An inspection exists to establish which of five problems you have, because four of them are cheaper to fix than the one everybody assumes.
Talk it throughRising Damp Perth arranges damp assessments across Perth metropolitan area.
Moisture readings are taken at intervals up the wall, not at one spot. Rising damp produces a curve — wet low, drying with height — and that curve is what separates it from a leak, which is wettest at the source and gets drier in every direction from there.
Outside, the assessment looks at ground levels against the wall, paving and garden beds, the reticulation layout, and any render or paint already applied. In Perth the external check settles it more often than the internal readings do.
An even horizontal line, roughly 600mm to 1.2m above the floor, on a ground-floor wall. It marks where the water stops climbing and starts evaporating. Condensation does not produce a level line like this.
Salts left behind as the water evaporates. On limestone it often looks like a fine bloom; on brick it can be gritty. Brushing it off works until the next winter.
Almost always a non-breathable coating applied over a wall that needs to dry outward. The coating is not failing — it is doing its job and trapping the moisture behind it.
Salt crystallisation forcing the surface apart. Common on the coastal limestone belt and usually well advanced before anyone calls it damp.
Bore water. Perth's reticulation draws iron-rich groundwater, and where it hits a wall the iron stains it. It is not rising damp, it is cosmetic, and it is worth knowing before you pay to treat the wrong thing.
Seasonal is the tell. A leak smells the same all year; rising damp tracks the water table.
A written finding naming the cause, the extent, and what the treatment sequence would be — usable as a second opinion, or to negotiate on a purchase.
What follows is indicative. Every one of these is a range because the wall decides, not the website.
| Work | Indicative range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment and moisture survey | $250 - $450 | Moisture readings across the affected walls, a look at ground levels and drainage, and a written finding on which of the four common causes you actually have. |
| Chemical damp-proof course, per metre | $180 - $340 | Injected into the mortar course. Limestone generally sits at the upper end because it takes more material to achieve a continuous barrier. |
| Salt-retarding replaster, per square metre | $120 - $260 | Old contaminated render off, breathable system on. Frequently the larger part of the job. |
| Drainage and ground-level correction | $900 - $6,000 | Lowering paving, cutting back garden beds, adding a drain. Where the cause is bridging rather than a failed damp course, this is the fix. |
| Subfloor ventilation improvement | $1,200 - $4,500 | Less common in Perth than Brisbane because fewer homes have a ventilated subfloor, but it applies to the older timber-floored stock. |
Prices are indicative ranges only. Limestone, double brick and rendered walls each cost differently to treat, and every fixed price follows an on-site assessment.
We arrange assessments across the Perth metropolitan area, including:
Rising Damp Perth