Why walls stay damp in the delta
In the canal country around Tanuku, Bhimavaram and Eluru, the water table stays high for months at a time. Ground-floor walls draw that moisture up through the brickwork, and because the air is humid, a wall that takes on water dries very slowly. Plaster that stays damp grows fungus, loses its paint and starts to crumble.
At the same time, buildings in the delta get the full monsoon from June to October and cyclonic rain off the coast in October and November. So the same house can have water coming up from the ground and down from the terrace, and treating the wrong one does not help.
How to tell where the water is coming from
- Rising damp: a damp band along the bottom of ground-floor walls, often with a white, powdery salt line at its upper edge, roughly level all along the wall, present even in the dry months.
- Terrace or parapet leak: dampness on the top floor, high on walls or on the ceiling, which gets worse after rain and fades in dry spells.
- Bathroom or pipe leak: a patch next to a bathroom or kitchen wall, or under one, that follows the use of water rather than the weather.
- Column or beam dampness: wet patches tracking a column or beam line, often where an external joint lets driven rain in.
Why repainting does not work
Painting over a damp wall, even with an anti-fungal or so-called waterproof paint, only seals the moisture in. The salts keep pushing through, the paint blisters, and the wall is back where it started by the next monsoon. The source has to be stopped, the wall has to dry, and only then is the surface made good.
How rising damp is treated
The damp, salt-laden plaster at the base of the wall is stripped back, the source of the moisture is dealt with, the wall is left to dry out, and it is then re-plastered with a suitable mix before repainting. Drying takes time in a humid town, which is why we plan this work for the dry months, January to May, where we can. Full details are on wall dampness treatment, and for wet columns see column dampness treatment.
Terraces in Tanuku
Many Tanuku houses have had a floor added years after the first was built, and the joint where a newer slab meets an older one is a common leak point. Terrace waterproofing here includes treating that joint and the parapet coving along with the usual surface preparation, crack treatment and two coats. See terrace waterproofing and signs your terrace needs it.
Booking a visit in Tanuku
Tanuku is about two and a half hours from our base in Poranki, Vijayawada. Because it is beyond our 60 km free-visit area, a visit charge applies and we confirm it when you book. We work across Venkatarayapuram, Velpur Road, Attili Road, Duvva and along the NH16 stretch, as well as nearby Bhimavaram and Eluru. Send photos of the damp walls on WhatsApp first and we can often tell you whether it looks like rising damp or a leak from above. More on our Tanuku page.