Rising Damp Specialists · Paddington
Salt tide-marks, peeling paint and that musty smell along the skirting boards? We diagnose and permanently treat rising damp in Paddington's older Queenslanders and brick homes — with a proper diagnosis and a permanent fix, not a paint-over.
Why Paddington homes are prone to damp: Paddington is built across some of inner Brisbane's steepest ridges and gullies — Latrobe Terrace runs along the ridgetop while the side streets fall away sharply toward Rosalie and the low, formerly creek-fed flats below. Its housing is among the oldest in the city: dense rows of 1880s–1910 timber workers' cottages and early Queenslanders on stumps, most now protected under Brisbane's Traditional Building Character overlay — so the original fabric has to be repaired and kept, not replaced. Two things drive the damp here: masonry piers, base walls and "built-in-under" ground floors that were never given a working damp-proof course, and steep cut-into-slope sites that bank soil moisture against the walls and choke subfloor airflow. It shows up as salt tide-marks, fretting brick and a musty smell low on the wall.
Know the signs
Rising damp only affects ground-floor walls, because the moisture comes from the soil. If you're seeing these signs low on the wall, it's worth a proper look before it damages the timber and brickwork.
SIGN 01
A horizontal stain about a metre up the wall, where the rising moisture peaks and evaporates.
SIGN 02
Efflorescence — ground salts crystallising on the brick or plaster surface.
SIGN 03
Finishes lifting and crumbling near the base of the wall.
SIGN 04
Soft, damp or warped skirting boards, architraves and floor timbers.
SIGN 05
A persistent damp, earthy odour, often strongest in closed rooms and low cupboards.
SIGN 06
In bad cases, the face of the brick crumbles away as the salts destroy the mortar.
Local knowledge
Paddington (4064) has one of the densest concentrations of pre-war housing in Brisbane — street after street of timber workers' cottages and early Queenslanders raised on the ridges above Given and Latrobe Terraces when Ithaca's working families first settled the area between the 1880s and 1910. Most of these homes are now covered by Brisbane City Council's Traditional Building Character overlay, and those built before 1911 can generally only be repaired and retained, not demolished. That makes treating damp properly — rather than papering over it — the sensible path for a Paddington owner.
The terrain is the other half of the story. Paddington is built across steep ridges and gullies: Latrobe Terrace follows the ridgeline as "upper Paddington", while the side streets drop sharply toward Rosalie and the low, formerly creek-fed flats below. To sit level on that slope, houses were set high on timber stumps and cut into the hillside — and over the years many had the open under-floor space "built in under" to add a room or garage. Both work against the house: soil and retaining walls end up banked against masonry, and the once-open subfloor becomes a still, humid cavity.
Timber stumps themselves don't draw up ground moisture — but the masonry around them does. Brick piers, base and dwarf walls, chimney bases and any built-in ground floor can all wick moisture upward, and many of these cottages were built with no damp-proof course, or an early one that has long since failed. The result is classic rising damp: a salt tide-mark about a metre up the wall, fretting brick and blistering plaster.
Getting the diagnosis right matters, because in a Queenslander rising damp is easily confused with two problems that need different fixes — subfloor moisture rising through an enclosed under-house space, and lateral damp where soil on the high side of a cut-in block pushes moisture sideways through a wall. We check all three during the assessment; the answer might be a chemical damp-proof course, subfloor ventilation, or a combination.
How we fix it
Rising damp is often misdiagnosed as condensation or a leak, which need completely different fixes. We diagnose the actual cause first, then treat the source — not just the stain.
We inspect with moisture meters, confirm it's genuinely rising damp, and rule out condensation or lateral damp.
We inject a new DPC into the mortar course — a water-repellent barrier that stops moisture rising, without removing bricks.
We strip salt-damaged plaster and apply a salt-retarding render so the damage doesn't return through the new surface.
We make good the wall and back the work with a 20-year warranty. If it's needed, we'll advise on subfloor ventilation too.
Our services
A new damp-proof course injected into the wall to permanently stop rising damp.
Learn more →Fans and vents to dry out the subfloor of Queenslanders on brick piers.
Learn more →Removing hygroscopic salts and re-rendering so the damage doesn't creep back.
Learn more →Fixing damp bridging from garden beds, paths and retaining walls.
Learn more →Transparent pricing
Rising damp treatment is usually priced by the linear metre of affected wall, so the size of the problem drives the cost. As a 2026 guide across Australia: a specialist damp assessment typically runs $500–$1,500 (ours is free), a chemical damp-proof course from a few thousand dollars up to around $15,000 on larger double-brick homes, subfloor ventilation about $1,500–$5,000, and re-rendering salt-damaged plaster roughly $3,000–$10,000 per wall.
Most single-room Paddington jobs land in the low-to-mid thousands
Your home may need only one of these or a combination — the only way to know for your home is a free on-site assessment.
Indicative figures only — wall length, damp height and salt damage all change the price. We quote fixed, in writing, after the assessment.Common questions
Rising damp only affects ground-floor walls and peaks at a fairly even height — about a metre up — often with a salt tide-mark. Condensation usually shows higher and in corners or on cold surfaces; a leak is more localised. We confirm which one it is with moisture meters during the free assessment, because the three need completely different fixes.
That's one of the most common reasons Paddington owners call us. A building inspector flags the problem but doesn't fix it. We come out, confirm the extent, and give you a written quote you can use to negotiate on the purchase or plan the repair. Send us a photo of the report finding and we'll talk you through it.
If it's treated properly — a correctly installed chemical DPC plus salt-retarding render — it shouldn't. The 20-year warranty covers the workmanship. Paint-overs and quick fixes are what come back, because they don't stop the moisture at the source.
Yes — that's the bulk of the work in Paddington. Older Queenslanders often have no damp-proof course and poor subfloor airflow, so we frequently pair the DPC treatment with subfloor ventilation to keep the underfloor space dry.
Usually it works in your favour. Because pre-1911 and character homes generally can't be demolished under Brisbane's Traditional Building Character overlay, repairing the original walls properly is the sanctioned path. Damp treatment such as a chemical damp-proof course or subfloor ventilation is repair and maintenance — it doesn't alter the protected external character — so it typically doesn't need a character-related approval. If your home is individually heritage-listed we'll flag anything that might, and it's worth confirming with council.
Enclosing the original open under-house space is one of the most common causes of damp we see in Paddington. It turns a ventilated subfloor into a sealed, humid cavity, and the new ground-floor walls often sit on or against masonry with no damp-proof course. The fix is usually a combination — restoring airflow with subfloor ventilation, and a chemical DPC where moisture is wicking up through masonry.
Most residential jobs take one to a few days depending on wall length and how much plaster needs replacing. In most cases you can stay in the home; if a room needs to be closed off during treatment we'll let you know in advance.
Yes — the work is carried out by QBCC-licensed damp and waterproofing specialists, fully insured, to Australian standards.
Tell us what you're seeing — or what your building report said — and we'll arrange a no-obligation on-site inspection and written quote.
We connect you with QBCC-licensed damp specialists servicing Paddington. No obligation, no cost for the assessment.
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