North Sydney's older harbourside homes — Federation, Victorian and interwar — are typically built into sloping sandstone blocks. Walls cut into the slope draw moisture laterally, original damp-proof courses have often failed, and the harbour salt air accelerates salt damage in the masonry. The result is rising and lateral damp, especially on the lower, uphill side of the house.
On a sloping block the cause matters: sometimes it is a failed damp-proof course, sometimes water sitting against an uphill wall, sometimes both. We confirm the real source before treating, then install a new course or drainage and a breathable, salt-resistant finish so it lasts.
North Sydney's older brick apartment blocks and Federation homes sit on sandstone with aged or failed damp-proof courses. Rising moisture carries salt to the surface, blistering paint and blowing plaster; in lower-ground and basement levels it can keep walls saturated and feed mould until the source is treated.
North Sydney's older homes on tight, shaded blocks trap damp air under the floor. We install subfloor ventilation to move that stale air out and keep the underfloor dry.
Where the damp-proof course has failed in these older brick homes, our DPC injection stops moisture climbing the wall at its source.
We strip salt-damaged render and re-coat with a breathable salt-resistant plaster system so the finish lasts.
Shaded aspects and poor airflow feed mould here. Our mould removal clears it and fixes the moisture behind it.
For below-ground walls and wet areas, we waterproof and tank the surface to stop water entry.
Book a free damp inspection and we'll diagnose the cause and quote a fixed price.
Many North Sydney homes are Federation and Victorian places built into sloping sandstone blocks, with failed or absent damp-proof courses. Uphill walls draw moisture laterally and harbour salt air speeds up the salt damage, making rising and lateral damp common in Kirribilli, Cremorne and Neutral Bay.
All of them — including Kirribilli, Milsons Point, Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Waverton, Wollstonecraft, Cammeray, Crows Nest, McMahons Point, North Sydney, Cremorne Point. If your suburb is not listed, call us; we cover the whole area.
Often, yes. On sloping sites moisture can push laterally through an uphill wall as well as rise from the ground. We work out which is happening and may combine a damp-proof course with drainage so the wall actually stays dry.