Buildfix
DampBlock™ rising damp treatment on a Buildfix homeowner job

Rising Damp

Rising damp you can’t get rid of?

Find the source, block rising damp permanently, and leave your home feeling damp-free — backed by a 20-year warranty.

  • Free assessment · 1–2 day repair · 20-year warranty
  • Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
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How to Spot Rising Damp in Your Home

Your walls are made of porous materials — brick, mortar, concrete — and they’re full of tiny channels called capillaries. When those walls sit in contact with damp ground, moisture gets drawn upward through those capillaries naturally, climbing anywhere from half a metre to a metre above ground level. That’s rising damp — and here’s what it looks like.

Interior wall above skirting board with severe paint bubbling, blistering, and peeling with exposed substrate showing through

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.

External dark brickwork with white salt streaks running down through the mortar joints and across the face of the bricks

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.

Interior wall beside a timber cabinet with brown and pink tide-mark stain creeping up from the base, plaster discolouring and peeling

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.

Interior corner at floor level with heavy black mould growth on walls above timber skirting boards and visible damage to skirting

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.

Brick pier at ground level with lower courses visibly darker and damp with mortar deterioration at the base

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.

A new damp proof course — inside your walls, without removing a brick.

Non-Invasive. Permanent. Guaranteed.

Advanced Damp Proofing Technology. Developed for Australian Homes.

Damp proofing technology has come a long way. Physical DPC barriers came first — effective, but expensive and risky. Chemical injection was the next step — faster and less invasive, but petrochemical-based, flammable during application, and known for fumes that linger for weeks. Silicone cream followed as the safer, hand-applied option — non-toxic and odourless — but developed for European conditions where walls stay damp year-round, it's unreliable in Australia's drier climate.

DampBlock™ is the next generation. It's an advanced aqueous emulsion that brings the penetrating effectiveness of chemical injection and the safety of silicone cream together — without the drawbacks of either. Non-toxic, completely odourless, and safe for your family and pets.

Our technicians drill small holes at close intervals along the base of each affected wall and inject DampBlock™ resin into the mortar course or the centre of the bricks. The resin spreads through the masonry by mechanical pressure, targeting the capillaries and setting to form a permanent damp-proof barrier — a brand-new DPC, without removing a single brick. The wall begins drying naturally from the moment the DPC is in place — injection takes a day or two, with any plaster repairs handled as a separate stage.

Not sure if it's rising damp, leaking pipework, or just condensation? That's exactly what the free damp assessment answers.

What to expect

Here’s how we treat your home’s rising damp, from first visit to warranty.

Buildfix engineer assessing rising damp with electronic moisture meter in subfloorStep 1

Free Damp Assessment

Our engineers visit your property with professional moisture meters and thermal imaging to map where the damp is, how high it’s risen, and what’s causing it. You’ll get a clear explanation on the spot and a treatment plan tailored to your home — so you know exactly what’s involved before anything starts.

Buildfix quote package showing damp treatment plan, quote cover page, and method statementStep 2

Get Quote and Book

You receive a complete quote package including a damp treatment plan, method statement, and a fixed-price quote — so you’ll know exactly what it’s going to cost. When you’re ready, book through our online portal (takes about 5 minutes) and we’ll organise suitable dates for the work.

Buildfix technician injecting DampBlock resin into mortar course at base of brick wallStep 3

DampBlock™ Injection

On the scheduled day, our technicians drill small holes at close intervals along the base of each affected wall and inject DampBlock™ resin into the mortar course or the centre of the bricks. The resin spreads through the masonry by mechanical pressure, targeting the capillaries and setting to form a permanent damp-proof barrier — a brand-new DPC, without removing a single brick.

Buildfix 20-year warranty badgeStep 4

Receive Your Warranty

After the work’s done and signed off, you’ll receive your Completion Package a few days later — a report covering the work carried out, materials used, and images from the process. It also includes your invoice with links to pay through our portal, and your warranty documentation.

Rising damp blocked.
Guaranteed to last.

The benefits of a DampBlock™ damp treatment.

Every other fix you’ve tried — repainting, replastering, surface sealants — treats what you can see. DampBlock™ creates a new damp-proof course inside the wall itself, stopping the moisture from rising any further.

Diagram showing how DampBlock creates a new damp-proof course inside the wall

Ready to stop rising damp at the source?

Moisture mapped, source identified, fixed-price quote. It's free.

Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians

Real homes. Real results

See how we’ve helped homeowners fix their rising damp.

Why choose Buildfix?

Buildfix brings structural engineers, licensed builders, skilled technicians, and the manufacturer together under one roof. For nearly 15 years, Buildfix has been delivering non-invasive structural repairs — saving homeowners the hassle and costs of traditional methods. What used to take weeks now takes just 1 to 2 days.

Why homeowners choose Buildfix:

Non-invasive technology. No exterior excavation. No new DPC dug in. No weeks of disruption. You can stay home while the work happens.
Guaranteed. Your repair is backed by a 20-year warranty. If the damp returns, we come back at no cost to you.
One team, diagnosis to repair. Buildfix engineers assess your home and oversee the repair. Buildfix technicians carry it out.
Save thousands — best pricing. All quotes fixed-price. No hidden charges. No surprise costs. If your job goes over, it's on us.

Watch Video

See how Buildfix repairs structural issues across Australian homes — from foundation problems to damp proofing, all under one roof.

Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians

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 5pm AEST. Give us a call on 1300 854 115.

Buildfix structural engineer with client discussing damp treatment

Ready to stop rising damp at the source?

Moisture is mapped with meters, the source identified, and you'll know exactly what's going on inside the wall. It's free.

Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians

Experts in Structural Repair

Non-Invasive. Permanent. Guaranteed.

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