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You can easily and cheaply add real value to your home by painting your home. More than just adding color and making your home look fresh, new and finished, it can even lower your utility bills. To achieve a long-lasting, easily cleanable and easy-to-maintain finish, it is very important to use quality materials and proper technique.

When deciding between using a professional house painting company and a seasoned crew or to do-it-yourself will depend on the size of the job, whether you are a natural handy-man, have some experience in labour intensive projects and the time to tackle time-intensive scraping and prepping of an average sized project area. Also if you have and will often use all the necessary equipment such as ladders, brushes, scrapers, etc, needed for the painting project. Anything larger may require the expertise of a specialist painter with an experienced crew and all the necessary equipment.

By using a specialist home painter might cost you quite a bit in labour, but when you compare that cost to the expense and time of a do-it-yourself project, the time it will save, especially when a professional painter will be more experienced and quicker at the job. You often don't realise the hidden costs associated with house painting. While the paint might be relatively inexpensive, the professional painter has all of the tools, sprayers, brushes and ladders that are quite costly to aquire. By the time you buy all the additional equipment needed to do a painting project, the cost may be higher than hiring the services of a professional painter.

A professional painting company with experienced crew brings a level of expertise, knowledge, tried and tested experience, most homeowners do not possess and will be able to complete the job in much less time than the homeowner.

There are many advantages of using bitumen waterproofing products:

Bitumen is perfect for waterproofing and protecting buildings.

Different mineral finishes can be applied to the top surfaces, and thereby these bituminous roofing products can be in harmony with their environmental surroundings.

Green roofs are becoming more and more popular as the carbon footprint issues become more apparent.

Bitumen products have very long life spans, with most membranes having BS (British Standards) marks against each product name.

The fumes given off during installation are not harmful to human health and application has low noise levels and pollution.

Bituminous membranes will reflect harmful sun rays and protect insulation.

Bitumen is non-biodegradable, not water soluble, not classified as carcinogenic and does not release harmful toxins.

Rising damp is caused when underground water enters a structure by capillary action. Water that enters a building through any other route can move about in various ways, but is not the same as rising damp. Only rising damp can be cured by the installation of a chemical damp proof course.

Rising damp can often be misdiagnosed, even though rising damp has been a relatively commonly encountered problem. It is important that the investigation into dampness of the structure is undertaken by a trained and experienced surveyor who can recognize and understand the problem.

Most types of masonry used in the walls of buildings allow some movement of water by capillary action. However, this is usually controlled by a damp proof course or physical barrier. It is often possible to install a remedial damp proof course to control water rising from the ground, if this physical barrier is absent, has broken down or is damaged.

Water rising from the ground often introduces contaminating salts into the walls and plaster coats. This contamination will often result in a need for the plaster to be removed and replaced using specially formulated salt resistant plasters.

What Are The Signs of riding damp?

Decayed skirting boards.
Crumbling, discoloration, staining or salt stained plaster.
Decayed timber floors.
Peeling wallpaper, peeling paint.

A specialist inspection is always recommended when these signs are evident.

Perhaps installing a French Drain might solve your problems. What is a French Drain?

A French drain is a trench that is covered with rock or gravel, containing a perforated pipe that redirects surface and ground water away from an area. A French drain can have perforated hollow pipes along the bottom to quickly vent water that seeps down through the upper surface rock or gravel.

Pre-engineered French drain systems that eliminate the need for rock and gravel, have become increasingly popular since their introduction over 40 years ago. The common features of French drainage systems include a lightweight gravel substitute that is wrapped around perforated corrugated pipe and covered with commonly used filter fabric.

French drains are mainly used to prevent ground and surface water from penetrating and damaging building foundations. Alternatively, French drains may be used to distribute water, such as a septic drain field at the outlet of a typical septic tank sewage treatment system. French drains are also used to relieve ground water pressure behind retaining walls.

Is there a leak in the roof or gutters, rainwater pipes or even the main water supply pipe? Leaks of this sort should be relatively straightforward to fix once they have been tracked down. The dampness may take some time to dry out. Maintenance is extremely important to keep buildings in good order. So regular checking and planned repairs are the best approach to prevent possible serious leaking and penetrating damp problems.