inner-city Sydney, Melbourne, and older suburbs across the ACT, this is the most common cause of rising damp. There’s no barrier to fail — because there never was one.
What causes rising damp?
How to fix rising damp
Non-Toxic. Odourless. Permanent.
A New DPC Without Removing a Single Brick.
Repainting, replastering, surface sealants — every surface fix treats what you can see. The moisture keeps rising because the barrier that was supposed to stop it no longer works. Until you replace that barrier, the cycle repeats. That's the trap most homeowners fall into — spending money on the surface while the wall keeps getting wetter from within.
DampBlock™ AQ50 is injected into the mortar course at the base of the wall through small holes drilled at close intervals. The resin spreads through the masonry and cures to form a permanent damp proof course — a brand-new DPC, without removing a single brick. Non-toxic, completely odourless, and safe for your family. Most treatments are completed in a single day.
Once the new DPC is in place, the wall above the treatment line begins to dry out naturally. Salt damage stops progressing. Within weeks, you'll notice the damp patches receding and the musty smell fading. The conditions that were destroying your brickwork no longer exist.
Not sure if it's rising damp? That's exactly what the free assessment answers.
What to expect
A step-by-step guide of how the rising damp treatment process works — from assessment to completion.
Step 1Free Rising Damp Assessment
A Buildfix engineer inspects your home with moisture meters and thermal imaging to map where the damp is, how high it’s risen, and what’s causing it. Is it rising damp, condensation, or a leak? That question gets answered here — with a clear explanation and a treatment plan on the spot.
Step 2Get Your Fixed-Price Quote and Book
A complete quote package arrives — treatment plan, method statement, and a fixed-price quote. The price you see is the price you pay. When you’re ready, book through the online portal and suitable dates are organised for the work.
Step 3DampBlock™ Damp Proofing Injection
Small holes are drilled at close intervals along the base of each affected wall. DampBlock™ resin is injected into the mortar course. The resin spreads through the masonry and cures to form a continuous, permanent damp proof course — a brand-new DPC, without removing a single brick. Non-toxic, odourless, and your family can stay home during the work.
Step 4Receive Your 20-Year Warranty
Your 20-year product and workmanship warranty arrives via email with the Completion Package — a job report covering the work, materials, and images.
Rising damp blocked.
Guaranteed to last.
The benefits of treating rising damp with DampBlock™.
Treating rising damp doesn’t mean ripping into your walls. DampBlock™ is injected through small holes in the mortar — the resin travels through the masonry’s natural capillaries and cures into a permanent barrier. No digging, no cutting, no harmful chemicals. You can stay home the entire time.
Not sure if it's subsidence? Get your home assessed for free — we'll explain exactly what's going on and what can be done.
Real homes. Real results.
15,000+ homes and structures repaired. Want to see real Buildfix rising damp treatments? Browse a few below.
HomeownerMosman, NSW
Fresh Tuckpointing Fell Out in Months
Spent money on tuckpointing only to watch the mortar fail again? That’s usually a sign the wall is wet from within — and no amount of repointing will fix it. Book a free damp assessment and find out what’s really going on.
HomeownerStrathfield, NSW
Heritage Home Repaired Twice, Same Team
When new cracks appeared in this 150-year-old Strathfield home, the owner didn’t hesitate — they called Buildfix again. Buildfix had already fixed the front of the house years earlier. This time, the team tackled the rear.
HomeownerStanmore, NSW
Terrace Walls Dried Out Without a Trench
Own a terrace in the inner west? Rising damp is one of the most common problems in homes of this age — and excavation is rarely an option. Book a free damp assessment and find out what’s happening inside your walls.
HomeownerFrenchs Forest, NSW
Damp Attacking From Both Sides
Damp damage showing on both internal and external walls? That means moisture has saturated the full wall — and neither repainting nor re-rendering will stop it. Book a free damp assessment.
StrataAshgrove, QLD
Crumbling Bricks No Bricklayer Could Fix
Strata committee dealing with crumbling brickwork that no tradesperson seems able to fix? The problem might not be the bricks — it might be what’s happening behind them. Book a free damp assessment for your building.
HomeownerPrestons, NSW
Rising Damp in Both Balcony Pillars
Rising damp in brick pillars, piers, or columns? The damage accelerates faster in exposed masonry — don’t wait for it to reach the top. Book a free damp assessment.
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
Questions?
Our team is here to answer any questions you may have Monday – Friday 8am to 4pm AEST. Give us a call on 1300 854 115.
