A basement that smells sour or basement walls where plaster and paint are falling off is a familiar problem in many houses, apartment blocks and commercial properties - and it's costly for both health and property.
The consequences of having high humidity in the basement can be very serious:
All measurements are made in accordance with methods and equipment recommended in BUILD'S (Former SBi) Instruction 277 - Moisture in buildings.
Drytech uses either an acoustic system or electroosmosis to remove moisture in walls. The methods are effective and relatively inexpensive to install, require no maintenance and have a power consumption of less than $10 per month.
The new MURSEC ECO multi-frequency unit with SmartPolar® technology emits very low frequency pulses that have an effect on the water molecules inside the wall and change its polar orientation.
The system reverses the polarity of the water, preventing moisture from rising from the ground and damaging the walls.
The electronic device just needs to be mounted on the basement wall.
Elektroosmose moisture-proofs the building by laying cables into the basement walls in a thinly cut groove. The cable creates a tension field between the wall and the surrounding area.
Weak pulses of direct current are then sent into the masonry, positively charging the water in the walls. Earth spikes, which are slightly negative, are placed outside the foundation and these spikes attract the positively charged water.
In this way, water is diverted away from the masonry and into the soil around the building, while preventing new moisture from rising into the walls.
The graph illustrates an example from the consulting engineering company Arkitekt- og Ingeniørgruppen (AI). The conclusion shows that the average moisture reduction after 12 months is over 55%, and in some cases up to 70%.
If you have a basement, chances are it's damp too. Almost all basements from before the 60s have rising damp. The basements of old houses are leaky and were previously only used for storing coal and coke, tools, boiler rooms and weight rooms. Therefore, moisture was not a problem.
Today, many people want to use the basement for other purposes - washing and storing clothes, living. When you want to change or have changed the use of the basement from its original purpose, you will most likely have a moisture problem.
Therefore, it is a good idea to have the moisture level measured.
More frequent, more violent downpours and older pre-1960s buildings almost equate to more and more frequent problems with water damp in the basements of housing associations and businesses. Buildings with floor drains and/or toilets in the basement are particularly at risk, as there is a high risk that the sewer system will overflow and back up, filling the basement with sewage.
Once damp and mould develop - and if they are allowed to stay - they can spread to apartments and cause allergy and health problems for residents.
See Handyman.dk's impartial test of Drytech's solution and the result after 5 years
If you permanently remove or reduce the moisture in your basement, the financial benefits are obvious.
The magazine "Penge & Privatøkonomi" has visited a family in Copenhagen's North West district, who has invested about 350,000 DKK in removing moisture in the basement of 95 square meters. The basement was then fitted out so that the family could use it for various activities. According to an estate agent, this improvement has increased the value of the house by around half a million euros, even though the basement is not approved for habitation.
The cheap square meters are often hidden in the basement of the house. These are square metres that you can enjoy and profit from when you sell them, if you make the rooms drier and brighter. The increase in value will be even greater if the basement can be approved for residential use.
The decision to remove damp in the basement is one of the most important investments your housing association or business can make in the property. This investment can protect the health of residents and users and improve the overall health of your property.
It's important to act as soon as the problem is discovered. Contact us on +45 70 10 80 11 if you suspect there is moisture in the basement of your property. We can come out and do a moisture check at your property.
Tel: +45 4026 8109
Email: jal@guldager.com
Tel: +45 2775 0761
Email: lvi@guldager.com
