This article discusses the cause, effect and treatment involved in slab edge dampness, salt damp or what is commonly known in the industry as ‘edge wetting’.
Visual Landscape Gardening are considered experts in the field of salt damp treatment in Adelaide and can assist in the prevention and treatment required to eliminate edge wetting.
If you’ve ever noticed or been concerned by the build up of salts; called ‘efflorescence’ leaching from your house or carport foundation, you are experiencing slab edge dampness, salt damp or edge wetting.
There is good reason to be concerned. If left untreated, salt damp can cause fretting of the foundation to the point that the structural integrity of the foundation becomes compromised.
The accumulation of salt can cause lifting of tiles and other internal flooring such as parquetry and timber floating floors, and cause mould to flourish under carpets.
The ground must be excavated to find the orange vapour barrier or forticon that extrudes from the foundation. Vapour barriers should be maintained and not cut under any circumstance.
Soil should then be excavated in a way that the clay or soil has a positive fall away from the foundation. When dealing with high clay content soils, a minimum of 30mm for the first metre should be set. It is essential that the clay be carefully removed from the vapour barrier that laps out, usually 200-300mm from the foundation trench.
When the top of the vapour barrier has been carefully removed of clay and other debris, a 450mm damp proof membrane is lapped over the top of the vapour barrier and continued up the vertical edge of the foundation.
